Monday, November 29, 2021

11.29.2021

Boy Underground by Catherine Ryan Hyde

Many thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for gifting me the latest novel by Catherine Ryan Hyde - a must-read author for me.  4.5 stars rounded up.

In 1941, Steven didn't fit in at home or at school.  Then he met a group of friends who became tight - Ollie, Nick and Suki.  Steven's family were landowners; the other boys' dads were field workers.  Steven also began to realize that he had feelings for Nick that went beyond friendship.  After the attack at Pearl Harbor sent the US to war, more things changed for the friends.  Suki and his family were sent to an internment camp, Ollie enlisted in the war, and Nick was charged with a crime he didn't commit.  

Every book Catherine Ryan Hyde writes touches emotions, teaches you, and makes you really think..  Even though you know that the characters all wouldn't be so self-aware and say just the perfect things, every challenging topic is handled in such a wonderful and insightful way.  This book deals with racism, classism, homophobia as well as parental abuse and neglect.  But it also deals with the power of friendship, family, loyalty, and love.

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