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Borrowed Boy
An entire life can be snatched away in an instant.
Thirteen-year-old Zavier Beckham is an average teen living in Memphis. He has great parents and a quirky best friend named Cole. He’s happy, and he thinks his life is totally normal… until an FBI agent shows up and informs Zavier he was stolen as an infant and sold to an adoption agency.
Now his biological parents want him back.
Forced to confront his distant past, Zavier faces an uncertain future. He may be taken from the only home he’s known by parents who are strangers living in Chicago. He may have to deal with a brother who hates and torments him. He meets Brendan, an older boy who offers him friendship and wakens a strong, unsettling attraction in Zavier. Brendan has secrets of his own, and he’ll either be the one ray of light in Zavier’s tense situation or the last straw that breaks Zavier under the pressure.
Thirteen-year-old Zavier Beckham is an average teen living in Memphis. He has great parents and a quirky best friend named Cole. He’s happy, and he thinks his life is totally normal… until an FBI agent shows up and informs Zavier he was stolen as an infant and sold to an adoption agency.
Now his biological parents want him back.
Forced to confront his distant past, Zavier faces an uncertain future. He may be taken from the only home he’s known by parents who are strangers living in Chicago. He may have to deal with a brother who hates and torments him. He meets Brendan, an older boy who offers him friendship and wakens a strong, unsettling attraction in Zavier. Brendan has secrets of his own, and he’ll either be the one ray of light in Zavier’s tense situation or the last straw that breaks Zavier under the pressure.
- GenresContemporary
172 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 13, 2018
2 people are currently reading
38 people want to read
About the author
Gene Gant
17 books47 followersGene Gant lives with his family in a small, rural community in West Tennessee. He has been a ghost writer for many years and is looking forward to publishing more works under his own name.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 20, 2020
3.5
There were lots of different aspects of this book that I thought could be really interesting and different to explore - the 'stolen at birth', the new family, the sexuality - but unfortunately not enough time was taken on any of the aspects, so the book fell short for me.
In here we follow Zavier, who has lived most of his life in a nice home, with parents he loves, until one day when police show up to the door and explain that he was stolen at birth (by someone who sold him into adoption, not by the family he's grown up with) and that his birth parents want him back.
From here it's a whirlwind of meeting family he never knew he had, leaving behind everything he knew about his life and trying to fit into a place he's never been before.
A few things about the book bugged me, one of the most notable was how the birth parents demanded he
Another part that didn't sit right with me was that more attention was put towards the bio parents and how they were happy about finding their son, rather than about how Zavier himself was feeling about leaving his home, friends, family, whole life behind.
I also remember the other brother being especially annoying. Yes, it's totally understandable that you would have a lot of negative feelings and emotions towards a total stranger that has been thrust into your house and who your parents have been obsessing over for your entire life - but it's not Zaviers fault.
I can't remember much about the Brendan side of things (I am trying to write this review 8 months after I read it after all...) but bonus points for having a trans character and Zavier accepting them
There were lots of different aspects of this book that I thought could be really interesting and different to explore - the 'stolen at birth', the new family, the sexuality - but unfortunately not enough time was taken on any of the aspects, so the book fell short for me.
In here we follow Zavier, who has lived most of his life in a nice home, with parents he loves, until one day when police show up to the door and explain that he was stolen at birth (by someone who sold him into adoption, not by the family he's grown up with) and that his birth parents want him back.
From here it's a whirlwind of meeting family he never knew he had, leaving behind everything he knew about his life and trying to fit into a place he's never been before.
A few things about the book bugged me, one of the most notable was how the birth parents demanded he
Another part that didn't sit right with me was that more attention was put towards the bio parents and how they were happy about finding their son, rather than about how Zavier himself was feeling about leaving his home, friends, family, whole life behind.
I also remember the other brother being especially annoying. Yes, it's totally understandable that you would have a lot of negative feelings and emotions towards a total stranger that has been thrust into your house and who your parents have been obsessing over for your entire life - but it's not Zaviers fault.
