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275th out of 1,147 books
—
5,776 voters
Sexy
The most provocative young adult novel yet from New York Times best-selling author Joyce Carol Oates.
Darren Flynn is popular, good-looking, and has a spot on the varsity swim team. But after what happened that day in November (did it happen?), life is different for Darren.
Now his friends, his family, even the people who are supposed to be in charge are no longer who Darren...more
Darren Flynn is popular, good-looking, and has a spot on the varsity swim team. But after what happened that day in November (did it happen?), life is different for Darren.
Now his friends, his family, even the people who are supposed to be in charge are no longer who Darren...more
Paperback, 288 pages
Published
January 3rd 2006
by HarperTeen
(first published February 15th 2005)
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Interesting...Joyce Carol Oates for the teen set. Who knew? I found some of the details and plot lines to be a bit predictable or stereotypical. A teacher, (effeminate aka might be gay-that's new) is accused of engaging in inappropriate behavior with some young boys/men (again new concept and for the record there is a difference between being gay and being a pedophile, a big difference). Eventually we learn something did happen between him and the teacher. The twist is the reader knows all the a...more
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Nov 30, 2008
April
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
pretentious literati who worship JCO just 'cause she's JCO
Shelves:
young-adult-books
I found it a)disturbing, and b)insulting to me as a teacher that our culture is so preoccupied (one might say obsessed) with the notion of teachers as pedophiles in such an exaggerated and sensationalized way. Add to both these factors that the book is poorly written, the characters poorly developed and unrealistic, and the plot and ending contrived and you have one of the most over-rated books (by an equally overrated author) I have ever read.
4 likes · like · see review
Oops she did it again...
Joyce Carol Oates must write every damn second of her life, don't you think? This one is another good story with familiar Oates themes: class, complex characters, gritty realism and no clear answers. I read it in one sitting- the short chapters and good pacing will make this a good pick for reluctant readers. Although I get why it's called "Sexy," I think the title may disappoint teen readers as it is not literally a sexy book in the usual way. Who knows though? Maybe a t...more
Joyce Carol Oates must write every damn second of her life, don't you think? This one is another good story with familiar Oates themes: class, complex characters, gritty realism and no clear answers. I read it in one sitting- the short chapters and good pacing will make this a good pick for reluctant readers. Although I get why it's called "Sexy," I think the title may disappoint teen readers as it is not literally a sexy book in the usual way. Who knows though? Maybe a t...more
Nov 20, 2008
Sami
added it
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
anyone who enjoys a good heartfelt book
When I first started to read this book it was almost what I expected it to be. As I got farther through it, it was completely different and not what I had expected. It was amazing and almost brought me to tears.
Joyce Carol Oates viene considerata una delle più grandi autrici del nostro tempo. Io dico che se tutte le sue opere sono come Sexy, c’è da chiedersi cosa si siano fumati quelli che hanno fomentato queste voci.
L’unico aggettivo con cui sento esprimere appieno quello che provo verso questo romanzo è: vergognoso.
La narrazione dipinge Darren come un ragazzino chiuso in se stesso, con bel fisico e un gran nuotatore, quello che però non afferma mai in modo chiaro e conciso è che è un omofobo in tutto...more
L’unico aggettivo con cui sento esprimere appieno quello che provo verso questo romanzo è: vergognoso.
La narrazione dipinge Darren come un ragazzino chiuso in se stesso, con bel fisico e un gran nuotatore, quello che però non afferma mai in modo chiaro e conciso è che è un omofobo in tutto...more
At first glance of Sexy by Joyce Carol Oates, you’d think that this story was about the life of a handsome boy and his love life. But after you open up the book, you discover that it’s not all about the glitz and glamour of being good looking, but instead the lessons of love, loyalty, and trust.
