Customer Reviews

The Blue Lawn

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I found the bok to be well researched and beautifully written. It allowed the characters to explore their feelings and understanding of their sexual awareness without it being overtly obvious to the reader. I feel the author has portrayed the boys human relationship in a positive and touching manner and one that many a young adolescent young man could easily relate to. I say well done to the author for having the "guts" to write on such a sensitive and often tabu subject that effects societies worldwide. A GREAT READ and congratulations to William Taylor

David and Theo are best friends. In fact, they care about each other so much that Theo's grandmother begins to wonder if their friendship may be something more.

First love can be sweet, but it can also be confusing and a bit painful. This is especially true when the adults around start trying to help to make things better. As much as this story is about a teenage romance, it is also about how adults do not only choose the best thing to do even when they are trying to be supportive. It is also about how the emotions of our children are as powerful, as real, and as true as are our own.

It is refreshing to find a teenage romance in which romance actually takes the front seat. There should be more books like this.

I've read and reread William Taylor's book a number of times. Every time I am impressed with the way he manages to invoke the realities of life in small town New Zealand and especially the pressures faced by adolescent males in a society which holds rugby stars and good keen men tantamount to deities. This fact of New Zealand life needs to be kept in mind when reading The Blue Lawn - much of the inherent value is lost without reference to Kiwi culture. Taylor's characters are credible and authentic. I tend to agree with comments that the allusion to the Holocaust (in Theo's grandmother) is perhaps unnecessary, but I can understand Taylor's motives in using the motif in the book. I disagree with those who feel The Blue Lawn lacks more about rugby - this is not a sports book, it is about two boys who happen to play rugby (as most boys in New Zealand do at some stage) and their nascent relationship, emotional and sexual. All in all this book is a great read and I'd recommend it to anyone.

This is one of the most difficult reviews I have written. First of all, I am a 37 year old, gay man from the U.S., so I know I am not the average reader the author expected to reach. However, I am a consultant to a library about gay/lesbian youth books, so I read dozens of "coming of age" books every month. "The Blue Lawn" threw me for a loop. The New Zealand language is stunning and beautiful to an outsider. The way the author also blended the effects of World War II into the book and the present is fantastic. Most of the characters seem so real.

However, the book lacks a few key elements. Without reveling any of the plot for those of you who decide to read the book, allow me to try to explain. The boys are so quick to anger, yet never seem to reach any degree of real longing for each other. Their anger, due to their love/lust for each other, comes so quickly; but when presented with opportunites for physical contact and expressions of their apparent love, they fall short and I find it hard to imagine that two 16 year olds would not have progressed beyond a simple kiss and sleeping in the same bed (clothed). While I understand that the author may have wanted to avoid any explicit sexual situations (as I believe this book was written for the younger reader), he could have at least had the boys been a bit more physical - something more realistic in this day and age.

If I may be so bold as to offer advice to to the author... take this book, expand it a bit more, explore each character a bit more and make the relationship between the two sixteen year olds just a bit more realistic. You kept them just a bit too pure and a young gay boy reading this book may want to know that doing more than just sleeping in the same bed is okay.

On the other hand, I must commend the author for his fantastic use of words, his blending of the past and present, and for allowing non-New Zealand readers to understand the role rugby plays in a young man's life. I would not hesitate to read more by this author and I have to say that this book is worth the price. It could be better, but, it is worth the price. My final thought.. I hope William Taylor writes another, longer, more drawn out book. I'll be the first to buy it.

This is one of the better books I've read on the subject of coming out, aimed at a young adult audience. But that's not saying much. I think a kid who is struggling with his (or her) identity would be better off reading and 'adult' book like Edmund White's gorgeous "The Beautiful Room is Empty". The writing is what elevates this book to better than average. The plot is fairly typical. A young, gifted athlete (why are they always athletes?) discovers his attraction to another boy is mutual. At first they don't discuss this attractions; instead sublimating with fast driving, wrestling, and a hunting expedition. The author began to lose me when, after the boys confront each other with their feelings, they remain incredibly chaste, even during mutual showers and nights spent in the same bed, half-nude. They learn to sublimate their sexual feelings by long runs followed by the aformentioned showers. The main character, David, while seemingly less worldy then Theo, seems willing. He is physically more powerful than Theo, more imaginative, and at times more persuasive in his arguments so it isn't too big a stretch to imagine him finding away to gently force the issue. Theo, who seems to have little control over his other appetites; smoking, drinking, fast driving; has remarkable self-control when it comes to sex. Naturally, this is a young adult book and the author has to be fairly discreet but one has to suspend their disbelief a bit far to accept that with all their opportunities (they are left alone for the weekend on more than one occasion) they don't even kiss.
Also, with such a short novel, short even by young adult standards, the author should have concentrated on one storyline; that of the two boys and their developing relationship. The side story of Gretel, Theo's grandmother, was distracting and out-of-place, having little bearing on what was happening between the boys. At the end, when we learn about her tragic past, it seems rushed, a device to shed some light on Theo's behavior, as well as her own. The author got so caught up in this character that he lost sight of his readers. I picked up this book in the hopes of reading an engaging story of two teenage boys discovering the joys, the heartaches, and the thrills of first love. Instead, I found myself growing impatient when at times Theo seemed to be a third wheel in the friendship between David and Gretel. I can't imagine the average teenage reader will have more patience for this than I. Perhaps the author should have saved Gretel's story for a different kind of book.

