Two Paths to Now

Rating:
Summary: Can Honesty Save Lives?
Review: Can honesty save lives? That question seems to linger between the lines of Dann Hazel's novel Two Paths to Now. The dialogue and interior monologues of the teenage main character (Rusty) are completely believable. So is the situation, which involves two generations of deceit and closets.

I've met or received e-mail from many people who are in situations similar to the ones Rusty and his parents must endure. Most people say to keep homosexuality locked away and silent, no matter how much lying and pain that requires. But can honesty save lives? Well, read the novel.

In addition to believability, Hazel also creates beautiful prose. Often, the paragraphs become extremely short, with terse but elegant phrasing that captures the tensions and fears that haunt Rusty and the other characters. Though I usually hear Hazel referred to for his nonfiction work, I think his fiction deserves much more attention.

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful story I was lucky to read long ago...
Review: Nothing as of lately has thrilled me more than seeing this book in print. Several years ago, I was fortunate enough to be one of Dann Hazel's students. And fortunate enough to see this story in the early stages. My opinion of this novel then is the same as it is now--it's a great read that feels real and true in the way the story is told. This book has a "young-adult" feel to it, but not in the corney way most young adult fiction comes off these days. Dann Hazel has a great voice. And with it, he told an amazing story.

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful story I was lucky to read long ago...
Review: Nothing as of lately has thrilled me more than seeing this book in print. Several years ago, I was fortunate enough to be one of Dann Hazel's students. And fortunate enough to see this story in the early stages. My opinion of this novel then is the same as it is now--it's a great read that feels real and true in the way the story is told. This book has a "young-adult" feel to it, but not in the corney way most young adult fiction comes off these days. Dann Hazel has a great voice. And with it, he told an amazing story.

Rating:
Summary: Good story, easy read
Review: This is a touching, engaging story, the emotional journeys of the main characters being of foremost importance. Ever present in the story is the notion that lies and deception can come to no good but that the truth can set one free. Although not classified as such, this novel could fall easily within the realm of young adult literature; there are no gratuitous explicit sexual scenes, and the few physical situations that do exist, as well as a bit of off-color language, are germane to the story.