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The Blue Lawn
A fifteen-year-old boy acknowledges his attraction to an older rugby teammate, as he also begins to break out of the preconceived notions his family and others have about him.
128 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
December 28, 2008
One of the first 'gay' books I've read. It takes place in Australia so the idioms take some getting used to. 2 boys fall in love, there's a car accident, then they grow up.
December 11, 2014
A short, enjoyable read that probably takes two hours of your time. Realistic characters. Realistic backdrop. The ending may not be the best one.
June 21, 2012
The Blue Lawn is set in a small town near Auckland, New Zealand. Fifteen-year-old David Mason is the rugby star of his school, works at his father’s hardware store, and maintains good grades. Sixteen-year-old Theo Meyer drinks, smokes, and lives his life recklessly. The two could not be more different; however, they discover an attraction between one another that neither boy really understands. After an altercation in the locker room after rugby practice, the two boys become fast friends. David quits the rugby team as he begins to question what makes him happy in life; he spends increasingly more time with Theo at his grandmother Gretel’s house. David has a passion for horticulture and finds himself helping Gretel with her immaculate garden where she has planted a “blue lawn” of grape hyacinths which have yet to bloom.
When Gretel discovers the two boys entwined together half-naked asleep in bed, she sends Theo back to Auckland to live with his mother. Theo leaves town without a word to David. David is hurt and confused; he takes out his anger on Gretel blaming her for sending Theo away. David soon travels to Auckland to stay with his sister Janet, he plans to track Theo down while there. When David finds Theo the two boys discuss their feelings while they spend several days together. At the end of the trip David has confided in Janet his homosexuality and feels confident in his feelings for Theo. Unfortunately, Theo continues to struggle with his own feelings of which he has not come to completely accept yet. David and Theo say their goodbyes but agree to stay in touch in the future.
Upon returning home David goes to see Gretel and her garden, David and Gretel briefly talk of Theo and she tells David more of her sad past. Gretel’s “blue lawn” has bloomed and it is a truly unique and beautiful, much in the same way the boy’s relationship was.
The Blue Lawn is about two boys who struggle with their homosexual feelings toward one another. Much of the story is believable, although much seems left out or lacking in substance. The book does not discuss many characters outside of David and Theo, and in turn fails to address the social turmoil the boys may feel about their homosexual identities. Neither boy ever addresses how their families or friends might react if they were to come “out” and it seems peculiar that no one ever questions the extremely close relationship the boys have with one another that seemed to happen out of nowhere and very quickly. Nonetheless, gay, bisexual, or questioning teens will most likely find the characters’ struggle with their feelings to be genuine and honestly written.
The character of Gretel, Theo’s grandmother seems underdeveloped. Her brief telling of her past as a victim of the holocaust seems lacking after most of the story seemed to have led up to this point. It seems ill-thought and leads the reader questioning why it was even part of the story at all. It can be supposed that the general unacceptance of the boys’ feelings by society and what Gretel went through as a Jew is relatable, yet the connection isn’t made clear. Gretel’s “blue lawn” seems to be symbolic of the boys’ relationship with one another being different but still beautiful, however, even this part of the story felt like it could’ve been developed better as well.
Although this book has some flaws and generally seems lacking in more in-depth content, it should appeal to teen readers nonetheless, especially GBQ teens.
When Gretel discovers the two boys entwined together half-naked asleep in bed, she sends Theo back to Auckland to live with his mother. Theo leaves town without a word to David. David is hurt and confused; he takes out his anger on Gretel blaming her for sending Theo away. David soon travels to Auckland to stay with his sister Janet, he plans to track Theo down while there. When David finds Theo the two boys discuss their feelings while they spend several days together. At the end of the trip David has confided in Janet his homosexuality and feels confident in his feelings for Theo. Unfortunately, Theo continues to struggle with his own feelings of which he has not come to completely accept yet. David and Theo say their goodbyes but agree to stay in touch in the future.
Upon returning home David goes to see Gretel and her garden, David and Gretel briefly talk of Theo and she tells David more of her sad past. Gretel’s “blue lawn” has bloomed and it is a truly unique and beautiful, much in the same way the boy’s relationship was.
