Different for Boys

by Patrick Ness

Hardcover, 2023

Status

Available

Call number

813.6

Genres

Collections

Physical Books, EvaStreet

Publication

Walker Books (2023), 104 pages

Description

Anthony "Ant" Stevenson isn't sure when he stopped being a virgin. Or even if he has. The rules aren't always very clear when it comes to boys who like boys. In fact, relationships of all kinds feel complicated, even with Ant's oldest friends. There's Charlie, who's both virulently homophobic and in a secret physical relationship with Ant. Then there's drama kid Jack, who may be gay and has become the target of Charlie's rage. And, of course, there's big, beautiful Freddie, who wants Ant to ditch soccer, Charlie's sport, and try out for the rugby team instead. Ant's story of loneliness and intimacy, of unexpected support and heart-ripping betrayal, is told forthrightly with tongue-in-cheek black-bar redactions over the language that teenagers would actually use if, you know, they weren't in a story. Award-winning author Patrick Ness explores teen sexuality, friendship, and romance with a deft hand in this structurally daring, illustrated short novel.… (more)

Media reviews

NY Journal of Books

— 3 more

SLJ Teen Librarian Toolbox

Award-winning author Patrick Ness explores teen sexuality, friendship, and romance with a deft hand in this structurally daring, illustrated short novel. This raw, emotional, experimental story is a powerful read. In turns melancholy, brutal, and funny, this is an innovative look at loneliness and

sexuality.

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BCCB

R* Ness takes on the often under-explored social dynamics among teenage boys with nuance and subtlety that will leave readers thinking long after they turn the final page.

Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Rough pencil sketches add to the heightened emotion, reflecting the jagged, difficult emotional realities of the apparently White boys who know that while queerness is technically OK, especially for certain girls and in more liberal cities, it’s as taboo as it’s ever been among the

traditionally masculine boys of eastern Washington. The brevity of this story adds to its power, distilling the plot to its most necessary, brutal, loving elements. [Blanking] masterful.

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User reviews

LibraryThing member Jennie_103

A neatly done solution to swearing in YA fiction! Blacked out boxes appear - and the characters are also aware of it.... I enjoyed the way it forced you to mentally fill in the blanks where it had been "censored" and I absolutely agreed with the truth and the irony of the main character's statement

that "certain words are necessary because this is real life, but you can't actually show em because we're too young to read about the stuff we actually do". I definitely remember that stage of teenage life well.... I bet there will soon be a whole section of AO3 fanfiction filling in those blanks online from the YA readers in explicit detail!

I really appreciated the key concept behind the book of "what is virginity when you're gay?" because it's not something I had ever seen discussed before in print. It's fantastic to have these diverse titles levelling the playing field.

It was hard to fully appreciate the illustrations in the ebook format but they linked well to the text and heightened the emotion and sense of place within the book.

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4 more

LibraryThing member Carol420

It's short. In some ways it's WAY, WAY too short...104 pages, but Patrick Ness has delivered his message beautifully and said almost all that can be said. Some of you know that I volunteer time to the LGBTQ kids in my city and work almost exclusively with the 13–18-year-olds. Once a teacher

always a teacher:) In addition, our library buys and furnishes the shelter with books...they aren't all LGBTQ subjects, but some are, and they help our kids relate to the things that they are feeling and are confronted with everyday...most are written by authors that went through some of the same emotions as these young people at their age. This one recently hit our shelves and has been passed around and has already been well read. The jest of the story is that four friends are grappling with their identities. They have an ally in Mr. Bacon, their cool AP history teacher, when he reconfigures the classroom setup, seating Ant and Charlie together with genial football player Josh Smith and the boys’ former friend, Jack Taylor, now a drama kid. The foursome have now been forced to deal with the fact that Jack is obviously gay...knows, and now could be a threat to Ant and Charlie’s "elephant in the room, secret". The boys all know that being gay is still as taboo as it’s ever been among the traditionally masculine boys and others in their school and state. The story has wonderfully done pencil sketches that help illustrate this really beautiful little story.

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LibraryThing member Amzzz

I thought this book was very clever, especially the use of “censorship”

LibraryThing member Steven1958

A short story of teenage angst and discovery. Ant is at an all-boys secondary school trying to understand himself and the feelings he has for one of his friends.

One thing that makes this book different from every other teen fiction is that the 'bad' language is blacked out. Sometimes a word here

and there, and other times an entire paragraph. Different, but disconcerting!!

While the story is set in the here and now, it only makes you wonder even more about the blacked out text. This is an easy and enjoyable read.

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LibraryThing member clrichm

The black "censored" bars across swaths of the text was an interesting affectation, and it was used to good effect, but unfortunately I think the story itself ultimately wasn't for me. I don't think I'd have wanted a longer book--the censoring might have worn thin in a longer work--but the brevity

of what it was made it difficult for me to know the characters well enough to feel strongly about them. Ant, the main character, plays soccer. That's about all we're given to know, outside of his sexual activity. I felt bad for his forced outing, but even the way he seemed to dissociate afterwards worked to hamper our understanding of his feelings. I'm also not sure how much appeal this book would have for a young adult audience, as opposed to what an adult might enjoy and assume that a teen reader would also want.

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