Ultimately, Theo is just too undeveloped a character. The reader is first introduced to him as a rebel who cares little for what others think of him. Very quickly the author seems to run out of steam when it comes to delving any deeper into Theo's motivations. His rebelliousness seems to be mere bravado; a pose. He initiates contact with David by making a rather brazen proposition on the second page of the book. Later, when he confesses his terror at the prospect of being gay for the rest of his life it doesn't ring true. Up until then he has seemed to sure of himself and of his ultimate success at hooking up with David. The far less worldly David instinctively realizes that there are strength in numbers when he confides in Theo, " It doesn't seem quite so bad when we're together. When we get to see each other and be together." This isn't out of keeping with David's character. Early in the book, he quits rugby after coming to the realization he is playing for the wrong reasons. He consistantly shows himself to be a young man unwilling to be untrue to himself. He has spent a great deal of time getting used to the idea even to the point of examing himself all over and concluding that he is not different from other boys accepting who he is attracted to. He has few illusions about who he is attracted to and is ready to accept it as long as he has love. In David, the author proves he can write a believable and consistant character so it is a mystery why he didn't work a little harder to flesh out Theo. The grandmother is a more fully realized character than Theo. One never has any doubts what motivates her behavior. She too is one with very little illusions about herself. I believe the author's intentions were good in developing Gretel the way he did; her horrible past is meant to provide insight to Theo's character and at the same time provide a bit of a moral lesson about hate which is clearly meant as a plea for tolerance for the young gay protaganists. As a message device is was handled far less clumsily then most young adult authors manage. Unfortunately, the author relies to heavily on our acceptance that Theo's personality has been shaped soley by the reality of Gretel's past. While it would surely have some bearing on Theo's character, too much is left out. When David confronts Theo, demanding to know why he hasn't been told about Gretel's past, accusing him of not caring, Theo retorts, "What the hell d'you mean? It is me. That is what I am. She is what I am. That, and more besides. Stuff she hasn't told you, might never tell you." We do learn the rest of the story, but not until the penultimate page of the book. While Gretel's revelation does provide some insight into Theo's character, it merely leaves one wondering why the author chose to clue us in at the end, when it doesn't really matter any more, at least not to the reader, and after all, who is the book for if not the reader?

All I want to say is this is one "helluva" a good book. I liked the style in which it was written and I believe anyone who buys it won't be disappointed. The author has treated the subject of homosexuality in a very touching and sensitive manner. It's a great story.

Before i read this book i was looking forward to award winning material, as it had won the 1995 AIM Children's Book Senior Fiction Award, but was very dissapointed. The book lacked all over the place and most dissapointing of all was the very much open ending which made you wonder why it was even written in the first place. Being the first book featuring same sex relationships from New Zealand, my residing country, i think that was all it was to the author, an oppurtunity for a first.

Remember the first time you fell in love? This book takes you back to those feelings in the pit of your stomach. You are able to leave through the two main teenagers in this book. This book is directed more to the teenage coming out readers.

I enjoyed the read but did not like the ending because it left it open. Also it is written with the England wording so you are aware. I would have approached the reading a little different in my head. All in all you laugh and you cry and you hurt right along with the kids. If you have ever came out you will understand every feeling. The author does a great job of capturing the true path and emotions of this huge event.

What can be said about this book? Well...maybe that it's very interesting how the author, was able to embed so many well detailed moments into the story AND the emotions that a young man feels. Who's to say what is right and what is wrong for a man to feel when he's confused and in search for answers? That is pretty much what the author tries to explore throughout the story.

However, there are a few things in which I was [am] a bit puzzled about. Was the reason for not exploring the characters moments with sex something to be best left to the imagination or just being cautious? What becomes of the characters with their families, friends and society?

My believe is that maybe the author left these details out so that maybe...just maybe some day, he could pick up the story again and continue it. I can clearly see this story being continued and explored more...so, who's to say?

This is a sweet book. The story is short but given the intended audience that is probably a good thing.

The author wastes no time in getting his two protagonists together as friends. After a rocky start, they develop a tentative but devoted relationship. When it comes to talking to one another, the two boys don't do much to explore what their friendship really means. The author seems to stretch things a bit when it comes to having the two of them sleep together in an embrace yet not become sexual. I don't know if we can really believe that two teenaged boys would be able to hold back, especially since the older boy, Theo, clearly establishes himself as a risk-taker who is not afraid to make bold moves.

I was less taken with the Holocaust subplot. Although the author probably intended it as a way of giving more dimension to Theo's grandmother, I'd have prefered more time seeing how the boys interacted.

The author's style is pleasant -- just right for the material -- and the New Zealand slang came across as rather charming to this American reader. The character of David does seem like a nice kid.

Recommended, but only if you are not looking for a sex romp every five pages.