The Blue Lawn is about two boys who struggle with their homosexual feelings toward one another. Much of the story is believable, although much seems left out or lacking in substance. The book does not discuss many characters outside of David and Theo, and in turn fails to address the social turmoil the boys may feel about their homosexual identities. Neither boy ever addresses how their families or friends might react if they were to come “out” and it seems peculiar that no one ever questions the extremely close relationship the boys have with one another that seemed to happen out of nowhere and very quickly. Nonetheless, gay, bisexual, or questioning teens will most likely find the characters’ struggle with their feelings to be genuine and honestly written.
The character of Gretel, Theo’s grandmother seems underdeveloped. Her brief telling of her past as a victim of the holocaust seems lacking after most of the story seemed to have led up to this point. It seems ill-thought and leads the reader questioning why it was even part of the story at all. It can be supposed that the general unacceptance of the boys’ feelings by society and what Gretel went through as a Jew is relatable, yet the connection isn’t made clear. Gretel’s “blue lawn” seems to be symbolic of the boys’ relationship with one another being different but still beautiful, however, even this part of the story felt like it could’ve been developed better as well.
Although this book has some flaws and generally seems lacking in more in-depth content, it should appeal to teen readers nonetheless, especially GBQ teens.
May 29, 2021
Disclaimer: This was probably a rather impactful story for the time it was written, but since I wasn't even born back then, I don't think I can judge it fairly in its (for lack of a better word) "historical context", so I'm just rating it in my personal pov.
Things I liked about this book:
1. The character of Gretel Meyer. Wonderful lady.
2. The conversations about gardening. Might sound silly, but most of the books about teens show them interested in sports, singing, dancing or reading. All of these things are perfectly fine obviously, but I personally have a soft spot for characters who are into gardening or cooking.
3. I really enjoyed the scenery. I could relate to growing up in a small town, all the places seemed familiar.
4. Touching on rape and sexual assault, as well as other types of violence, even though the word "rape" hasn't been used, it's heavily implied.
Things I didn't enjoy:
2. In connection to 1: this book is incredibly short, so most of the topics aren't really explained further. I would've liked to hear more about Gretel's story, while also simultaneously wanting to know more about Theo's feelings about David and in the end, both fell short for me.
3. I personally didn't feel like there was any chemistry between the two boys, unfortunately. Theo kept calling David "kid" for starters, which... yikes. Their conversations didn't even make it seem like they particularly liked each other, at least most of the time. When they get together they're often fighting, while later the book just tells you, they talk to each other on the phone or they get along great. Don't tell me, show me! Because that entire thing makes it really awkward when they have their "relationship talks", at least to me. The first time it happened I was super confused because I didn't even get that they even considered each other to be friends, let alone have a crush on each other. Idk...
Things I don't know what to do with:
The language. Now, I didn't grow up in NZ and I wasn't a teen in the 90s, so I can't judge too much and I know slang changes, but while reading I often found myself saying "Teens don't talk like that." Especially when they talked about their feelings, it just felt off, language-wise, I can't really explain it.
Final thoughts: Despite my rating, I don't regret reading this at all. Sure, it's not my new favourite, BUT after typing all of this out and thinking about it, I'm sure that I'm simply not the target group and that's fine. I'm convinced this helped a lot of kids growing up and that's wonderful. Besides, I love reading "older" stories with LGBTQ+ representation, just out of curiosity, so I'm glad I gave this a shot.
Things I liked about this book:
1. The character of Gretel Meyer. Wonderful lady.
2. The conversations about gardening. Might sound silly, but most of the books about teens show them interested in sports, singing, dancing or reading. All of these things are perfectly fine obviously, but I personally have a soft spot for characters who are into gardening or cooking.
3. I really enjoyed the scenery. I could relate to growing up in a small town, all the places seemed familiar.
4. Touching on rape and sexual assault, as well as other types of violence, even though the word "rape" hasn't been used, it's heavily implied.
Things I didn't enjoy:
2. In connection to 1: this book is incredibly short, so most of the topics aren't really explained further. I would've liked to hear more about Gretel's story, while also simultaneously wanting to know more about Theo's feelings about David and in the end, both fell short for me.
