I gratefully received an advance reader's copy of this novel from Net Galley and Atria books in exchange for an honest review.
Book summary(via Goodreads):
The Walker family is good at keeping secrets from the world. They are even better at keeping them from each other.
Max Walker is a golden boy. Attractive, intelligent, and athletic, he's the perfect son, the perfect friend, and the perfect crush for the girls in his school. He's even really nice to his little brother. Karen, Max's mother, is a highly successful criminal lawyer, determined to maintain the façade of effortless excellence she has constructed through the years. Now that the boys are getting older, now that she won’t have as much control, she worries that the façade might soon begin to crumble. Adding to the tension, her husband, Steve, has chosen this moment to stand for election to Parliament. The spotlight of the media is about to encircle their lives.
The Walkers are hiding something, you see. Max is special. Max is different. Max is intersex. When an enigmatic childhood friend named Hunter steps out of his past and abuses his trust in the worst possible way, Max is forced to consider the nature of his well-kept secret. Why won't his parents talk about it? What else are they hiding from Max about his condition and from each other? The deeper Max goes, the more questions emerge about where it all leaves him and what his future holds, especially now that he's starting to fall head over heels for someone for the first time in his life. Will his friends accept him if he is no longer the Golden Boy? Will anyone ever want him — desire him — once they know? And the biggest one of all, the question he has to look inside himself to answer: Who is Max Walker, really?
This insomniac's opinion:
Max is my absolute favorite character so far this year! And, this is saying something as I am on book number 84 as we speak. He worked his way into my heart in the very first pages and I am certain that he will live there for eternity.
This book starts with a bang. Immediately there is a violent episode. Generally, I don't like when such a thing happens at the very beginning of a novel. However, this episode is the catalyst for the unfolding of events that makes up the body of this novel. I could not stop reading this novel once I began. It was well-written with wonderfully quirky characters and a unique plot. I simply adored it.
I truly believe this novel to be a must-read and hope that you all will add it to your to-read piles! Happy reading!
Worth staying up all night to read?
Yes! Yes! Yes! What are you waiting for????
Rating:
6 stars - What? You say there are only five stars? Well, then- 5 stars. Big, twinkling stars.
No comments:
Post a Comment