Rating: 
Summary: A mesmerising story of love, loss and redemption.
Review: At times I found myself holding my breath, such was the intensity of this story and the beauty of the language. The love between Roy and Nathan was so eloquently and poetically realised; yet at the same time it seemed too fragile a force to deal with the realities of their world. It is a strange thing, to CARE so passionately about characters on a page. It is a mark of Grimsley's skill as a writer that the reader falls headlong into the world of Roy and Nathan; hoping against hope for a happy ending. I have read and re-read favourite passages from this book, and feel the richer for having done so. I was impressed with the manner in which Grimsley balanced both the physical passion and emotional connection that existed between Nathan and Roy; juxtaposing their relationship with the hypocrisy and violence of their 'everyday' lives. There are only a handful of books I have read that will stay with me forever. 'Dream Boys' is one such book.
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Summary: Seductive, compelling tale
Review: I read DREAM BOY a couple of years ago, shortly after its hardcover publication. I was on a business trip, and stayed up well into the night to finish what I still consider to be one of my favorite novels. Grimsley's use of the first-person is a particularly wicked turn of style: I was hooked on page one, immediately drawn into the lives of these two boys. Seductive may be a better descriptor, for DREAM BOY is nothing if not seductive. While most readers may identify with Nathan's pain and his unwavering affection for Roy, it is Roy's love for Nathan that most captivated me. Strong yet subtle, confused yet confident, his undeniable passion and desire for Nathan give the book its emotional core. An unsteady core, to be sure. But it is that unsteadiness that allows the reader to more fully appreciate Roy's love, and to more easily understand the novel's inevitable climax. Much has been written about DREAM BOY's ending, mostly comments on Grimsley's talented use of some very powerful, dream-like imagery. But I think the ending only serves to remind us that Grimsley's real genius in this tale is his careful manipulation of his readers--to the point that we are willing to believe...either that the dead can rise and angels exist, or that a tortured soul can survive and redemption exists. Either way, he is simply asking us to believe in the same hope that allowed Nathan and Roy's relationship to blossom in the first place. Tonight, I have just seen Eric Rosen's stage adaptation of DREAM BOY, at Atlanta's 7 Stages, where Mr. Grimsley is a playwright-in-residence. The performance was textually and visually precise...nearly as emotionally stunning as the book itself. James McKay's Nathan will quietly draw you in, and Christopher Graham's Roy will make you believe, just as Nathan does, that this love is real...that it is somehow worth the pain.
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Summary: "Dream Boy" possesses a sensitivity and attention to detail
Review: I have just finished reading "Dream Boy" this morning and have been thinking about it most of the day. In perusing other reader reviews, I am intrigued by the focus that most put on the ending of the book. Much more than discussing the ambiguity of the last 30 pages, which only enriches the work with its complexity of meaning and significance to the individual reader, I would instead relish the chance to sit down with the author for a day and discuss life, pain, fear, and the rituals of growing up. A book containing the sensitivities and wisdom found here can only spring from a source equally as insightful. Thank you Jim Grimsley for the detail and care with which you wrote this book. I am ordering your other works today.
Rating:
Summary: A masterwork of beauty, tenderness, and terror.
Review: "Dream Boy" is an evocative story of a young man discovering himself in the South and the horrors that await that discovery. Grimsley has created a new genre of fiction: the Southern Gay Gothic. His main character Nathan is a sort of gay Everyman who is forced to live in a world far too familiar to anyone growing up gay in small town America. With brilliant prose Grimsley takes you into Nathan's world of Saturday night sinning and Sunday morning sanctificaton and sends you on a roller coaster ride of fear and joy. You don't just care for the characters in this book, you live with them long after the novel concludes. I look forward with great anticipation for the chance to see Mr. Grimsley's stage adaptation of this brilliant piece of literature, one which will surely rank high in the epoch of the New Gay Nineties.
Rating:
Summary: Each turn of the page taunted my emotions.
Review: This is a great book. I cryed like a baby in the end. I thought I figured the book out but was taken by surprise. When near the last few chapters, I was afraid for Nathan and I stopped reading to think about how to get in touch with the author to make him change the ending. My poor friend Nathan. I wanted to help him so much, but was held back by the reality of fiction. My heart was squeezed that day, thanks for the emotional high.
Rating:
Summary: A beautiful, well-written unforgettable book
Review: As a former 15-year bookseller, this book gladdens the heart. My reaction to this book made me miss the fine art of handselling a book. Unforgettable characters and a haunting style of writing made this a book that was difficult to put down. A beautiful love story-powerful and erotic, yet never obscene, except in its brutal depiction of inhumanity. Loved the dreamlike quality of the ending and would love to see a sequel, though, the book is certainly complete as it is. I look forward to reading more from this brilliant author.
Rating: 
Summary: Some commments about the ending
Review: I've checked Amazon periodically to see what kind of reviews Dream Boy has gotten from its readers and have been delighted in general. The end of Dream Boy is intended to further the whole dreamlike quality of the book, not to resolve the story. Readers who prefer an ending without ambiguity will not find the book to be satisfying. It is disturbing to read comments written by readers who feel enabled to assess an artist's whole life from their individual reaction to a book. But most readers (like many of those whose comments are shown below) have been happy with the book's evocation of love between two teenage boys. I wrote the kind of book that I myself like to read, and I hope anyone coming to Dream Boy will not ask it to be something other than itself.
Rating:
Summary: A haunting story of love and tenderness
Review: There are some books that you just read and then there are novels like this. I felt like I entered into a world where the tenderest feelings fight to live among those who would destroy them. Dreamlike and evocative, Dream Boy pulls you deeper into its story and you become one with Roy and Nathan and share their love.
Rating: 
Summary: mediocre but sweet
Review: overall mediocre - simplistic but also a bit pretentious... pretty cliched too. yeah, this might be a nice book for oprah to recommend - seems to be her style - but it really isn't particularly good... it's not particularly bad either, though... a very quick, fairly absorbing read, written by someone who is probably a very sweet man... he gets a point or two for his nonirritating use of the present tense throughout (a hard trick)... the religious symbolism is a bit much, though... it could have been appropriate, but doesn't seem to have really been thought out too much... also, i liked nathan and roy, but didn't really feel like i got to know either of them at all... i mainly felt sorry for them... i also agree that the end does seem to come from another book... i don't feel any worse off for having read the book, but it definitely could have been a lot better... there were sparks of talent here or there, but... a nice, sweet book for gay teens to read... not to say straight teens can't read novels about gay characters... there just isn't a lot here to hold your interest without being able to identify with that most fleshed out aspect of either nathan or roy's personalities... oh well... hmmm... others seem to have disagreed...
Rating: 
Summary: Underdeveloped plot and characters
Review: Grimsley did an adequate job with descriptive prose that helped to create teh scene within which the "plot" unfolds. Howver, his focus on imagery appears to have detracted him from fully developing the characters and the plot. . The books ending was disjointed. . almost as if it came from some other book. This was my first read by this author. . it doubt that i'll continue to read his work.
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