Boy

by Blake Nelson

In the style of Blake Nelson’s cult favorite, Girl comes a brand-new story about the moments in life that change how you see everything and everyone you always thought you knew—including yourself.

Every school has them: the cool kids. The insiders. Gavin Meeks is one of them. He lives an easy life of parties, girls, snowboarding adventures and whatever else comes his way.

But when dark, dramatic Antoinette crash-lands at Evergreen High, the entire school feels the impact. Antoinette has seen things, been places, experienced deep tragedy first-hand. She’s not just a rebel, she’s a force of nature. Gavin, for one, is captivated and is soon pursuing interests he never knew he had. With a camera in hand, he finds a way to express his own truth, including his feelings for his favorite subject: Antoinette. It all leads to one passionate, life-altering night in this achingly authentic story from bestselling author Blake Nelson.

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Audiobook, Young Adult Contemporary, Coming Of Age

368 pages, Hardcover

First published June 6, 2017

About the author

Blake Nelson grew up in Portland, Oregon. He began his career writing short humor pieces for Details Magazine.

His first novel GIRL was originally serialized in SASSY magazine and was made into a film staring Selma Blaire and Portia De Rossi.

His novel PARANOID PARK won the prestigious International Grinzane Literary Award and was made into a film by Gus Van Sant.

His most recent Young Adult novel THE PRINCE OF VENICE BEACH has been shortlisted for the 2015 Edgar Award.

His 2011 novel RECOVERY ROAD has been adapted into a television drama for ABC FAMILY and will premier in January of 2016.

Reviews

[Mikaela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let me start by saying, This book is not a "bad" book. However, I do find some issues with the plot and description of the book. When I picked this book, I was under the impression that Antoinette and Gavin were going to have this epic love story. That is not the case though. Gavin and Antoinette hardly spoke. There was no building of their relationship, yet some how Gavin "falls in love" with Antoinette. Antoinette turns Gavin down and they remain friends and that pretty much ends the appearance of Antoinette in the book. Gavin spent more time talking with Kai, Antoinette's friend than Antoinette. Also the part about Hanna having a psychotic break and Gavin being super worried about her was kind of weird. Overall, the book was captivating and there were many dramatic events which kept me interested. I just think that the description should be different. The description of the book should not emphasize Antoinette, but should aim to focus on Gavin and his altering life throughout high school.

[Susane Colasanti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Could I love Blake Nelson's books any more? No. No, I could not. BOY brought all the feels of classic Blake Nelson, and was such a fun, reflective read. Absolutely recommended...along with all of his other books!

[Madeline · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this book was a pretty nice, easy read. The thing that got me kind of upset was in the description they said he focused mostly on Antionette and it seemed like he was going to fall in love with her throughout the book . But in the story he had multiple girlfriends and at at the end him and Antioniette just were friends. Over all though the book was a fun read but I could only give it 2 stars.

[Shannis McEwen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so good. Honestly you could just say it's an updated version of Nelson's early-90s classic, Girl, but that's not meant in a bad way. This time we follow a boy named Gavin through his sophomore, junior, and senior years of high school, and it's way better than the time Blake Nelson wrote a poorly realized follow up to Girl and published it in blog format. His writing hasn't been this good in a long time. Well worth the wait!

[Christiana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Uh. This was fine. Unfortunately, this read like an uninteresting dude learning how to be a little interesting. Not a lot interesting! That’s what happens in college. I can’t decide if Gavin wasn’t an authentic teen at all or just a person who didn’t have a story to tell yet. Either way, the meandering plot didn’t work for me and I hated that he read unattached to anything. Even his supposed passion, photography.

[Cecily Black · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the male perspective in this novel, it was a decent coming of age story from the male perpective. Reminded me a little of Thirteen Reasons Why probably because there is a female character named Hannah but just her personality and everyone worrying about her made me think of the novel.
I really enjoyed the photography angle and that creative angst.
Decent Read!

[Kelly]

I just love how Nelson writes average teens and does so in a way where the voice is just pitch-perfect. An enjoyable ride as Gavin figures out what he wants in his life, watches huge and uncomfortable changes happen in his family and holy shit, there have been a LOT of books about divorcing parents this year in YA which is really great to see , and tries to figure out what it is he wants in a romantic relationship...as well as in his non-romantic relationships.

[Anika · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not sure how I feel about this book. I didn’t really connect with any of the characters, so I found myself not remembering the names and backstories of the multitude of characters which were in the book.
I enjoyed the inclusion of photography as the main character’s hobby, but there wasn’t much else that I really loved about this book.

Overall: eh.

[C.I. DeMann · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's remarkable how powerful a story can be when you focus on every single detail -- good, bad, or indifferent -- over a high school kid's sophomore, junior, and senior years. The reader becomes attached to the character in such a deep way. And because the author's giving you the entire story -- not just some exciting, dramatic, finish line sort of conflict -- when you're done with the book, you're like 'wow, I'm not sure what the story was there, but damn, was it good, and wow, I feel very conflicted about all of it.' That's my reaction to Boy. I'm not sure what the story was, but I absolutely loved following our hero through it. With no obvious conflict and no obvious climax, arriving at the end is really quite poignant. You're not sure if there were winners or losers, but you're a little sad you can't follow the character further.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this on the recommendation of a teenager who loved it.

