Customer Reviews

Tommy Stands Alone (Roosevelt High School)

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It is a shame that this earnest, painstaking book is so woodenly written. Clearly the writer felt strongly about her topic, and was anxious to write a reassuring book for adolescents (particularly Latino adolescents). Unfortunately, the result reads like a high-school composition assignment, littered with stock platitudes and "Advice for teens and parents on coping with homosexuality" school-pamphlet paragraphs. For adolescent readers wondering about their sexuality and the reactions of family and friends, such paragraphs might relate just what they need to know. For those merely seeking characters with which to identify, however, the heavy-handed explations and reassurances will bore them.

The fast-moving plot contains well-drawn, sympathetic characters, albeit with too much emphasis on Tommy's counselor; I think her story would have worked better as part of Tommy's counseling sessions. Regarding Tommy himself, two major character elements seem to be missing: how he identified his sexuality in the first place, and any physical attraction to men (Tommy's homosexuality seems very antiseptic and conjectural). Due to these omissions, the reader is left a little frustrated in wanting to know this interesting character better.

Overall-- perceptive treatment of Latino culture aside--far better novels dealing with adolescent homosexuality are available. A sterling example is Michael Cart's "My Father's Scar;" a wonderful and poignant book that doesn't suborn the issue of mutual attraction in favor of chaste philosophic debate.