Max Walker is a golden boy. Attractive, intelligent, and athletic, he's the perfect son, the perfect friend, and the perfect crush for the girls in his school. He's even really nice to his little brother. Karen, Max's mother, is a highly successful criminal lawyer, determined to maintain the façade of effortless excellence she has constructed through the years. Now that the boys are getting older, now that she won’t have as much control, she worries that the façade might soon begin to crumble. Adding to the tension, her husband, Steve, has chosen this moment to stand for election to Parliament. The spotlight of the media is about to encircle their lives.
The Walkers are hiding something, you see. Max is special. Max is different. Max is intersex. When an enigmatic childhood friend named Hunter steps out of his past and abuses his trust in the worst possible way, Max is forced to consider the nature of his well-kept secret. Why won't his parents talk about it? What else are they hiding from Max about his condition and from each other? The deeper Max goes, the more questions emerge about where it all leaves him and what his future holds, especially now that he's starting to fall head over heels for someone for the first time in his life. Will his friends accept him if he is no longer the Golden Boy? Will anyone ever want him — desire him — once they know? And the biggest one of all, the question he has to look inside himself to answer: Who is Max Walker, really?
Written by twenty-five-year-old rising star Abigail Tarttelin, Golden Boy is a novel you'll read in one sitting but will never forget; at once a riveting tale of a family in crisis, a fascinating exploration of identity and a coming-of-age story like no other.
My Review: I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH I HATE IT. I JUST WANTED TO SKIP TO THE END TO READ WHAT HAPPENS TO MAX, BUT I KNOW I COULDN'T BECAUSE I WILL MISS SO MUCH. ALSO I JUST WANTED TO TELL THE CHARACTERS, LIKE MAX TO TELL HIS PARENTS AND KAREN TO STOP WORRYING ABOUT THE MEDIA. THAT'S HOW INTO THE BOOK I WAS.
I HATE THE SITUATION, ABOUT WHAT MAX AND HIS FAMILY HAS TO GO THROUGH, BUT I LOVE IT BECAUSE IT WAS GOOD. I LOVE THE CHARACTERS BUT KAREN ANNOYED ME IN THE BEGINING (SEE MY COMMENTS) I LOVE THE POV'S OF THE CHARACTERS. THE DIFFERENT PERSONALITY. DANIEL'S 10 YEAR OLD TO ARCHIE A DOCTOR TO MAX ETC.. IT IS WELL WRITTEN.
THIS REALLY HIT ME DEEP INSIDE. I THINK BECAUSE INTERSEX HAPPENS IN REAL LIFE AND PEOPLE GO THROUGH IT. BOOKS LIKE THIS (GBLT, DRUGS, CANCER) REALLY GETS ME THINKING BECAUSE LIKE I SAID THESE SITUATIONS HAPPEN IN REAL LIFE AND I'M ALWAYS CURIOUS ABOUT WHAT PEOPLE GO THROUGH.
*EDIT* THE ONE THING ON MY MIND IS WHY ARE THEY HAVING SEX SO YOUNG? SYLVIE IS 16 AND SHE ALREADY HAD SEX, SO SHE HAD TO BE 15 OR YOUNGER. MAX WAS 14 WHEN HE WAS MAKING OUT WITH A GIRL AND SHE ALMOST TOUCHED HIM. (ITS JUST ME BUT I REALLY HATE BOOKS ABOUT TEENAGE SEX AND PREGNACY, BUT THIS BOOK IS DIFFERENT. I LOVE IT)
My thoughts while reading
- "Amazing start. A perfect family but they secrets or problems of there own. Love the details, I can imagine what's going on at the moment or what is in the room/outside."
- "*spoiler* I find Karen annoying. She worrys to much about being a good parent or a bad parent. She babies Max because of his condition. She doesn't give Daniel enough attention and she wonders why he acts up. I just want to tell her that Kids act up even if you are a good or bad parent. She also worries about to much of her and steve reputation to much. I know she want's to look good for the media but family is first"
- Max should tell his parents. His parents needs to stop pushing things aside. They need to tell him about intersex. He deserves to know what he is, wheater its good or bad."
- "OMG! It just got even better, I LOVE IT. I just want to skip everything and read the ending to see what happens. Poor MAX. And his mother Karen I don't like her. I said it before all she worries about the media finding out and she blames herself about Max. Like its not her fault her son is intersex. It happens to people. Also like Steve said she needs to stop protecting Max, she can't do it forever."
- all I can say is WOW. I started reading where I left off (pg.12-something at 2am and I just finshed at 6am. I couldn't put it down. I LOVED IT.
5 out of 5 Stars!
Read: June.7 - June.10, 2013
