Parker

by Stephanie MacNeil

The secret came out a few years Parker Knight is gay. Now Parker is sixteen, and everyone has either embraced it, does not care, or has forgotten-everyone except for Dylan Baker. He is determined to make Parker's life miserable. Parker really thought killing himself would make everything better. If he was dead, he would not have to get kicked around by Dylan and his friends anymore. He would be free. Now, after a failed suicide attempt, Parker just wants to get through the last few months of tenth grade and stay as far away from Dylan as possible. What's worse is Parker is secretly in love with his best friend, Liam Eriksson. But luckily, Liam doesn't know this. Parker does not want to risk losing the friendship by telling him his true feelings. But as a tragedy overshadows his already complicated life, Parker soon discovers that the truth has a habit of surfacing in unexpected ways. Parker is the poignant story of one boy's struggle for acceptance as he reaches out for hope, life, forgiveness and Liam.

226 pages, Paperback

First published November 16, 2012

Reviews

[Tobi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A surprise read, as I picked it up more on a whim than out of a strict inclination to read it. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The timeline skips a little, and it's not always the easiest to notice that the author has done so at any given moment. Similar though by no means as quirky as "Boy meets Boy" - David Levithan...though perhaps a far more "straight" telling of it. (in the lack of quirk not the lack of gay)

[jules0623 · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Parker is the unluckiest kid on Earth! It felt like it was just disaster after disaster for him. But there was a beautiful friendship between him and Liam, and his relationship with his parents was lovely.