Masked Destiny

Rating:
Summary: A SPIRITED INSTALLMENT OF THE YOUTH CHRONICLES
Review: MASKED DESTINY is Mark Roeder's latest offering in his Gay Youth Chronicles. The series of books covers a time span of over twenty years. The Chronicles are comprised of eleven (so far) novels with interconnecting story lines and characters. MASKED DESTINY is the third book in a thread dealing with gay teen murders and the supernatural.

As with Roeder's other novels, MASKED DESTINY is told in the voices of its primary characters, in this case, Skye and Oliver. These are two extremely different teens both working in the local (Verona Indiana) farm supply store. It is 1997 and the school year has just begun.

Skye is a sixteen year old, pumped-up, football playing jock, determined to establish himself as the school Alpha-male. His passions are his own incredible body and his Abercrombie & Fitch wardrobe. Skye enjoys checking out the other athletes in the locker room but he's convinced himself it's merely to compare his muscular development against theirs. He's in denial and it never occurs to him that he's gay. Skye doesn't realize it, but he's destined for great things. However, it will take the help of a mesmerizing stranger to guide him down the right path.

Oliver is a pudgy shy fourteen year old struggling to come to terms with his homosexuality. He's introverted and suffers from low self esteem. Oliver tries to overcome his insecurity and self-loathing by joining the local gay youth group. Things begin to turn around for Oliver, and he finds himself having to choose between, Clay, the boy of his dreams and, Ken, a cute sixteen year aggressively pursuing him. Ken is charming and romantic, but is he really who he claims to be?

Through the course of this novel Skye and Oliver grow as individuals and, even though they seem to have nothing in common, become good friends. But things aren't always as they seem in Verona. Mysterious forces and long forgotten secrets could spell disaster for our protagonists. A world of spirits and angels exists in this community and it's up to Skye and Oliver to try and make sense of the situation.

This is the first of Roeder's novels I've read that involves this particular sub-plot. And while the haunted themes of this novel make for a slightly different reading experience from previous Chronicle installments, the overall result is familiar. Once again, Roeder has valuable lessons to teach his teenage audience, the most important being: respect and like yourself. I might mention that this particular lesson isn't lost on Roeder's more mature readers.

I thoroughly enjoyed MASKED DESTINY and I intend to go back and read the other two novels dealing with supernatural themes: SOMEONE IS KILLING THE GAY BOYS OF VERONA and KEEPER OF SECRETS. Roeder does a wonderful job of making the boys here believable. In fact, I think Skye is possibly Roeder's finest creation. He's vain yet noble, conceited yet fair-minded, He's far from perfect but he has a kind and dependable heart. He is a fleshed out hero for all gay boys, of any age, to look up to.