Rating: 
Summary: A Major, Very Important Book!
Review: About once every decade or so along comes an author with a voice so clear and exciting that a first novel becomes a revelation. K.M. Soehlein has given us another universally effective tale of the coming of age of a boy in the labyrinth of puberty. Joyce, Salinger, Wolfe did it and created prototypes that became icons for countless young men fortunate enough to be encouraged to read about the tangles life presents when the hormone balance shifts toward adulthood. "The World of Normal Boys" is a sheer wonder of writing skill, passion, and commitment. I wonder at the lack of notoriety due a book of this stature - but then perhaps this book has fallen victim of being too "specialized" in its reader audience. Yes, ONE of the stuggles that the main character, Robin, encounters is his fear and coming to grips with nascent homosexuality. But Soehnlein handles this so adroitly that it should ring bells in everyone's psyche; sexual ambivalence is a normal step toward sexual identity, gene theory or no. Accompanying this odyssey of a highschool freshman is an incident which changes everything in his milieu of maturing. And with this incident we are allowed to observed the disintegration of a "normal" family unit, the inception of alcoholism, parental abuse of children as they seek escape from their own frustration about life choices, the obsessive need to feel loved/needed/to exist, the imbalance between juvenile naivete and adult "sophistication". Yet the author sweeps us along with a storytelling technique which is incredibly fine. If you wonder early on in the book why he is taking such detail to describe a playground and especially an almost architecturally detailed view of a play slide, then you only realize in a few pages further why that little bit of "distraction" was so important and why there is a replay of the same theme at book's end when our now beloved main character unveils the palce the universe has fashioned for him in this life. If there were more than 5 stars to rate this book I would go to the maximum number. This is a brilliant book by an enormously gifted author who has not only given us a new Stephen Daedalus, Holden Caulfield, Gant.....he has documented a decade (1970s) better than almost anyone writing today. Yes, this book deals with gay issues (very well) and that can only be another reason for everyone to read it. Highly recommended!!!!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: More "Normal Boys," please
Review: An excellent novel that is hard to put down. Not since I've read the works of Michael Cunningham has an author captured or moved me so. I identifed very strongly with the central character, Robin MacKenzie, having grown-up closely to the same time period. So many authors throw pop culture references into their books so that the reader can identify themselves with the book. By doing this, they think it will make up for the poor writing, which is definately not the case here! Author K.M. Soehnlein draws you into Robin's world effortlessly and everything is described in perfect, colorful, vivid detail that stays with you long after the book is closed. (Examples, describing the fatal trajedy with his brother, Jackson. Or, Robin's love and sexual awakening with both Scott Schatz and Todd Spicer. Why is it that us "normal boys" are always attracted to the dangerous, "rough boys?") One of the few novels that I hope the author writes a sequel to. Please don't tell that the world of Robin MacKenzie is over when his his life is just beginning. Would make an great movie or play! Someone please "green light" this!!
Rating: 
Summary: Robin. The boy I wanted to be!
Review: Robin,the main character of this novel is a 14 year old "different" boy. He reminded me so much of myself at 14 except that he did things I always wanted to do but didn't have the guts. Always a good boy, an obedient boy, a boy both thrilled with and appalled at his attractions to other boys, a boy snubbed by most other boys, is the boy I was at 14. At 14 I was scared to death of my sexual feelings, so fearful that anyone else would find out. Yet, like Robin, I was sexually active with my best friend. And like Robin, after each encounter I felt confusion and denial. The unwritten rule was "enjoy the feelings of the sex but don't talk about it!" You can be sexually intimate with your best friend but don't romaticize it. It's just sex. But I didn't feel this way. Like Robin, after sex I wanted to cuddle. My best friend just wanted to leave and just forget the whole thing happened. He eventually got married, and then "came out" after 25 years! I suspect characters like Todd and Scott, Robin's two love interests, may have had the same future! I felt envious of Robin that he had a somewhat open and honest relationship with his mother and wasn't afraid to speak of his concern for his best friend who has disappeared. I wouldn't have been able to do this for fear of mother "finding out" when I was 14.
I found myself envious of his ability to be rebellious and to "go for" what he wanted, even though it brought him pain and frustration.