I can't remember much about the Brendan side of things (I am trying to write this review 8 months after I read it after all...) but bonus points for having a trans character and Zavier accepting them
November 14, 2018
A Joyfully Jay review.
3.5 stars
Gene Gant is one of my go to authors for really well crafted young adult stories. I find that this author tends to tackle tough issues and rarely gives his characters a pass on dealing with the fallout of whatever life throws at them. Despite that, the novels are never bleak or the endings without hope and this author’s latest release, Borrowed Boy, stays true to those norms.
Without giving up too much of the plot, Zay’s life has pretty much done a 360 in the blink of an eye. Now, finding out he is to be shipped off to Chicago to live with a different family, including a brother who seems to hate him and has no problem showing it, Zay is really lost and diving down fast. I felt a bit disconnected from this story and, in many ways, that was okay because that’s exactly how Zay felt. However, what I grappled with was how mature Zay was in handling the idea of leaving the only parents he ever knew to go live with virtual strangers.
Read Sammy’s review in its entirety here.
3.5 stars
Gene Gant is one of my go to authors for really well crafted young adult stories. I find that this author tends to tackle tough issues and rarely gives his characters a pass on dealing with the fallout of whatever life throws at them. Despite that, the novels are never bleak or the endings without hope and this author’s latest release, Borrowed Boy, stays true to those norms.
Without giving up too much of the plot, Zay’s life has pretty much done a 360 in the blink of an eye. Now, finding out he is to be shipped off to Chicago to live with a different family, including a brother who seems to hate him and has no problem showing it, Zay is really lost and diving down fast. I felt a bit disconnected from this story and, in many ways, that was okay because that’s exactly how Zay felt. However, what I grappled with was how mature Zay was in handling the idea of leaving the only parents he ever knew to go live with virtual strangers.
Read Sammy’s review in its entirety here.
April 14, 2019
Adoption can be a good thing, but when it goes wrong, like it does in this gripping novel about the consequences of a fake adoption based on illegal papers, the emotional fallout for everyone concerned can be catastrophic. Told from the point of view of thirteen-year-old Zavier, this story is about the events that follow the discovery that his adoption was “fake” – everything from Zavier finding out that he was adopted in the first place, that his biological parents have been looking for him for years, and the crushing (for him) fact that they now want him back. Zavier’s world collapses in one fell swoop and his entire future turns into what he expects to be a disaster.
Please find my full review on Rainbow Book Reviews.
Please find my full review on Rainbow Book Reviews.
November 20, 2018
4 stars
Borrowed Boy is a YA standalone book by Gene Gant. Thirteen-year-old Zavier Beckham is a normal well-adjusted teenager living in Memphis. He loves his parents and has an amazing friend. His life is almost perfect but one day a knock on the door changes everything. Zay finds out he was kidnapped as a baby and sold to an adoption agency which makes his adoption invalid and his real family wants him back.
I liked all the characters. Zavier is a normal kid despite everything and he handled it all way better then I would if I was in his situation. He lasted a lot longer in Chicago than I thought he would. I also loved Brendan. I really like how Gene included a trans character in the story and made Zavier as accepting as he was.
When I first read the blurb I was so excited for this book. This storyline, while one of my favorites, is rarely ever written and when it is, it is not written well but I really enjoyed the way this book was done. I think this would be an amazing ready for children and young adults both cis and transgender.
*** Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie by Harmony Ink/Dreamspinner Press for my reading pleasure, a review wasn't a requirement. ***
Borrowed Boy is a YA standalone book by Gene Gant. Thirteen-year-old Zavier Beckham is a normal well-adjusted teenager living in Memphis. He loves his parents and has an amazing friend. His life is almost perfect but one day a knock on the door changes everything. Zay finds out he was kidnapped as a baby and sold to an adoption agency which makes his adoption invalid and his real family wants him back.
I liked all the characters. Zavier is a normal kid despite everything and he handled it all way better then I would if I was in his situation. He lasted a lot longer in Chicago than I thought he would. I also loved Brendan. I really like how Gene included a trans character in the story and made Zavier as accepting as he was.