Darren Flynn had always had troubles with talking to girls; it was just awkward. However, most girls would practically be filled with joy at the thought of him just talking to them. He understood that th...more
Darren Flynn had always had troubles with talking to girls; it was just awkward. However, most girls would practically be filled with joy at the thought of him just talking to them. He understood that th...more
Any book that a teen can read is a teen book. Treating this as a teen book is both radical and lame. Rad cause it is honest and straightforward without the all too typical patronizing teen-speak, but lame because well, yeah, what the hell is a teen book? Yes, it deals with high school, yes it deals with teens, but so do lots of books. I suppose it´s all how it´s marketed and if it motivates school libraries to shelve this, it is one not ridiculous teen book, typically housed on cobwebbed high sc...more
Apr 29, 2009
Stephen
added it
Recommends it for:
14 year olds
Recommended to Stephen by:
had to read it for english
Sexy by Joyce Carol Oates was ironically unappealing after i finished reading it. If your up for a quick and easy read I advise you to read this book, but if you actually want a book that is an amazing read that will intrigue you , I do not reccomend this book.THe writing in this book is so simple that its a bit too easy to read. I feel like the writing style is for people in elementary school to read. It's advertised to young adults but it reads a bit too young and im a young adult myself.
Joyce...more
Joyce...more
For my first JCO book, I thought it was decent. In the small town in New Hampshire, where the story is set, there is an underlying current of homophobia. Very early on, a group of high school boys beat up a gay man, and run away without being apprehended. After an English teacher, Mr. Tracey,gives poor grades to several of his students, the students falsely accuse him of being a child molester and pedophile in retaliation. What surprised me a bit, was how quickly the school officials and police...more
Dans Sexy, Joyce Carol Oates pose un regard sur les préjugés et la haine dans la société Américaine face aux différences et qui condamne souvent trop vite les individus qui n’entre pas dans le "moule". Une histoire angoissante remplie de non-dits, de suppositions. Une ambiance tendue, le sentiment de culpabilité de Darren qui se trouve confronté à ses propres doutes donnent une atmosphère oppressante à ce roman. La tension est palpable.
Je n’ai pas retrouvé ici la JCO que je connais, l’écriture e...more
Je n’ai pas retrouvé ici la JCO que je connais, l’écriture e...more
May 13, 2008
Susan
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
people interested in teacher/student relationships, "serious" YA lit, fans of JCO
Shelves:
youngadult,
2008read
I really like the fragmented prose style. It's true what the protag says: We see what we want to, not what's there, and that's what we fall in love with. It's all invented.
I was hoping for a little more with the ending though. And I think it should be retitled. JCO is one of my new interests, nevertheless. Luckily (or unluckily as the case may be) she has about a million books for me to work my way through.
Grade: A-
I was hoping for a little more with the ending though. And I think it should be retitled. JCO is one of my new interests, nevertheless. Luckily (or unluckily as the case may be) she has about a million books for me to work my way through.
Grade: A-
I love me some JCO. She is my favorite author, and I have almost all of her books. I have also read some of her other YA books. However, this one sucks. The ending was awful and forced and unbelievable...as in things don't just end like this. I also hated the assumption that anyone "gay" or "homosexual" or "feminite (feminate?)" is also a pedophile. I am sure, as she usually does, that she is basing the story off of things she has read/seen/heard. But I am disappointed that she entertained that...more
This book is interesting, in some ways I liked it and in others i hated it. As a teenager myself i have to say I'm very insulted by the way she depicts the characters, most teenagers are nothing like that. She made the characters very unrealistic and unrelatable. I did like the way that she left the end open and unanswered, so you can use your imagination to create a ending. I saw that many people in the reviews found the book confusing and had to read in multiple times to understand, they didn'...more
I wasn't particularly thrilled with this one. The title seemed a forced fit with the actual story, and seemed somewhat inappropriate for the age range, without offering a very clear message to the reader. In my opinion, it moved quickly, but failed to fully develop into a fully entertaining work.
Interesting perspective. Narrator is a popular high school boy, uncomfortable with his emerging "sexiness." There's a scandal involving his gay English teacher and JCO does a masterful job of slipping the reader under the protag's skin, which at times is a very uncomfortable place to be.
This book was hard for me to get into at first, i wasnt really crazy about it. The more details put into it though the more interesting it got and the more i read. Dareen Flynn a teenage boy who was to everyone else "very attractive" he always has been so they say.
He knew people thought that but never thought much of it.Tihngs for Darren was great he never had any complaints until an experiance with his english teacher Mr.Tracy drives him wild always fighting himself not to think about it but...more
He knew people thought that but never thought much of it.Tihngs for Darren was great he never had any complaints until an experiance with his english teacher Mr.Tracy drives him wild always fighting himself not to think about it but...more
11/01/08
The book I reviewed Sexy by Joyce Carol Oates. It's a fiction story. The main theme is about hormones, sexuality and expectations upon teenagers as they age. She asks readers to think about how trust is earned, then broken, how friendship is tested in times of crisis, and how rumors can poison the lives of the innocent.