[Gwen's reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

To start with, the book wasn't that bad and I actually enjoyed it, brought me back to high school feels. But I have some issues with it, though. First, I thought Antoinette would've made a huge impact on the main character, Gavin, and they'll be in a romantic relationship somehow because of her emphasis in the description and reading the first few chapters made me assume that she would be but it turns out, she lost her effect as the story progresses. Kai made more impact on Gavin than Antoinette did. Second, I kind of got bored halfway through reading it because I felt like it was repetitive and the only interesting scene in the book that sparked my excitement was when Gavin and Richie went on the rally and Hanna going missing and those scenes lasted only like 2-4 chapters. It annoyed me when Gavin would deny it when Kai and Antoinette would call him a push-over when he truly is and he does let his friends pick out the girl he dates. Gavin was gullible when it comes to attractive/hot girls, but I guess that's the truth with most boys.

Now for the things I liked about the book: I like that it's an accurate description of high school, the dramas, the gossips, the 'social status', and the pressure that you face every year of it. The struggles that every student faces especially mental health, I just hope Claude's issues were tackled more and then Hanna, she's another example that it doesn't matter how popular you are when depression got to you. I kinda felt bad for her when the other students, some were her friends, wouldn't feel as sympathetic but it's a lesson learned, don't be a bully ya'll. I also like the way they focused on Gavin's family issues and how he handled it. I'm in love with Kai, she's a complex character and I felt more chemistry between her and Gavin than Antoinette.

[Veronica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boy by Blake Nelson is a realistic fiction story about a boy named Gavin Meeks, a popular teenage boy who didn’t really associate himself with anything that wasn’t normal to him or his friends. When he meets and becomes friends with a girl named Antonette and her friend Kai, and he becomes more interested in photography his life becomes a bit more interesting.

I personally didn’t like this book. I thought it was kind of boring and forgettable. I felt like Gavin didn’t really have a goal throughout the book, he was just going through his everyday life. He hung out with his friends, dated girls, and went to parties, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it just felt like that was almost all of what he did during the book. Even when he started hanging out with antonette and kai, and started getting more interested in photography, it still felt like a lot of his life consisted of those same three things. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes drama between people, but I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone who prefers books with a clear goal for the main character. Overall I would rate this book a ⅖.

[Meadow Scruggs · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book wasn't very believable. No decent parent is just going to let their kid fly to Germany with a man they've never met before. I get that it's fiction, but that's simply stupid. It moves way too fast, over the course of three years (roughly, I could barely keep up) and had almost no plot at all. It was represented as a boy falling in love with this girl, picking up photography on the side. It was mostly photography, drugs, relationships, with Antoniette and Kai on the side. And at one point, for at least five chapters, it didn't tell us anything about the family. No updates at all. And since it moves so fast, that could've been four months or so. I have no idea.
So basically, it had barely any plot, moved unrealistically fast, and made no sense.

[Kenniyah Logan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a fictional book about a boy named Gavin who is trying to find his place in life when he meets a girl and she challenges him. Every choice he makes is based on his friends and family opinions. Even the girl. This girl name is Antoinette. Antoinette is a secret smoker whose gain attraction from Gavin because of her brother's suicide. And to sum up Gavin he is just an insecure white boy whose afraid of what everyone else thinks and has self- esteem issues. This book is cliche and boring. It could've been written better.

If this was a Rainbow Rowell book or a Nicola Yoon this would've had diversity. Which this book lacked.

[Marianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I devoured it. The same way I devoured Girl almost 22 years ago. There's just something about Blake Nelson's writing style and characters that makes me pause and absorb the words every couple of pages. That perfect way he describes certain things. BOY will go next to GIRL and will get picked up and read and re read over and over again.

****Dearest Mr. Nelson,
I'm going to need a sequel. Gavin in LA needs to be written. Andrea got her sequel, Gavin needs his. 😉

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for professional review.

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

He's no Andrea Marr, but I liked this Boy.

[bjneary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gavin Meeks is such a believable teen; he is cute, plays tennis, has friends, and life feels pretty good. This book takes place during Gavin's sophomore, junior and senior year. I liked Gavin's thoughts, his conversations - he was a good kid who finds are pretty easy, but one day he meets Antionette after her brother has killed himself and Gavin's life changes. Because he is tall, Blond and is popular, he never wants for girl friends, but Antoinette keeps hammering away that Gavin's friends are not "real" people. Gavin's fall from grace when he kisses his best friend's girlfriend has him questioning what he wants to do in life, so he picks up a camera, becomes friends with Richie a sometime photographer and starts to hang out with Antoinette and Kai. As a librarian my students loved Blake Nelson books - they speak to teens of life and high school and this book is perfect for teens! With lots of mistakes, drama, and soul searching, Gavin's 3 years of high school will resonate with teens.

