Rating: 
Summary: A little Miracle
Review: I was shaking at the end and cried and cried. I was happy and shocked by the uniqueness of the plot and the nice ending that the story has. A really sensitive writer. Nathan's love will continue to haunt me for some time. It simplicity and dept is something that I will treasure all my life. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the writer for writing such a wonderful book. Its stories like these that are the little miracles in literature today. It touches emotional vagabonds like me straight to my very soul........... Wishing you more and more success.
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Summary: A real look at the heart of a boy becoming a man
Review: I sat down last night with this book in my hands wanting something to read just for the joy and pure point of doing something..... Having never read anything by the author before I didn't know what to expect.... mostly I was hoping for a book that I could relate to when it comes to dating guys in the south when being gay is like being black in the pre-civil war days.... The fist twenty-five to fifty pages i found nothing special.... although the courtship between Nathan and Roy was cute the autor seemed to become a bit repetitive and the information seemed usless.... But as the book starts to turn revealing secrets of Natans shaded past.... and proving that Roys feelings are more intense for Nathan then you were first willing to belive dose this book become the masterpice that it was set out to be.... This was a book that i read in one sitting and it was as i came to the climax of this novel that I found my self shaking uncontrolebly with tears and fear at the reality of human nature.... This book is a five star masterpiece that will go down with many books in history as over looked.... But for those that don't over look it it will be an awakening to your soul.
Rating: 
Summary: Dry and Boring
Review: I heard it said that you should give a book 50 pages before you make a judgement call. I gave this book 100 pages and it is the most boring book I ever read. It is the only book I can't finish because the writing is so tiring.The characters are as flat as the pages. The story goes nowhere fast. It all about this one kid's routine about going to school and seeing a guy that he likes. There are no twists, no conflicts, nothing of interest. I can't believe that a publishing company would actually put this book out on the shelves. There are so many other gay books out there that are 100% better. I regert buying this book.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: Never before have I read a book that made me cry. Dream Boy did just that. It is touching and captivating in a way that very few books are. It evokes pity and fear, joy and hope, anger and sensuality. I found myself at work wishing that I could just get home to read more of this book, to delve into the world of these two boys that is so beautiful, and yet so sad that with every turn of the page the two boys dig deeper into your heart and claim it as their own.
Rating: 
Summary: Left Hanging
Review: I was very excited to start this gay 'coming of age' book which has been so well received. I read it in almost one sitting on a flight from Boston to Seattle. On one hand, there is some lovely, haunting, and heartfelt writing here. The story is absorbing and the introduction and gradual insight into the the main character is well written. However, everyone save the narrator suffers by comparison. The supporting characters (even the ones who have great impact on the story) are very poorly drawn, and at times their actions are just implausible for the sake of drama. In any case, given the characters and the beginning of an involving story, the author seems to peter out about 2/3 of the way through. It felt to me as if the author were tired of this story and it's characters and tacked on this very rushed denouement that was out of sync with the first 2/3. It's a shame, because that first 2/3 is the intro to a great story that should have been a little more ambitious.
Rating:
Summary: Recommended
Review: I read Dream Boy this past weekend and cannot get it out of my mind. It is written with such care that the emotions are palpable. While the book is full of sadness, longing and pain, it is also strangely beautiful and erotic. I recommend it highly to anyone who likes Gothic American literature.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant
Review: I cannot express in this limited space how brilliant this book is. From start to finish, Dream Boy capitivated me; the eloquence of the narrative snared me in; and for the short amount of time it took for me to finish it, I felt I was part of Nathan and Roy's world: breathing the air, feeling the touches, sensing the love and fear. It's rare to find a story so compelling and honest, a story that can move its readers word by word. Grimsley has written a beautiful novel.
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Summary: Southern Yearnings
Review: This book continues the theme of abusive Southern families found in the author's "Winter Birds." As in the previous work, the dreamlife of the main subject contrasts sharply with the reality of his violent, alcoholic father and long-suffering mother. Here the boy has reached adolescence and is able to pursue his flights from home in the rural woods and forests of the distant Southern past (1950s?). The story centers on a 15 year old's fantasies about the neighbor boy who drives his school bus. Their intense, sweet, sexual relationship swiftly is consumated, with the reader suspensefully anticipating a tragic end. The use of fantasy averts such a depressing conclusion while leaving the reader wondering how it could possibly be true. These boys are so sweet with each other that the violent conclusion can only be reconciled with a wish that the fantasy be real. I recommend reading "Winter Birds" first to set the tone of despairing abuse that still haunts the background of this teenage escape novel.
Rating:
Summary: A beautiful book
Review: I enjoyed "Comfort and Joy" so much that my partner bought me all of Jim Grimsley's books for Christmas. His writing style is mesmerizing and I can identify with his characters. A superb book!
Rating:
Summary: The book & the author are worthy of eachother.
Review: "Dream Boy" is indeed a beautiful piece of work, where from page one, the reader is drawn into the haunting world of Nathan & Roy, where inevitably events will occur between them - eventhough the forces of the world that surround them try to destroy them. The writing is eloquent, poetic and remarkably touching. It seems we have always known these two boys, Nathan's mother (a wonderful sketch of a struggling yet passive character) and a glimpse of the father - whose figure is dominant on each page even when not mentioned. What might have turned into cliche in other books, in "Dream Boy" becomes art. The characters convince you they are alive and battling and linger with you long after you finish reading. On a personal note, I had the the privilige to meet and dine with Jim Grimsley on his latest visit to Israel, to promote the Hebrew translation of the book. He shared with us his thoughts, memories & feelings of "Dream Boy". As one might suspect, Jim is as poignant, respectable and lovable as the characters he creates. I could not help but not seperate Jim Grimsley from the touching Nathan, but neither did I have to. We embrace them both. We hope to see Jim here soon again.
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