When I first read the blurb I was so excited for this book. This storyline, while one of my favorites, is rarely ever written and when it is, it is not written well but I really enjoyed the way this book was done. I think this would be an amazing ready for children and young adults both cis and transgender.
*** Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie by Harmony Ink/Dreamspinner Press for my reading pleasure, a review wasn't a requirement. ***
November 14, 2018
Kind of a short novel. Read it straight through in a day. Loved the characters. This one was full of feelings.
August 24, 2019
The story was a bit slow in some places but it did keep my attention
April 27, 2019
This story was a joy to read through the eyes of thirteen year old Zavier. This is probably a conflicting thing to write but I enjoyed this story so much that even with the difficult topic, I breezed through it and wanted more stories by this author.
The tone and feel of the story was easy to follow, and this would definitely be interesting to a wide audience. I want to share this with my children (although the only reader in the group is a little too young to understand the complexity of this storyline, so I will be waiting until she is older).
Zavier is in an almost impossible situation. His life was going very smoothly, with an amazing and close relationship with his parents, until he finds out he was stolen as a baby and put up for adoption. He still has immense loyalty to his adoptive parents, and has been raised in a way that he has empathy for his birth parents as well. As a thirteen year old, he doesn’t have much choice in how things go, but he does have the choice in how to react to the outcome.
His new friend Brendan seems to be the only respite Zavier gets from the constant reminder of how much his life has changed, and how not-normal things really are for him now. The only problem with their relationship, is Zavier is realising he has a crush, and that adds another layer of worry to his already intensely complicated life. Once Brendan’s secret is out, it is even more confusing for young Zavier to grasp, and it becomes the catalyst to the reaction one might expect when someone is completely overwhelmed and has been trying to hold it in.
All sides of this story came from a place of love, loyalty and the intention to cause the least amount of hurt in an impossible situation. I really appreciated how everyone wanted to do their best and cared deeply for the future outcome for Zavier.
Reading this through Zavier’s point of view narrowed the focus down to a few key points without making the emotional aspect too messy and weighty. The issues were simplified to how Zavier was coping, and what he was trying to achieve with his actions.
A warning from the blurb. BJ, Zavier’s brother, struggles the most with Zavier being found. This comes out as bullying behaviour, so reader beware.
Overall I highly recommend this story and I have plans to read this author’s other work. I’m really glad I picked this up.
The tone and feel of the story was easy to follow, and this would definitely be interesting to a wide audience. I want to share this with my children (although the only reader in the group is a little too young to understand the complexity of this storyline, so I will be waiting until she is older).
Zavier is in an almost impossible situation. His life was going very smoothly, with an amazing and close relationship with his parents, until he finds out he was stolen as a baby and put up for adoption. He still has immense loyalty to his adoptive parents, and has been raised in a way that he has empathy for his birth parents as well. As a thirteen year old, he doesn’t have much choice in how things go, but he does have the choice in how to react to the outcome.
His new friend Brendan seems to be the only respite Zavier gets from the constant reminder of how much his life has changed, and how not-normal things really are for him now. The only problem with their relationship, is Zavier is realising he has a crush, and that adds another layer of worry to his already intensely complicated life. Once Brendan’s secret is out, it is even more confusing for young Zavier to grasp, and it becomes the catalyst to the reaction one might expect when someone is completely overwhelmed and has been trying to hold it in.
All sides of this story came from a place of love, loyalty and the intention to cause the least amount of hurt in an impossible situation. I really appreciated how everyone wanted to do their best and cared deeply for the future outcome for Zavier.
Reading this through Zavier’s point of view narrowed the focus down to a few key points without making the emotional aspect too messy and weighty. The issues were simplified to how Zavier was coping, and what he was trying to achieve with his actions.
A warning from the blurb. BJ, Zavier’s brother, struggles the most with Zavier being found. This comes out as bullying behaviour, so reader beware.
Overall I highly recommend this story and I have plans to read this author’s other work. I’m really glad I picked this up.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews