The Backlot Gay Book Forum discussion

Snow Boys
By Simon Doyle
SD Press, 2023
Four stars

Ben and Dean, the tall blond jock and the little skinny nerd, both sixteen. A tale as old as time in the world of YA romance, and yet here, once more, presented in a fresh and touching way.

Ben Hunter is the popular star of the basketball team in his Cork, Ireland, high school—the tallest boy in school. Blond and handsome, he is the boy all the girls want and all the boys want to be. Dean O’Donnell is a short, slender math (or, maths) nerd and an introvert. Nobody knows who he is.

Thing is, Dean is more or less happy with his lot in life. He has loving parents, a couple of good friends (Ashley and Tony) who know he’s gay. He’s good at school. He’s fine. Ben Hunter, on the other hand, should be in his glory, but he’s not. The only good part of his day is on the basketball court with his teammates. His best friend, Erin, appears to be his girlfriend, but she is not. She knows he’s gay, but he isn’t quite sure she believes it. His home life is a shambles, and he’s desperately unhappy—which nobody but Erin can see.

What struck me about this, other than the respectful and gentle way the author handles these two boys and their emergent feelings for each other, is the tough fact that, even in modern-day Ireland, homophobia, or at least the fear of it, is as crippling as it was for me in high school fifty years ago in Northeastern USA. Both of these boys made my heart ache.

The only really horrible thing to happen in the book is not something that happens directly to either boy, but it is harrowing and important in its effects. The greatest enemy in this tale is fear, and it is love’s power to overcome fear that makes all the difference in the story.

The ability of YA romance to tap into deep truths over and over again is a testament to its important relevance to teen life today. I never cease to be amazed at how much I am moved by these stories.