| ________________
CM . . .
. Volume X Number 9 . . . . January 2, 2004 
 |
Boy O’Boy.
Brian
Doyle.
Toronto, ON: Groundwood, 2003.
161 pp., pbk. & cl., $12.95 (pbk.), $18.95 (cl.).
ISBN 0-88899-590-3 (pbk.), ISBN 0-88899-588-1 (cl.).
Subject Headings:
World War, 1939-1945-Canada-Juvenile fiction.
Ontario-Social conditions-1918-1945-Juvenile fiction.
Child sexual abuse-Juvenile fiction.
Grades
7-9 / Ages 12-14.
Review
by Betsy Fraser.
**1/2
/4 |
excerpt:
He says I'm such
a good singer in the choir. The best singer in the choir. He wants
to give me a hug because I'm such a good singer. I can't see his
face. Then he doesn't give me a hug. He pulls me behind one of the
stone pillars of the gazebo.
"Shh!"
he says. "There's somebody coming. We don't want them to hear
us. I don't like those boys."
Martin
O'Boy, often called Boy O'Boy, lives an unrelievedly grim life in
Ottawa as World War II is winding down. At the beginning of the story,
his granny dies, his family is being investigated by two church ladies
who think that his parents are not taking proper care of him, and
he finds out his best friend Billy Batson's father isn't a war hero
either, but in a lunatic asylum. Martin thinks that he finally has
a chance for something good when he is invited to join a choir for
which he will receive pocket money. Even this turns into something
more along the lines of his regular existence when Mr. George, the
choir's organist, who had been treating him to movies, sundaes and
days out, molests him. Martin is initially unable to tell anyone about
the situation until it appears that Mr. George has turned his sights
on Billy, at which point Martin turns to Billy's mother for help.
Martin and Billy come up with a plan to seek vengeance on Mr. George
that will put him in the spotlight and, in the end, they find a trusted
adult in whom they can confide and seek help and protection.
Brian
Doyle's writing is consistently lyrical and beautiful. He is able
to convey through character dialogue a consistent and clear picture
of setting and timeline. Billy Batson's use of "Shazam!"
is both amusing and appropriate for the period. However, unlike most
of Brian Doyle's books, there is in this book very little sense of
joy or hope offered to any of the characters: Martin is tricked into
buying over sized shoes when shopping, going for ice both he and his
best friend are teased mercilessly, and both of them are molested.
The graphic nature of the abuse, drunkenness, and other violence experienced
by the characters lifts this book into Young Adult, which may cause
some confusion, bearing in mind the angelic looking youngster on the
cover.
Recommended.
Betsy
Fraser is a Youth Services Librarian with Calgary Public Library.
To comment
on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.
Copyright © the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal
use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any
other reproduction is prohibited without permission.
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