Stephen (USA: MD) (2011/11/18):
Ethan is a young man who prides himself on being an outlier. One who chooses to NOT fit in and yet tries to have a positive image of himself despite the judgement of others. He is, as his soon to be boyfriend first notices, a charmer. Ethan's gay and his best gal pal is a disapproving evangelical Christian. His older brother has also turned to the church life and his mother is going through a divorce after kicking her sometimes too childish husband out of their home. Ethan's also "gone goth" partly in tribute to his distant relative Edgar Allen Poe. This is another smart, charming read about a teenager on the cusp of coming out and coming into his own. It works as a roamance and a coming of age story. At the same time it raises thought provoking questions about the whole Evolution vs. Intelligent Design debate, the reasons that some folks turn to religious zealotry and the harm that they often inflict on themselves, their familes and their communities. As dark as some of the events are this one ends on a hopeful note as Ethan learns about his own inner strength and comes to understand himself better. Overall a great read. I knew almost nothing of BIID before I read it and it's a great story on many levels. It has a few dark moments but is mostly hopeful and ends on an upbeat note while leaving you plenty to think about. BTW clueless Max gets the best line in the the entire novel. And the best malaprop of the year... It's an erectoral vote.... it doesn't mean dick.
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