I recommend this book to anyone who grew up gay. You'll find lots to identify with. I couldn't give the book 5 stars because I don't think it's "great literature," but it certainly is a good and enjoyable read. Because I was most certainly the best little boy in the whole wide world I never would have been as openly rebellious as Robin at 14. I had to put that off until I was in my 30's! It's probably more healthy to do it at 14 than at 35! I enjoyed the fantasy of identifying with him and thought to myself "If I could do it again, I'd do it a bit more like Robin."
Rating: 
Summary: Compelling Reading
Review: Once you start to read this book, it's hard to put it down until you are finished. Soehnlein has drawn some very believeable characters. At first, I did not like his writing style, but that's just being picky. The narrative is compelling. The central figure, Robin, is a 13-year-old high school freshman, having skipped the fourth grade. Robin is blonde haired, slight of build and not very masculine. Another 9th grade boy, who is actually a grade behind his age in contrast to Robin being a grade ahead, says Robin is "the cutest boy in the 9th grade." Even though this book is set in 1978, the story is timeless. A 13-year-old experiencing his awakening sexuality and realizing that he thinks about boys in the way he's supposed to be thinking about girls. I don't want to say I enjoyed this book, because it does not really have a happy ending. Does any gay fiction ever have a happy ending? But it's a thought provoking book to read and it's one I recommend. If you are young and gay, you might consider giving the book to your parents to read, along with a copy of Kirk Read's "How I Learned to Snap." There's nothing easy about being a gay teenager, and most gay teenagers have no one they can talk to about it.
Rating:
Summary: A realistic coming of age book
Review: Reading this book I saw myself many times. I wasn't a juvenile deliquent and my brother wasn't in a coma, but everything else was there. The close relationship with his mother, buying broadway showtunes, and questioning his sexuality. The main difference I was only a year old when the action in this book took place. It's the story of Robin MacKenzie coming of age in 1978 in New Jersey. It deals with many, many things, feeling responsible for his brother being in a coma, being attracted to boys, having a family falling apart. Once you start this book it is hard to put down, for me there were many late nights. This is an author that will be added to my must-read list.
Rating:
Summary: Captivating and Intriging
Review: This book is a remarkable story. After reading so many gay novels, this one is fresh and gives a new voice to the gay genre which has been sorely lacking for years. The coming out story can be very trite and boring for the reader, especially since the "same old story" for gays and lesbians has been told many times over, but this book captures the feeling of what it is to be gay and struggling with your sexuality in a very real way. The book is hard to put down once you start reading - a remarkable feat for any book, even beyond the gay genre.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best "gay" novels in a long time
Review: This book is just wonderful. The story is so honest and real, that it moved me much much more than many recent gay novels. The story is multi-faceted and highly emotional, but it never puts you off. In an era where so much gay fiction is reduced to silly murder mysteries and circuit-boy fluff, this is a great big breath of fresh air! HIGHLY recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Wow!!! I didn't want it to end.
Review: The reason I got this book was it had some good reviews and also because it is partly about a gay teens coming of age in NJ in the suburbs of New York City. Well, that was me, so I got it. This is the kind of book that once you get into it and you have to put it down because you have to go to work or actually have to sleep then you can't wait to get back to it. I have woken up at 4am before and picked up the book, I read some the other day before going to work just because I wasn't able to get to it the night before. There's SO much happening in this book. I recommend it for a reading salon, too. A great deal to talk about. Just go get it already! :)
Rating:
Summary: It was like reading my life story!
Review: I picked up this book a couple days before i left for the beach so i would have something to read. then i went home and started reading it which was a big mistake, because before i knew it i was done. i absolutely loved this book, i mean more then i can say. the story just seemed so real, and sucked me in immediatly. i literatly have not been able to stop talking about this book since i finished it a week ago. i found myself falling in love with these characters, they made me cry and laugh. and they made me remember exactly what it was like realizing that i was gay. which for me wasn't that long ago, i'm only 19 and i realized about 8 years ago. and thats why i loved this book so much, because although i wasn't coming of age in the 70's, it was still the story of my life. i think it is amazing that everyone can relate to this story no matter when you grew up. and i feel so lucky to have stumbled upon this book, and i will definitely be telling all of my friends to pick up a copy and read it.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent.
Review: i read this book in about a week. i was glued. that is all i have to say. and the only reason why i didn't give it five stars is because i e-mailed the author and he informed me that a second novel---a sequel---would not be comming out. damn.
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