Rating: 
Summary: It made me cry.
Review: What can I say? This book made me cry and the only other books ot have done that were "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" and "Where the Red Fern Grows". Anything that can instill such pathos in another is a worthy read. Just make sure this is the type of book you woudl find interesting. Very good. And yes, "haunting" is a great way to describe as is "saddening", but worth it.
Rating: 
Summary: A two-hour read
Review: A strange little book, this reminded me (in tone if nothing else) of Alain-Fournier's "Le Grand Meaulnes". But it is even slighter than the French classic. I read it straight through in a couple of hours, gripped only by the creepy section in the ruined house in the woods.
The first part that deals with the way Nathan and Roy get together is pure fantasy - schoolboy dreams. The child-abuse subtext is peculiar, cheaply handled perhaps. The ending is surreal and disconnected.
Grimsley writes in a dreamy cloud, but skims the surface. I started to wonder about the meaning of Nathan's return at the end (was it really him or his ghost that came back...) but decided it was like trying to psychoanalyze a soap opera.
Ultimately, a flimsy, rather pointless novella.
Rating: 
Summary: Utterly Unimaginative
Review: I was blissfully unaware of any press when I picked up this book, and though I should be inclined to give another of Grimsley's books a chance, I don't think I will. "Dream Boys" is the most unimaginative book I have ever read. The only heartbreaking aspect of the story is that perfectly healthy trees had to be chopped down to print it.Nathan and Roy are neighbors who attend the same rural high school. Quiet and studious, Nathan is new in town and succeeds at hiding the fact he has moved around so much due to his father's alcoholism and inability to keep a job. Roy is the handsome and robust all-American high school student; everyone likes him and develops a set of expectations that he believes he must fill. When a tentative friendship between the two boys begins to grow, secrets unfold; his father is abusing Nathan, Roy is alienated and lonely. When the friendship develops into romance, the boys enjoy an affection & intimacy that revives both their spirits. On an overnight camping tramp with two of Roy's friends, Randy and Burke, Nathan and Roy are caught having sex. Roy abandons Nathan who is then raped and beaten so violently that he almost dies. In fact, he is virtually left for dead by the town's people who believe he is a ghostly apparition when he wanders from the woods and toward a church service. By way of a resolution, Nathan and Roy run off together. Grimsley employed every overused, burned out stereotype imaginable to construct the two main characters in this book. The hapless and clearly gay Nathan, pathetically weak and victimized, escapes the abuse of his father by hiding in the woods. He then depends on seemingly straight Roy for food and shelter, while in turn, Roy, the athletic jock and wholesome farmboy, depends on him for help with his schoolwork. Even the secondary characters seemed to be skimmed from old television and movie scripts: Nathan's ineffectual mother who ignores the abuse, Burke's suspicious and vicious nature, and Randy, who will go along with any thing Burke tells him to do. Luckily, "Dream Boy" doesn't become bogged done by prose. Plain and straightforward, the composition is moody and appropriately sparse. Clearly, the reader is supposed to be imagining the action in shades of sepia, but with phrases like "gashes of sunlight," it feels less like an American gothic and more like an old rerun of Lassie. In my opinion, any book can save itself with a great ending. Unfortunately, this is where "Dream Boy" implodes. After Nathan emerges from the woods, he encounters Roy leaving a Sunday church service with his girlfriend. In the two final chapters, which total three pages, Nathan forgives Roy and they run away into the woods in what is supposed to be a happily-ever-after ending. As a reader, I found this so insulting. Nathan is supposed to forgive Roy for abandoning him while his skull was being cracked open? While I believe in the redemptive powers of forgiveness, I find it infuriating that Roy just waltzes off to a resolution without any character development whatsoever. Nathan is still suffering from a fractured skull, Roy is standing with his family and girlfriend, and suddenly the two just run off into the woods? Who is redeemed? How does that make Nathan, or Roy for that matter, better? It seems like Grimsley ran out of creative energy and ended the book without honoring the integrity of Nathan's character. Am I to believe that Roy is worthy of the love of Nathan? The closest Roy ever comes to an apology is, "I didn't mean to leave you . . ." I didn't believe it and I don't think Grimsley did either. In my opinion, this isn't a love story; it is a tragic story where homophobia prevails and love hides. If you like books built on stereotypes that offer little in the way of redemption or description, this might be for you.
Rating: 
Summary: Maybe I missed something
Review: I have mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, the main characters are fairly well fleshed out for such a short book. On the other hand, the book does seem a bit directionless. Oh well everyone on amazon seems to love it so maybe I'm missing something. Anyway, If you are looking for a quick slashy read that is touching one minute and terrifying the next then this book is a good pick.
Rating:
Summary: Good Book!
Review: Thought it was sweet, sad, hurtful, shocking, all the things that make a Great Read!
Rating:
Summary: When Reading Becomes A Gift
Review: I'll let others detail the story line. I live with the concern that gay men and boys don't read anymore. I give this book to those guys. They read it. They can't help it. Then they read more. If you want to inspire someone to read, read to them the first 5 pages, hand them the book. You will have something to talk about forever. As a side note, nobody ever agrees on the ending of this book. If only Grimsley would write a sequel.
Rating:
Summary: Do You Not Understand Deviance?
Review: Unfortunately, these kinds of books appeal to a subculture which is coming out into the open. When deviance like this is given air space and allowed to breathe, it is fearful thing for our culture, indeed. The Bible calls this SIN, and in the words of Christ, I would encourage those who are involved in this lifestyle, "Go and sin no more."
Rating:
Summary: Romantic, Beautiful, Heartbreaking and Stunning
Review: I have been waiting to buy this book for a long long time, and as soon as I recieved the book, immediately I started reading. This book is amazing. The imagery, the realistic approach of Jim Grisley's writing make this book so real and that anyone could relate to the emotions and many things. The love of the two boys is highly romantic, yet in a way disturbing to Nathan. This book is the greatest book I have ever read. I give it 5 stars, and if I could, I'd give it more. Go read it! You'll love it...
Rating:
Summary: Very erotic, but convincing story
Review: I must say that this book is the best gay book of all time. I felt deeply convinced that this book was real. I see that Nathan has went through alot causing him to keep intimate secrets from Roy. It's great that Nathan has Roy to feel safe with.When Roy would tell Nathan to keep their sexual act a secret, the next day they would act as if it never happen. I also have remorse for Nathan being rape. He didn't deserve that. He's pretty lucky to be alive, although he has been nearly beaten to death. And how I found Nathan and Roy would make love is somewhat very erotic but kind of pornographic. I'm really glad that there's a happy ending to this story where they decided to runaway to be together forever.
Rating:
Summary: An emotional rollercoaster
Review: I was hesitant when I began reading Dream Boy, my first novel that seemed to be aimed squarely at a gay audience (but should certainly not be limited to one). My curiousity was rewarded however; Dream Boy is a haunting story of the love between two boys. The back of the novel has a quote describing the book as flaming gunpowder leading straight to an explosion. This description is perfect. The somewhat detached, crisp narrative always provides the sense of some looming danger--something big is going to happen to these two boys. When the moment finally arrives, the reader is blown away and emotionally drained. I finished the book feeling tired, like I sometimes do after reading a particuarly emotional, powerful novel. It takes a really gifted writer to manage such a feat and it does not happen often, but Jim Grimsley has a gift with words. The novel is graphic, but it never enters the realm of sex for sex's sake. The reader needs to know everything about the relationship between Roy and Nathan in order to be best prepared for the satisfying, yet mystifying ending. The sadness that permeates the work doesn't end with the final pages, but hope finally starts to exist in the boys' lives.
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