Good Boys (Plume Books)

Rating:
Summary: Real Life Drama
Review: GOOD BOYS is an exceptional novel by Paul Reidinger. The focus of the book is on three college boys who are best friends, and follows their life until 10 years later, when they recross each other's paths, as they deal with the happenings in their life.

Meet Chris. He is a man who is gay, only his friends Drew and Michael don't know that he is. He loves Drew, but can't act upon his feelings. He moves to California. He meets Wade, who is his first time. As well he becomes involved with David, another college chum. When he is invited to a party by David, he meets Carl, an older man who he falls in love with. Carl brings him everything he needs from life, a dialogue of intimacy which is beginning to make sense. Chris' life is thrown into a whirlwind when he learns that Carl is dying of AIDS, and then ultimately dies. In the end he stays friends with Wade and David, they've all slept together but still manage to have a friendship like no other.

Meet Drew. He is a lawyer who believes he has everything in life. He fell in love with Dana, who he thought was quite similar but was actually quite different. They butted heads over issues like marriage, commitment, and more. She left him, and he never quite got over it. He struggles with a private solitude not even he fully understands. He is dealing with his brother Geoff's sexuality, later realizing he may have these desires as well. The irony of the situation presents itself when he has a sexual encounter with Wade, the same man that Chris had his first gay sexual encounter with. The irony lying in that fact, and that Chris secretly desired Drew.

Meet Michael. His parents want him to become a doctor, and he receives his PhD. In college he meets Meredith, who he falls madly in love with. They get married, and have a son. The son in question though, Michael believes is a result of her affair with his ex roomate Joe. Years before he had an affair with Dana, Drew's girlfriend, and he can't quite shake her out of his head. He feels unsatisfied by his career, and is uncertain of his ability as a father or a husband.

This novel resonates with honesty, and quite a bit of irony. In the end they are all still friends, sure there are secrets of their betrayals, but they are still as close as they were in college. GOOD BOYS is a portrait of three young men coming to terms with how the past has shaped who they are, and a future that we can all recognize.