Rating: 
Summary: A completely adequate read
Review: This book is adequately entertaining overall, but there were many things about it that caused me to give it only 2 stars. It's incredibly predictable with few surprises, and the same thing happens to every character; EVERY character in the book A) has sex with a stranger, acquaintance, or friend, and B) breaks down and cries at least twice. One wonders if the author thought to himself, "Hmmm, who hasn't Jeff slept with yet?" in order to keep this overlong book going. And the constant mentions of Javitz from the first book are very heavy-handed, with characters who have never even met Javitz constantly asking Jeff and Lloyd to "tell me more about Javitz." Happy endings galore for the three main characters, of course. And the mystery surrounding Jeff's new boy toy was so obvious virtually right from the get go that I found myself wondering if I was really that smart or was the author that sadly predictable? Despite my negativity, it was an adequate read, but I've read much better.
Rating: 
Summary: You Gotta Have Friends
Review: While it helps to have read Mr. Mann's earlier novel, "The Men From the Boys," because the main characters carry over, this book stands on its own. Since the narrative progresses in chapters which are told in the first-person by several of the characters -- and this device really works well in telling the story -- this is one of those books you have a hard time putting down. There is something compelling about each of the half dozen main characters that propels you forward to uncover the next revelation. Mr. Mann uses his keen insights into the gay culture to address important issues like how gay men grow and mature, and he incisively describes the difficulties in maintaining the kinds of communication necessary to nurture healthy relationships between partners and among friends. Sounds kinda heavy, and it is, but the several story lines going on provide a lot of juicy entertainment as well. When I finished "The Men From the Boys," I wanted the story to go on so I could see if these guys could get their acts together. I got my wish with "Where the Boys Are," but I'm hoping there's a third act in the wings. The issues Mr. Mann raises warrant more of the kind of continuing dialogue on this that he's so great at delivering.
Rating:
Summary: Best book I've read all year!
Review: William J. Mann is a great writer and this novel is proof of that. If you only read one book this year, make it this one. You won't be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Our lives are all conncected
Review: William Mann's newest release WTBA is a fitting sequel to Men from the Boys. For all of us who were eagerly awaiting to find out what happened to Lloyd and Jeff since we last saw them at the end of the first book, we are not disappointed. Several years have passed and the author skillfully weaves a tale of friendships, love affairs, body image, sexual trysts, obsessions, delusions, broken hearts, new found affections, death, circuit parties, drugs, and most important of all, the all too human truth that the lives we create for ourselves are vitally linked to each other.
I would even venture to say that by placing this book in the "gay" section we are doing a disservice to the author, for it mirrors the emotions of life-no matter what your sexual preference.
Each chapter is told from a different viewpoint of the various characters. In this way the reader is treated to a multitude of perspectives and is able to identify, and in many cases sympathize with their feelings, even when they seem skewed !
For those who find fault that the "mystery" element is too obvious from early on, it is clearly done to show that often what is quite apparent to some can be totally oblivious to others, when emotions rule their brain. Or as Jerome Kern so quaintly put it, "when your heart's on fire, smoke gets in your eyes".
An enjoybable read which makes you rethink the way you look at your friends and partners.
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