A Better Place [Paperback]

Mark A. Roeder (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 20, 2001

What do the poorest boy in town and the captain of the football team have in common? More than you might think. Casper has nothing, but a trio of bullies who hound him, a distant father and an older brother who makes his life a living hell. Brendan has it all; muscles, money, fame and popularity. The boys come from different worlds, but both share a constant desire.A Better Place is the story of an unlikely pair, who struggle through friendship and betrayal, hardships and heartbreaks, to find the desire of their hearts, to find a better place.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Mark A. Roeder is the creator of the Gay Youth Chronicles, a continuing series followed not only by gay youth, but by readers of all ages?gay, bi and straight. Since the age of fifteen, Roeder has been turning out articles, columns and novels and for the last several years has dedicated his life to writing heart-warming stories about gay youth. He currently resides in southern Indiana. Information on his current and upcoming books can be found at markroeder.com.

Product Details

• Paperback: 330 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse (February 20, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595171761
• ISBN-13: 978-0595171767
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (54 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,088,450 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mark A. Roeder currently resides in Bloomington, Indiana and is a full-time writer of novels, columns, and articles. He has published over two dozen novels to date.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A *Far* Better Place!, May 8, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: A Better Place (Paperback)

This is one of three of Mark's books that I have read so far and is, in my opinion, the best yet read.

Casper's character, especially early in the book, stimulates every sympathetic and protective nerve in your body. Sometimes so much so that it hurts. Brendan, almost a little too perfect to believe at first, develops very nicely as the story progresses and the balance between our two heroes shifts into gear before any seeming gulf between their needs and abilities becomes uncomfortable.

Like all Mark's couples with whom I am familiar, Casper and Brendan really and truly *belong* together. It seems to take a little longer for them to show it in APB than is the case with characters in some of the other books. But that makes it all the more wonderful. There was a quite a bit of heartbreak, suspense and even a "dark secret" or two before Casper and Brendan truly "meld" in my mind's eyes. But when they do, the result is one of the most beautiful and believable stories of mutual love and support that I have had the pleasure of reading.

Although other fans will disagree (we have *strong* opinions in this regard), I would readily recommend "A Better Place" to anyone who is curious about Mark A. Roeder's work (or about "gay teen romances" in general) as a "first read." That recommendation stands whether the prospective reader is straight or gay or somewhere in between. Even more, I would recommend this book to parents or adult friends (teachers, employers, coaches, etc.) of gay young people who are a little unsure of what "being gay" can really mean. Mark captures the hopes and fears, as well as the trials and victories of young gay men and gives them a vitality and realism that is exquisite. If you have read other of Mark's books, you of course need no recommendation. But if you haven't, I urge you to try this one. It will definitely take you to a "far better place" than you might first imagine.

33 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful read, October 28, 2001

By 

Chris (Athens, GA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Better Place (Paperback)

This is the story of Brendan, who has it all; looks, popularity, and money and Clint nicknamed Casper in grade school because he was thin and pale like Casper The Friendly Ghost. Casper is the poorest boy in school and is not in the popular clique, his brother beats him, his father ignores him and his mother passed away a few years before. The first half of this book takes us on the journey of how they come together and begin a relationship. Casper is excited at the attention paid to him by Brendan but the road they travel is not always easy. There are misunderstanding and mixed feeling to deal with along with friendships and betrayals, hardships and heartbreaks. The second half of the book explores just what they have to do for love and to be together. Is it worth it? Can they find their way to a better place? This story was critisized by other reviews for being to juvenile in its writing style and for the characters crying and descriptions of muscles but in my opinion the author hits the nail on the head with these situations. Perhaps others have forgotten what it was like to be a gay teen just coming out. It is not all easy. Crying is par for the course and seeing the muscles in good looking guys along the way is normal. The author switches from the points of view of the main characters so you do get a little overlap of some situations as they are described by each of them but it allows the reader a greater chance to get to know each character more by seeing how they react to the same situations. The boys end up in the town of Verona and meet up with characters from the authors three preious books. This book can be read without having read the others but I recomend the reading of the first three books to get some of the back ground history of the characters. Some authors seem to think that to write a coming out novel it has to be an "event" that the messages have to be grand and larger than life. No so here. Mark Roeder has found the voice of the young gay teen and captures it with depth and compasion without coming off as predictable or shallow. The joy of reading this book is you care for the characters and what happens to them. I can't wait for a sequel or to find out what happens next in Verona.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Better Place - A better novel, March 28, 2001

By 

Kenneth Clark (Albuquerque, NM United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Better Place (Paperback)

It's wonderful to read a novel that pulls at your heartstrings and makes you care deeply about the main characters. But this novel will make you sad not only for what happens but that what happens also happens to too many other boys. But feel assured they do end up in A Better Place!