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Rating: 
Summary: A Great Book for Teens
Review: ...But you can bet that they read "Keeper of Secrets" chapter by chapter. Why? Well, the credit goes to the author, Mark Roeder, one of the pioneers of a relatively new, but long overdue,genre of literature."Keeper of Secrets"is about three adolescent boys:Sean, a gay youth and his boyfriend Nick, and Avery, a gay basher, whose hatred of gays is intense. There is plenty of action starting in chapter one in this mystery. The entire story is told from the point of view of the major characters, Sean and Avery.I truly enjoyed this technique. The reader gets to know those characters so much better because the reader is made aware of what Sean and Avery are thinking. The chapters belong to them; for the titles of the thirty-nine short chapters are "Avery" and "Sean" alternately. I promise you that this is one book you won't want to put down until you have read those wonderful last chapters. Buy it. Read it. You will enjoy it. And you will want to read another Roeder novel.
Rating:
Summary: Get This Book!
Review: If you know a gay teen, have a gay teen, or are concerned about a gay teen, get this book! Also recommend for gay fiction: Leaves of Red and Gold.
Rating: 
Summary: Would pass on the next
Review: Right upfront let me admit to a love/hate relationship with the works of Mark Roeder. Maybe it's because I have not read them in order and don't follow the progression. Nah, that has nothing to do with it. It is because I like a small dose of realism in what I read and some of Mark's premises are wildly improbable, none moreso than "Keeper of Secrets". There is, to be sure, a place in fiction for ghosts, apparitions and the like but the best authors surround them with something to build up their credibility. Not here. (How can you possibly explain the fact that the boys find the pages of a 120+-year-old-journal, scattered individually all over the house, IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER?!?) Beyond many other examples like this is the fact that, unlike the people in Roeder's other stories, there is very little to like about the two main characters, Sean and Avery, and the Nick character is hardly developed at all. Happily, Roeder's more recent work, notably "The Soccer Field is Empty", is much better developed. Keep "Keeper of Secrets" a secret.
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Summary: Keep It A Secret
Review: Right upfront let me admit to a love/hate relationship with the works of Mark Roeder. Maybe it's because I have not read them in order and don't follow the progression. Nah, that has nothing to do with it. It is because I like a small dose of realism in what I read and some of Mark's premises are wildly improbable, none moreso than "Keeper of Secrets". There is, to be sure, a place in fiction for ghosts, apparitions and the like but the best authors surround them with something to build up their credibility. Not here. (How can you possibly explain the fact that the boys find the pages of a 120+-year-old-journal, scattered individually all over the house, IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER?!?) Beyond many other examples like this is the fact that, unlike the people in Roeder's other stories, there is very little to like about the two main characters, Sean and Avery, and the Nick character is hardly developed at all. Happily, Roeder's more recent work, notably "The Soccer Field is Empty", is much better developed. Keep "Keeper of Secrets" a secret.
Rating:
Summary: Would pass on the next
Review: This book just didn't do it for me. I did not care about the characters or the plot.
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Summary: A Very Different Coming of Age Story
Review: This sequal to Someone is Killing the Gay Boys of Verona is a must read. You will meet Avery, Sean's cousin, who is homophobic at best. Get to know Sean and his boyfriend Nick and their relationship grows and matures, but also get to know a mysterious figure from the past who just might teach them all something about what love is really about.
Rating:
Summary: What a wonderful story of how a person can change!
Review: What a wonderful story of how a person can change! I got a copy of Mark's book a few weeks, and being such a fan of his, I could not wait to read this one! And, I can honestly say, I think this is one of the best books he has written! That is saying alot as ALL of his books are GREAT!Mark Roeder (the Author), once again brings us back to Verona, Indiana and re-introduces us to several characters that have been in various previous novels. The major difference in this novel, is it is not all about young gay love discovering itself in a wonderful mate. This novel deals with much more un-nerving topics like Gay Bashing. Enter 'Avery', a young boy filled with Hate for Gay's. He wants nothing more to see all gay boy's beaten up and killed. Avery is teamed up with both Nick and Sean from previous novels in the Graymoor mansion. Enter some spirits and ghosts (also from previous novels), and a journal written over 125 years before. Mark Roeder did such a GREAT job at the feelings in this book, I wanted to HATE and lash out at Avery for his Homophobic rhetoric and actions, yet on the other side, I wanted to feel sorry for him. It has to be great writing for me to feel sorry for a Gay Basher. All the changes, twists and turns in this novel make it one AWESOME read! I cannot wait for Mark's re-write and expanded version of his original novel to come out ('Ancient Prejudice' will be 'The Soccer Field is Empty'). I highly, HIGHLY recommend reading this book.. Mark will not let you down! Mike Heine ('winterstone')
Rating:
Summary: What a wonderful story of how a person can change!
Review: What a wonderful story of how a person can change! I got a copy of Mark's book a few weeks, and being such a fan of his, I could not wait to read this one! And, I can honestly say, I think this is one of the best books he has written! That is saying alot as ALL of his books are GREAT! Mark Roeder (the Author), once again brings us back to Verona, Indiana and re-introduces us to several characters that have been in various previous novels. The major difference in this novel, is it is not all about young gay love discovering itself in a wonderful mate. This novel deals with much more un-nerving topics like Gay Bashing. Enter 'Avery', a young boy filled with Hate for Gay's. He wants nothing more to see all gay boy's beaten up and killed. Avery is teamed up with both Nick and Sean from previous novels in the Graymoor mansion. Enter some spirits and ghosts (also from previous novels), and a journal written over 125 years before. Mark Roeder did such a GREAT job at the feelings in this book, I wanted to HATE and lash out at Avery for his Homophobic rhetoric and actions, yet on the other side, I wanted to feel sorry for him. It has to be great writing for me to feel sorry for a Gay Basher. All the changes, twists and turns in this novel make it one AWESOME read! I cannot wait for Mark's re-write and expanded version of his original novel to come out ('Ancient Prejudice' will be 'The Soccer Field is Empty'). I highly, HIGHLY recommend reading this book.. Mark will not let you down! Mike Heine ('winterstone')
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