Rating: 
Summary: Never have I ever
Review: had a book affect me like this one did. it will seriously get inside of you, and for some reason you just have to read it over and over again. so if you are looking for a book that you can call your "all time favorite book" give this one a try.
Rating:
Summary: Good Book
Review: I could identify with the Author a lot in this book. Also this book will make you think really hard. I found it very enjoyable. It is a fine piece of literature.
Rating: 
Summary: not so much
Review: I didn't really like this one. In a way its worth reading as a coming out story and the writing was good enough to keep me reading. But the story...not so much. I found alot of the stuff that happened wierd at best and ridiculous at worst. And the end {bites}. I mean I got to the end and was like...um...ok...? I can't say I regretted reading it but at the same time its not something I need to remember. It jumps around alot, and it lacks valid plot points as far as I'm concerned. But I think its the kind of book you need to make up your own mind about.
Rating:
Summary: This is an excellent book about growing up gay.
Review: I first read this book in college and loved it because I had never read anything about growing up gay before. Beyond the fact that it's a great, though at times very sad story about adolescence, I am still struck by Edmund White's writing style. He manages to be very realistic and down to earth but retains a certain lyricism as well. I've read many of his books, but this one is still my favorite
Rating: 
Summary: Bordering on greatness
Review: I had mixed feelings about this novel when I finished it. On the one hand, it conveys the nameless narrator's feelings beautifully. On the other hand, author Edmund White lapses into sentimental waxing so often that at times the book felt overwrought and hyper-sensitive.The book is loosely based on White's own childhood - one which I am thankful was nothing like my own, I might add. His father is a man's man, his mother a man's woman, and his sister a menacing force to be reckoned with. The "Boy" of the story is lonely, depressed, and quietly slipping into a romanticist's madness where he entertains fantasies of being swept away by the dashing men of his dreams. Alas, reality is cruel, and seldom caters to us, and so the Boy leads a life with a few high points and many low points, all culminating in an act of vengeance that will leave many readers outraged. The book is well-written, fleshing out the Boy competently, but the wanton abuse of metaphors and symbolism got tiresome - some pages were entirely taken up by descriptions of sights, sounds, and feelings that were almost irrelevant to the story. This was atoned for, more often than not, by the characterization of the Boy as a real human being, apt to be as selfish as he is selfless, as cruel as he is kind, and as troubled as he is troubling. This is a good book in many ways... but not a great book. It's simply too overwhelmed by its author's whims to be a truly great novel, in my opinion. Still, there are times when it comes very, very close to greatness.
Rating:
Summary: a sad story of one boy's journey..
Review: I have avoided "gay literature" because I felt it would either be too depressing, or it would be all sex and no meat (..sorry for the pun), or it would take another tact and be very saccharine (ie, you're gay but we love you anyway). A Boy's Own Story manages to avoid stereotypes and tells, in autobiographical fashion, the simple story of a gay teenager in 1950s America. The boy isn't a hero, nor is he particularly interesting. But he does survive, albeit somewhat emotionally scarred by the experience. I was hoping the story would dig deeper and have an inspirational message, or in some way be memorable. But rather, it does not challenge conventional wisdom or break new ground. Yet I was satisfied by the seemingly honest, well-written story. I would generally recommend this book to a wide audience (gay or straight). It does not exploit gay sexual antics, and it's description of teenage angst is rather universal. However struggling gay teenagers might not be pleased with the book; it's overall message is somewhat bleak, or at least it doesn't view gay life through rose-colored glasses.
Rating: 
Summary: A meaningless trist that finishes in a dead end
Review: I read this novel thinking that it might be a welcome addition to a an avid reader of gay lit. I was very disappointed in this long, meaningless novel. It is quite obvious that Edmund White is lost in a sea of "writter's block."
Rating:
Summary: A wonderfully boyish novel
Review: I really enjoyed White's novel, especially for the realistic element that treats the fifteen-year-old main character like all boys his age were treated. It's a wonderful example of the struggle gay males go through in their early years and has a defined nature for the character. The novel is enticingly explicit, but in a way that it teases the reader. White only lets us in so far for the obviously sexual parts and then writes the hidden sexuality of the novel in such great detail, we see a whole new world of passion. A good read that keeps the reader going.
Rating:
Summary: A very Good Book about Growing up and coming to terms
Review: I thought Edmund White's A Boys Own Story was very well written. It made you think and I could really identify with the charactor. I felt as he felt all the emotions he felt I felt as well. I recommend you read this book cause it is well written and if you want to get a perspective how gays feel and go through please read this book. It is an excellent piece of literature.
Rating:
Summary: A very Good Book about Growing up and coming to terms
Review: I thought Edmund White's A Boys Own Story was very well written. It made you think and I could really identify with the charactor. I felt as he felt all the emotions he felt I felt as well. I recommend you read this book cause it is well written and if you want to get a perspective how gays feel and go through please read this book. It is an excellent piece of literature.
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