A Time Before Me

Rating:
Summary: Insightful and moving story of growing up gay in the South
Review: As a straight female from the midwest, I was not sure I could relate to a novel about growing up gay in the South, but Perronne does an amazing job of making you care about his protagonist, Mason. Universally, teenagers face the challenge of discovering who they are, but Perronne brings to life the special problems of a gay teenager. One of the things I liked best is that not only does Perronne deal with Mason's sexuality, but he also shows that many of Mason's concerns (whether to go to college, relating to his sibling, etc.) are those of every teenager. Perronne also does an excellent job of bringing to life the eighties era in the tale. I would not say the interest in this story is limited to gay people - it brings understanding about the tribulations of growing up gay, as well as simply being an engaging coming of age story.