Status
Call number
Series
Collection
Publication
Description
Scott Faraday is sixteen and has no idea that his world is about to radically change. Scott is fun-loving, in a small-town rock band, and out-but only to a select few. Isolated in a high desert town, Scott doesn't know anyone else who is gay. When Ryan St. Charles, a troubled 17-year-old, moves to Yucca Valley, Scott's world tilts on its axis. Ryan is a brash seventeen-year-old who has just severed a long relationship with a man, but still considers himself straight. As Scott and Ryan's friendship develops, Scott begins to suspect that Ryan might be covering up that he's gay. When Scott comes out to Ryan, their friendship is transformed into his first real relationship. Tightly focused on these two characters, Desert Sons follows the thoughts and emotion of the ups and downs of a young adult gay relationship. Filled with first-time wonder, teenage angst, and the swirl of emotions that can only be expressed by youth, readers are pulled headlong into a highly-charged drama. "In Desert Sons, Mark Kendrick has provided all the ingredients of a good book: solid characterization, a compelling story, and a skillful evocation of place. All in all, Desert Sons is a wonderful read, realistic and moving. Highly recommended."-Guy Willard, author of Foolish Fire and Mirrors of Narcissus… (more)
User reviews
When Ryan arrives in the sunny, arid Yucca Valley he's not sure what to make of it. After being kicked out of his grandmother's house to live with his uncle due to his troublesome attitude, the last thing Ryan ever expected was to find someone like Scott. But, will Scott still be his friend when he finds out what secrets Ryan is hiding about his past?
Although this story seems to be a pretty realistic contemporary portrayal of how teens, particularly gay teens in a relationship, would act, I wouldn't really recommend it as a young adult book due to the amount of graphically described intimacies. Outside of that, I personally did find the book to be a very interesting coming of age type story. It is impossible not to feel sympathetic towards Ryan and his issues, most especially the abuse suffered at the hands of a man he trusted and the death of his parents. Scott's much lighter disposition is a perfect foil for Ryan's dark attitude and his confusion in the face of Ryan's increasing personal epiphanies is understandable. I thought the story was an insightful and believable exploration into issues not frequently addressed in contemporary literature.