[Christian Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a decent book but not a lot to keep you interesting like nothing was overly exciting. Its about a boy named Gavin and his popular friends and how he's in the it crowd and how there's people on the outside. A girls brother kills himself and the girl peaks Gavin's interest and he goes to her house and just watches it. She walks out and sees him and doesn't over react. Gavin picks up his brothers camera and decides that he wants to go to art school instead of playing tennis. His friends set him up with different girls but things happen. One of his friends ends up somewhere she didn't think she would ever end up. The book is broken up into sections of their high school life. It ends with them going to college.

[Karen Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, interesting, different. I can't make up my mind how to rate this. The characterization is excellent, but the plot is ambiguous and there isn't really an ending ? It's more like a realistic chronicle of a sensitive boy's senior year of high school. Authentic sounding, good and bad.

I can't tell if maybe it's masterful but somehow I missed the memo.
Theme - finding your true self. That much I got. And I cared about the boy.
It is also a commentary on selfishness = emptiness (the dad), and resignation = emptiness (the mom).

I'm glad I read it and I may read it again.
I do appreciate that I can't easily categorize it.

[Annika Kunert · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would like to begin this review by saying that the author is very talented when it comes to putting words on paper and I would wish nothing against him. Now as someone who grew up in the Portland area it was nice to see many things referenced although I unfortunately would not read this book again. The writing was good but to be blunt there was no plot. Maybe that was the greater message of the book, to show a sense of unknowingness, but if I had to breakdown the book I wouldn’t be able to find a climax for the life of me. All things considered I regret to inform that this book is not one I can truthfully recommend.

[Avery · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the book could be really inspiring. In it, it shows a popular boy going through high school, while dealing with family issues and uncovering one major question; who is he? When Antoinette, a girl who has just experienced the loss of somebody close, and has a knack for standing out- is just the person to help him out. With the help of his friends, old and new, protagonist Gavin Meeks discovers that there is more to a perfect life than being cool, and eventually discovers his true passion. This book will intrigue it's readers from start to finish.

[Sophie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was bland. Not very memorable in any way. Even the big events were anticlimactic because of the narrator’s voice and point of view. Honestly, I can understand that the point of the book was to show that high school isn’t that important in the grand scheme of things, and how the narrators voice could fit the story in that sense, but it really wasn’t that enjoyable and it took me an absurdly long amount of time to finish it because I never really got into it. I’m not saying it was a bad book, but it wasn’t anything special at all and I probably would not recommend it.

[dev · Rating 3 out of 5]

pretty okay book. didn't like how the time would randomly fast forward, leaving some character or story arcs unfinished and abruptly cut. this includes most of gavin's love interests, and even antoinette, which was supposedly the main love interest, but they barely spoke to each other, or did anything together romantically except for the time in germany, but that was on purpose. i loved the ending sentence: "Welcome to your life." would've loved to see how gavin ended up and what he did in cal arts.

[Cherie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reminiscient of Andrea Marr of Blake Nelson's "Girl," but def a much richer crowd here, the story of a typical suburban boy, a tennis star, popular, who begins to realize there is life beyond his high school. Inspired by a noncomformist classmate who doesn't care what others think, Gavin slowly begins to develop into himself as a unique individual in the most beautiful way. Fast-paced, conversational writing.

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wouldn't necessarily say this book is "bad".... it's just totally linear and had no climax or thick plot. A boy is navigating his life from the cookie cutter suburbs, and dabbling in things that are "different" for him. Writing was also pretty plain. I stand by my 2/5 stars, wouldn't recommend unless you got this book for free and it was sitting on your shelf like it was for me, even then your shelf probably has something more interesting.

[Alyssah M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The synopsis of the book was misleading but the book was overall a great ride. I loved Gavin’s character development and during the course of high school he found out what he truly admired which was photography. This novel depicts unexpected decisions and that high school is gonna be a bumpy ride. This is a great coming-of-age book! And it will really tackle on unforeseen friendships, family situations and the fear of what will happen in the future.

[Aaron · Rating 2 out of 5]

The narrator of the audiobook seems like a good match. The book just wasn't very interesting (not sure why I stuck with the whole thing. Probably because it was so innocuous and served as good background when I was doing other things). There isn't really a story arc, aren't really any conflicts and resolutions, or much character development (there is some, but not very much). Enh. Can't really recommend this one.

[Ann Valdez · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too much of high school students weed smoking, drinking, and having sex with multiple partners for me to want this in the high school library. Last 1/3 of book was much better than the first 2/3.
A student read the ARC I had and liked it, and it will probably be popular with many students as it is good writing with a very likeable male protagonist.

[Allycat88 · Rating 3 out of 5]

decent story telling and character development, just not for me.
Gavin's character felt like the typical all american boy who could be bought with the typical currency of high school, girls and popularity. I am not into that very much so for most of the story I was annoyed. Then it got better as he makes some real friends and enjoys hanging out with them and developing his photography skills.