Customer Reviews

The Drowning of Stephan Jones

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I read this novel several years ago and often think about it. The story is haunting in how it accurately portrays the nature of prejudice. Hate crimes against gays are common and are currently becoming even more common. Novels like this one might help some young people think about the results of hatred and prejudice. Bette Greene deserves all the praise and awards she has received for her books!

This was an excellent book. I read this book years ago, and it opened my eyes to prejudice. I had never really given any thought to problems facing homosexuals when I was younger. After reading this book, I became aware of the fear some people have of gays. I also noticed how people are very uncomfortable with anything that goes against their beliefs or values, and I feel this book was the building block which enabled me to open my eyes to such things.

The main character in the story is Carla Wayland. Carla's mother Judith is the town librarian, and she is basically reviled and looked down upon by the majority of the close-minded townspeople for her "liberal viewpoints". Judith tries to instill in her daughter Carla how important it is to stand up for one's beliefs, but as the book unfolds, we realize how little value Carla places on her mother's teachings.

Although the readers understand Judith is struggling in the small-minded, close-knit town, Carla is going through struggles of her own which are much more "important" in her mind than her mother's. Carla is fighting to fit in at the local high school. Her boyfriend, Andy Harris, embodies everything she wants to be--he is handsome, wealthy, and very popular. Carla, on the other hand, is a newcomer to the town, and her friends count her mother as being a strike against her.

In a nearby town, Stephen Jones and his boyfriend Frank Montgomery are struggling, too. They have moved into the town hoping to make a new life together, and have opened a small shop. However, they are put into fierce conflict with Andy and his macho friends, who are intolerant and afraid of homosexuals. As you can imagine from the novel's title, the story is destined for something horrible to happen--and it does.

After the incident between Andy's friends and Stephen, Carla is forced to decide once and for all what she will do. Should she take the easy road, close her eyes to everyone else's flaws, and keep fighting for her place as a popular, accepted student? Or should she acknowledge her mother is a brave woman in her own right, and it is better to fight for what one believes in? Her struggle was interesting to me, but I have to admit--sometimes I just wanted to grab Carla by the hair and give her a good shake.

Reading the novel now that I'm older, I do see its shortcomings. I agree with some of the critics--it was perhaps not as streamlined and did not flow as well as it could've. But all in all, I still believe it is worth the read, especially for those in the recommended age limit--14 and up. It was a visceral novel with much truth in it, especially in light of such events as the murder of Matthew Shepard, the 21-year old college student who was killed senselessly in Wyoming in 1998 because he was gay. It certainly left me with a lot to think about.

Carla is a high school student who has never been very popular. Perhaps part of the reason is that she and her mother live in a very conservative and religious town in Arkansas. Her father left when she was a baby, and her mother is very outspoken about morality and consitutional rights. She is the head librarian at the local library and is constantly getting into fights with the ultra-religious people in town who think many of the library's books should be censored. Her mother's views have often made things difficult for Carla.



Now Carla is in love with Andy, a handsome and popular classmate and the son of the town's hardware store owner. Andy is perfect in Carla's eyes and so is his whole stable church-going family. When he finally asks her out and they become a couple, she couldn't be happier. But Andy has his dark side. When he finds out that there is a gay couple running an antique store nearby, he is furious and begins to harass them every opportunity he gets, going out of his way to deface their store and sending nasty and threatening letters. Carla knows that what he is doing is wrong, but now that she has the popularity and acceptance she's always wanted, will she be able to give it up in order to do the right thing?



I really liked Frank and Stephan. Their relationship wasn't perfect, but they were obviously very loving and devoted to each other. I liked that a gay relationship was portrayed so naturally. I also liked Carla's mom and the reason she gave for being so outspoken all of the time. The ending was excellent, too.



However, I'm not sure if this was a realistic portrayal of an entire town. I found it hard to believe that everyone would be so consumed by hate. The religious people in this book were a bit cliched, too.

This is a great story revolving around a very christian and church going young man and his blinded by love girlfriend. Andy is working a hate campaign towards the gentle and friendly gay couple Stephan Jones and Frank Montgomery for no reason other than the fact they are gay and the fact that Andy is using his religion as an excuse to do so. And then when Stephan drowns as a result of a vicious joke, the truth about Andy finally comes out.

A very eye opening book. I did not realize that there are really people in this world that use religion as an excuse to act this way, but there really are.

This book will always be one of the best books. The reason I chose this book was because of the muder and lessons. This book is about a boy who commites hate crimes against a gay cuple, and his girlfriend standing up for what she believes in. My favorite character is Clara because even if she loves Andy she wants to go against his believes. My favorite part of the book is in the court room.

This is a truly beautiful and well writin story. Once this book was in my hands, it hardly left there until the end. The Drowning Of Stephen Jones is a story for everyone who cares about what is happening in the world today, and those who simply love to read good books. Don't miss this novel!

The book, The Drowning of Stephen Jones is full of excitement.
This book shows you insight into a topic that is not talked about very often,
Homosexuals. This book tells a story of a young girl who gets placed in a very
sticky situation, she tries to put aside her morals to fit in with her friends. It is
a very insightful book. It's a good book to read in just a couple of sittings,
it was definitely a page turner. You will feel so involved with the character
that you wont be able to tell the difference between fact and fiction.

Andy Harris is the ultimate Christian young man. He quotes scripture, attends church religiously, leads Bible study but is that really him. Carla Wayland, his girlfriend, is totally in love with him and doesn't see or ignores his quirks. His ultimate quirk is his hatred of all homosexuals, especially the gay couple - Frank Montgomery and Stephan Jones. What drives him? Does Carla's mother - Judith - the town outcast because she stands up for her beliefs - have anything to do with it? This is a remarkable tale of what hatred does to people - to those who hate and to those who are hated. Greene develops the characters so true to life, you'll feel you are watching a movie. I highly recommend this book.

Bette Greene's "The Drowning of Stephan Jones" is a well-researched and well-written book about a timely issue. It is a novel based upon a series of real-life events, the perpetrators and victims of which Greene spoke to before writing. The novel explores the hatred of gays often propagated by those who are supposed to be our "moral leaders". Andy and his friends abuse, belittle, and humiliate Stephan Jones and Frank Montgomery throughout the book, and, ultimately, the wind up killing Stephan. There is a valuable lesson to be learned from this work, which will undoubtedly raise numerous questions in the reader's mind. Apparently, Mrs. Greene is willing to answer her readers' questions though, as she has established a website with the intention of informing her readers about her books and life. You can visit it, and email her from bettegreene.com.

The book ' The Drowning of Stephan Jones" was a interesting book. I think this because of the story line. The story line is about agay kid at school, and how everyone harrasses him and make fun of him until the harrassment goes too far and they end up killing him by throwing him in the water and he drowns to death. One of the kids that killed him was named Andy and he had a girlfriend named Carla. Carla didn`t like the way Andy was harrassing Stephan just because he was gay. She tried to get him to stop, but he wouldn`t. Carla used to not have any friends and used to hang out with her mother. Then she met up with Andy and all his friends and became friends with them. Carla was happy to be accepted into the crowd of popular people and she did, whatever she had to do to fit in. She agreed with everything they said and did. Soon Carla decided that she didn`t want to be with all her new friends because of all the harrassing they did to Stephan Jones. Carla felt very bad that she was involved with these people and so, after they had killed Stephan Jones, she testified against them. Now Carla is aganist all her friends and she doesn`t mind because she now can think for her self instead of letting her friends think for her. I think that this book was alright but I wouldn`t recomend it to anyone if they were looking for a book to read just for fun. But, if you have to read it for school, then have fun with it.