2006 ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Award Winner in Gay & Lesbian Fiction From BOOKS TO WATCH OUT FOR by RICHARD LABONTE, Volume 4 number 1—Adolescence is a hazardous way of life for 17-year-old Jeremy Tyler; his father died in a mysterious accident when he was a child, and his mother has since descended into alcoholic hell and forced rehab; that's when he's sent from the Fresno slums of his childhood to the posh estate of his overbearing great aunt Katherine and her censorious husband7mdash;liberated from an economic prison, only to land in an emotional one—and is overwhelmed by the change. It's not easy for him to fit into the upper crust, particularly because he's trying to hide how much he's attracted to other boys. Jeremy's story of breaking free from the strands of dishonesty, deceit, and self-doubt has its parallels to the tale of Pinocchio, but Nolan's take is totally contemporary: think the TV series The OC—girls with mean cheekbones, well-built guys with snotty attitudes, and Jeremy in the role of heartthrob Ryan Atwood. He's a good-looking kid, with a sleek swimmer's physique—and the swim team's champ is out to get him. He dates one of the smart-set girls in an attempt to keep his hormones at bay—but that doesn't do him much good. Nolan's debut novel is a kitchen sink of genres—coming of age, coming out, mystery, romance, erotica, even a dash of the supernatural—that add up to an impressive story about the passage from boyhood to manhood. **

Kurzbeschreibung
2006 ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Award Winner in Gay & Lesbian Fiction From BOOKS TO WATCH OUT FOR by RICHARD LABONTE, Volume 4 number 1—Adolescence is a hazardous way of life for 17-year-old Jeremy Tyler; his father died in a mysterious accident when he was a child, and his mother has since descended into alcoholic hell and forced rehab; that's when he's sent from the Fresno slums of his childhood to the posh estate of his overbearing great aunt Katherine and her censorious husband7mdash;liberated from an economic prison, only to land in an emotional one—and is overwhelmed by the change. It's not easy for him to fit into the upper crust, particularly because he's trying to hide how much he's attracted to other boys. Jeremy's story of breaking free from the strands of dishonesty, deceit, and self-doubt has its parallels to the tale of Pinocchio, but Nolan's take is totally contemporary: think the TV series The OC—girls with mean cheekbones, well-built guys with snotty attitudes, and Jeremy in the role of heartthrob Ryan Atwood. He's a good-looking kid, with a sleek swimmer's physique—and the swim team's champ is out to get him. He dates one of the smart-set girls in an attempt to keep his hormones at bay—but that doesn't do him much good. Nolan's debut novel is a kitchen sink of genres—coming of age, coming out, mystery, romance, erotica, even a dash of the supernatural—that add up to an impressive story about the passage from boyhood to manhood.

Klappentext
Seventeen year-old Jeremy Tyler is the puppet of Tiffany, his alcoholic mother. But when she is forced into rehab, Jeremy moves from the slums to the cliff-top estate of Katharine Tyler and Bill Mortson. Stunned by the wealth surrounding him, Jeremy thinks he's landed in paradise until the couple begins dictating his every move, and a late-night phone call identifies someone close as Jeremy's certain foe, and his father's murderer.And Jeremy tries to fit in with the elite of Ballena Beach High. He joins the swim team and dates exotic Reed Banks - the girl he hopes will obliterate his attraction to boys. But Coby Carson, a calculating swim champ who mimics the all American boy, has other plans for the besieged Jeremy, as does rebellious ranching scion Carlo Martinez. Pulled in so many directions, Jeremy seeks guidance from acid-tongued teen socialite Ellie O'Neal, and Arthur Blauefee, a mysteriously gifted man with an unforgettable tragedy in his own past - as well as a stunning, clandestine identity. But as Jeremy grows more comfortable with the veneer of a fabulous life, so grows his dissatisfaction, as well as the danger of immeasurable harm.