Stephen (USA: MD) (2011/11/19):
Matty Lee has written a revealing autobiography of a kid who was sexualized at much too young an age but who has apparently gone on to a happier life. He writes in the book jacket intro that he wouldn't trade his childhood for any other. He adds that this book is about how "there is goodness everywhere, even in the darkest of parked cars and leather bars."I'm afraid that some of that is hyperbole. And if it were my life I'd want to believe something like that too. Unfortunately for those of us that had happier childhoods, this book may be depressing and an ordeal to finish. Since the skinny little kid who loved to hide out at the library has gone on to be a published author it's not all bad news, but I found this book seedier and mostly joyless. I've wondered about that. Having just finished the book Target which has a victimized young protagonist who is much sadder for the majority of the book than this kid, I wondered why that book was page turner and this one was an ordeal. I think the answer is in the focus. Target is about the road back after an awful incident. This book dwells more on the downward spiral. While this book may be a form of therapy for the author, I found that it wasn't an uplifting read like Target turned out to be. But then Target is fiction and this is, as far as I can tell, gritty real life. That said, this book does contain some redeeming characters and is worth the time to read if you have a high tolerance for the seedier side of life. I was originally drawn to this book as much by its setting in the run down Miami Beach of the 80's as by it's favorable reviews. In that it doesn't disappoint. I recognized a number of locations from my mid 80's times in Miami Beach when I too was just beginning to explore my gay side.
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