3. I personally didn't feel like there was any chemistry between the two boys, unfortunately. Theo kept calling David "kid" for starters, which... yikes. Their conversations didn't even make it seem like they particularly liked each other, at least most of the time. When they get together they're often fighting, while later the book just tells you, they talk to each other on the phone or they get along great. Don't tell me, show me! Because that entire thing makes it really awkward when they have their "relationship talks", at least to me. The first time it happened I was super confused because I didn't even get that they even considered each other to be friends, let alone have a crush on each other. Idk...
Things I don't know what to do with:
The language. Now, I didn't grow up in NZ and I wasn't a teen in the 90s, so I can't judge too much and I know slang changes, but while reading I often found myself saying "Teens don't talk like that." Especially when they talked about their feelings, it just felt off, language-wise, I can't really explain it.
Final thoughts: Despite my rating, I don't regret reading this at all. Sure, it's not my new favourite, BUT after typing all of this out and thinking about it, I'm sure that I'm simply not the target group and that's fine. I'm convinced this helped a lot of kids growing up and that's wonderful. Besides, I love reading "older" stories with LGBTQ+ representation, just out of curiosity, so I'm glad I gave this a shot.
January 4, 2019
I'd really like to see this book turned into a film. Maybe expanded and the screenplay written by the author.
April 10, 2010
I read lame books about gay teen boys for poorly written makeout scenes and ridiculous melodrama, not poorly written monologues about "10%", "phases as many as half of boys go through", "I know the words, I use them myself" etc etc.
Nazi survivor subplot also went nowhere.
I will be happy when I get to weed this one, b/c it's pretty damn lame.
Nazi survivor subplot also went nowhere.
I will be happy when I get to weed this one, b/c it's pretty damn lame.
July 23, 2020
Blah? Saw it was LGBTQ so.... read it but it was mostly dialog and boring. It's from the 90's so I wasn't expecting much.
August 16, 2012
(no Spoiler) I am personally a sensitive person, and The Blue Lawn really got me carried away. Although the ending doesn't end like I wanted it to be, but it was still a good one. The story has some cute bits and bits that I'd go like 'oh my gosh, really?'. I totally understand that writing a homosexual-themed novel in 1995 was still a ground breaking experience, so when Theo and David had something, Taylor didn't go to the field which discouraged me a little, not that I expected anything anyway :P My only complaint is that David and Theo' friendship progressed way too fast, I didn't get that real excitement I longed for. However, I like the vocabulary choice, this book indeed has improved mine a lot.
Ultimately, I enjoyed this book. After you read this book, you will leave with a sadness that would be able to justify.
Ultimately, I enjoyed this book. After you read this book, you will leave with a sadness that would be able to justify.
March 17, 2013
SlashReaders: To be honest with you I didn't really like the way this book was written. Things were odd from the start all the way through till the end. It did get a little bit better but it was still just... odd.
The book was very culturally realistic in some ways and did a good job of capturing the 'hickishness' of the setting and some of the characters.
While the book had some good points yes, and some interesting characters especially the grandmother... She was part of the only reason I finished reading it. But it might just be me, I did not overly enjoy the book. It's a short, easy to read and it does have some fun moments.
The book was very culturally realistic in some ways and did a good job of capturing the 'hickishness' of the setting and some of the characters.
While the book had some good points yes, and some interesting characters especially the grandmother... She was part of the only reason I finished reading it. But it might just be me, I did not overly enjoy the book. It's a short, easy to read and it does have some fun moments.
April 11, 2009
I really wanted to like this book more but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I have no problem with the content, but it's the writing style that I just couldn't get. Things are so vague and the ending is not good at all. I don't mind endings that make you think, but this one just quits as if the author was stumped and so he quit. This book is written for the New Zealand audience so that might explain the differences, but I still feel the book lacks so much that was possible with the love story behind two teenage males that want to love each other but don't know how.
June 25, 2007
I guess I was expecting at least a little sexual tension, and there wasn't any, and then I realized there was supposed to be and it just wasn't there, and then it was over, and I was very, very confused. The rest of it was good though.
August 30, 2015
At the risk of being rude, it was a nice little coming of age story. The writing was OK but I thought the writer would/should get better with age. The boy was not as interesting as the older woman. She a mass of contradictions.
September 25, 2011
Very short and simplistic. David and Theo having a friendship. Not particularly believable. For example I could not accept that Theo would act so calmly as he did at the end.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews