Rating: 
Summary: No more please...
Review: I'll be kind and say that this book was awful, and not horrible. This is the type of story that must be fun to write- handsome and hunky lead characters that become confident in their sexuality, a quick almost love-at-first-sight interaction between our heros, and of course, lots of physical but not emotional sex.
The charcters do not have great depth and fall easily into the simple-minded plot. Some of it, I admit, is fun to read, but only because of the nice "darn, I wish the world and love could really be like that" quality.
Also abundant are spelling and gramatical errors and sentences that just fail to make sense. This sloppy writing style does nothing to impress. 'Desert Sons' is more like a romance novel that you could pick up at the supermarket instead of an acclaimed and heartwrenching novel about a first gay romance between two boys.
I would recommend 'The Year of Ice' or 'Boy Meets Boy' instead. Much more fun.
Rating: 
Summary: words can hardly describe
Review: ... read it over the period of 4 days. this is honestly one of the best books i've ever read. Reading this book you feel like you know ryan and scott on a personal level and the writer keeps up with their idiosyncrasies so well that they never falter from what you would expect from them. I was so amazed by this book it is hard to describe how truly fascinating it is. I loved every word, ever comma, ever period, every chapter, and how thorough every character was portrayed. This is definitely a book to read and reread.
Rating: 
Summary: I've given up
Review: After reading 150 pages of this book, I just can't do it anymore. Sure, the character development is decent. However, I keep waiting for something interesting to happen. Or at least for a glimpse of humor. I'm not offended about the sex in the book, as are other reviewers. It was the one thing I was waiting for, but even that didn't excite me much. At times, the writing seemed too clumpy. I found myself skipping pages just to get to the next bit of dialogue. By page 50, I just didn't about Scott's crazy accents anymore. I just wanted him to get laid. Kendrick is a good writer though. Through his characters, it's easy to see that he has worked on his craft. I just wish that he didn't waste time with so many random details. After an hour of reading, I felt rather smothered.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing!!
Review: Amazing is the only way to describe this book. It is rare to find a gay themed coming out book that is worth the paper it is written on which is why this book is such a find. The characters are very real and believable. The situations ring with truth as does the conversations. The author is so skilled with his descriptions of the people and places that at times you will feel the heat of the desert or the coolness of the rain washing over you. I found myself relating to both main characters in a way that other books could only dream of doing. These characters are so rich and well thought out you will have no trouble believing they exist somewhere with full lives and pasts. The book jumps from the points of view of the two main characters and it really gives you a full depth of their thoughts and emotions as well as a unique view of what each thinks of the situations. You will find youself relating to first one and then the other of these characters which is the simple magic of the book. You have been each of these characters at one point of another and you can not wait to see what happens next. I was sorry it ended but was excited to find out ... that a sequel is in the works. I for one can not wait. Keep your eyes on this author his work is amazing.
Rating: 
Summary: started out fabulously...
Review: an interesting coming of age novel. What was interesting to me (and perhaps a bit frustrating) was that I really loved the first hundred pages or so, up until the beautiful telling of the boys' first sexual encounter. After that I found that the novel descended into a cliched and "overly sexual" (and unrealistic)writing style that frankly, after a while, lost its interest and appeal. It became another tacky gay fiction novel. I like a novel filled with great sex as much as the next guy, but I was disappointed because I expected better from this book. I do plan on reading the sequel, however, and I hope that Mr. Kendrick has developed a tighter style of story telling that is full of passion and high emotions but is not "sickeningly" so. Also, I must add that this book had some of the worst editing and proofreading that I have ever encountered in a published piece of manuscript (blatant mispellings, jumbled character definitions, etc. I had trouble a lot of the time knowing which one of the two main characters were speaking!)
Rating:
Summary: started out fabulously...
Review: an interesting coming of age novel. What was interesting to me (and perhaps a bit frustrating) was that I really loved the first hundred pages or so, up until the beautiful telling of the boys' first sexual encounter. After that I found that the novel descended into a cliched and "overly sexual" (and unrealistic)writing style that frankly, after a while, lost its interest and appeal. It became another tacky gay fiction novel. I like a novel filled with great sex as much as the next guy, but I was disappointed because I expected better from this book. I do plan on reading the sequel, however, and I hope that Mr. Kendrick has developed a tighter style of story telling that is full of passion and high emotions but is not "sickeningly" so. Also, I must add that this book had some of the worst editing and proofreading that I have ever encountered in a published piece of manuscript (blatant mispellings, jumbled character definitions, etc. I had trouble a lot of the time knowing which one of the two main characters were speaking!)
Rating:
Summary: A Nicely Balanced Story
Review: At first Desert Sons seemed like a simple tale about two gay teenage boys. But as the story unfolded I discovered that the author was really pushing me headlong into their lives'and making me care about them before I even realized it. And care I did. While the two main characters danced around the issue (that of being attracted to each other), I was experiencing a place and time that should have been mine when I was their age. I would have been nice if I could have been out as a teen. Once Scott (well-adjusted) and Ryan (not so well-adjusted) acknowledged the inevitable, the next phase of this novel was the incredible emotional impact a relationship can have on a teenager, along with some of the mishaps that can occur. One of the things I liked best about this story was how the author balanced the plot with intimate moments. The author wasn't too graphic with the details, but rather gave me just enough visual detail to know what was going on. The tender moments were, well, tender as well as hot! Not only did I read a skillfully crafted story, but I got some of the (yummy) sprinkles of their private moments, their inner thoughts, their real emotions, and all in real places I could find on a map. Oh, and don't forget the sequel. It brings the heart of this amazing story to the fore.
Rating:
Summary: A Real Gem
Review: At the suggestion of an acquaintance I purchased this title. In the past, I've been disappointed with the quality of some print-on-demand titles, and was naturally skeptical coming into the story. But, I was surprised to discover this real gem. The main character, Scott, was well fleshed out. The antagonist, Ryan, was a great foil to Scott's good-natured personality. The story flowed well. The other characters were well-conceived and none had a cardboard flavor to them. The love story between the two main characters was well-developed and seemed real. The steamy sex scenes were a real turn on, too, and done tastefully despite the ages of the characters (16-18). I'm thinking the author drew from real life to write the dialog (and more?), since it sounded quite real to me. All in all, I don't know why a major publishing house didn't pick the manuscript up. Regardless, I was happy with the quality of the paper, the binding, and the very good quality of the story. I recommend this one to those who also liked "Rainbow Boys".
Rating:
Summary: excellent, emotionally-based story with just enough spice
Review: Desert Sons is a notable achievement for first-time author, Mark Kendrick. The story details the accidental meeting of two teen age boys, Ryan and Scott, and their eventual romance. The story takes place in the desert of southern California over the course of a summer. I particularly enjoyed the author's ability to describe in fascinating detail the smallest, relatively insignificant items which make up the fabric of the story. The scenes which include the sexual escapades of the two teenagers are tastefully depicted, with enough graphic description to keep the reader at "full attention", shall we say... The story is long, and drags a bit in the middle, but the final couple of chapters are quite emotionally powerful and very much worth getting to. The book, while seemingly written for a younger audience, should be enjoyable for any gay man who can certainly see parts of his younger self in the thoughts and feelings of the two teenagers.
Rating:
Summary: Depends what your into.
Review: I admit, I'm not the best reader in the world. I actually just started reading books (that's all the way through) this past spring. Once I got my hand on my first gay novel I was terribly excited to read anything remotely gay. This book was about the third one on my list.
For a beginner, this is probably an overwhelming of excitement piece to read. But now after reading a few different books, I have to say that it's not my taste.
The first 12 chapters were great. The excitement building up, left me turning pages. But just about everything after that was nothing but sex, predictable events, and stereotypes. It's not for advanced readers, it's for beginners. It became more of a sex guide more than it did a novel. I was disappointed. I also have in my hands the sequel to this book. When I finished Desert Sons, I was about to go into the sequel until I read the first few pages. Mark expresses gratitude to so and so, "for without his help the sequel may not have been written." Once I read those few words I decided I'm going to skip it and come back later. After reading such a predictable ending I couldn't bear to put myself through a smaller version of it. I'll write a review for it when I do actually read it though.
To young readers who are interested in gay novels, this book may serve to be a good start, but it does not express what the gay life is about. It's more of an isolated fantasy of what one might wish to happen when no one's around. It's "cute" but not realistic. TOO MUCH DRAMA is all I can really say. But I'm not throwing it into the ground here, I'll give it 2 stars for the little that it's done. It's a good start, but I'd like to see mark write something a little more advanced instead of some fantasy he had growing up and finally expressed on pages.
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