The story is about Darren Flynn, a sixteen year old high school student who is also a local hero as he moves from adolescence into man hood .Being a swimmer and a promis...more
The book I reviewed Sexy by Joyce Carol Oates. It's a fiction story. The main theme is about hormones, sexuality and expectations upon teenagers as they age. She asks readers to think about how trust is earned, then broken, how friendship is tested in times of crisis, and how rumors can poison the lives of the innocent.
The story is about Darren Flynn, a sixteen year old high school student who is also a local hero as he moves from adolescence into man hood .Being a swimmer and a promis...more
When i first read about that book, I got really excited and set my expectations really high because the story seemed good and the author (Joyce Carol Oates) was popular and respected. To be honest, this novel disappointed me. The first few pages were very interresting but then it felt like this book had no real point, or at least it seemed like it to me. It bored me after a while, but the story was interesting... somehow.
I guess Oates's writing isn't my type. I will try reading from her again i...more
I guess Oates's writing isn't my type. I will try reading from her again i...more
This book is surprisingly engaging despite the narrative style. The sentences and chapters are short. It's like being inside the mind of a very very confused young boy, which, I guess, is the point. There are a lot of exclamation marks that pulled me out of the story (I don't think exclamation marks are usually necessary to make a strong point, but anyway). The ending is sort of ambiguous, which I like. The story about how things can snowball and go completely out of control was realistic and ve...more
This was a disturbing read, because I've watched people live it. Rumors change, and, in some cases, ruin the lives of teachers and administrators--students spread them for what they seem to think is 'entertainment' and 'fun,' at the expense of innocent individuals.
I recommend this book to all high school students and faculty members, as well as college students who have been a part of any rumor mill in the past. Everyone seems to want to be the person with the most jarring and shocking informati...more
I recommend this book to all high school students and faculty members, as well as college students who have been a part of any rumor mill in the past. Everyone seems to want to be the person with the most jarring and shocking informati...more
I thought this was going to be weird as hell since Joyce Carol Oates is usually pretty freaking weird but Darren's POV was really interesting. He is a complex and surprisingly sweet soul. A moral and pondering young man trapped by his looks. Judged by his looks, by what people think is sexy. His own family treats him differently because of his looks and he truly doesn’t understand it.
He is tormented over something he played a very small part in, and is essentially the only real victim. Darren’s...more
He is tormented over something he played a very small part in, and is essentially the only real victim. Darren’s...more
Interesting but not my cup of tea. The first time I read it I didn't get it, I knew that the teacher may or may not be gay but I didn't know what that had to do with Darren but I did not what was going on half of the time, now this is just me and other people may have gotten it, but for some odd reason I didn't. I had to read it twice in order to understand what was going on. The book overall was good, I would recommend it to people, I liked Joyce Carol Oates and the way she writes but I just co...more
Mar 16, 2009
Rosalee
added it
This is a good book. It tells the story of a boy darren that is cute and everyone from the students to his teachers think he is cute. But he isn;t the type of kid to flaut it he is more of the low key type. He is on the swin team and is actualy real good at it. There is a teacher who asks him after school one day if he needs a ride and he accepts and the teacher makes a pass at him but he ignores it. When the school term is over he out of all his friends passes the course and they play a prank o...more
This book disguises itself as innocuous enough--young adult fiction titled "Sexy" about a teenage boy who is an athlete on a high school swim team. But it's by Joyce Carol Oates, so I should have known better and expected right away to be thoroughly disgusted and disturbed. Everything I detest about conservative American culture was covered in this little book--small town ignorance, hypocrisy, homophobia, conformity, the power of the lies we tell ourselves, small-minded sports culture, the madon...more
This book was my last choice. I had plenty of money to spend (it was my birthday) and I was hoping from the title that is going to be a book for a guy who tries to figure out his sexuality. But I was wrong. Not fully, but still wrong.
The book says about this high-school athlete who's shy and so much different from his play mates. He doesn't have a car so his best friend gets him home after practice. One day there is snow and he has a disaggreement with his friend. So his stuck in the school. One...more
The book says about this high-school athlete who's shy and so much different from his play mates. He doesn't have a car so his best friend gets him home after practice. One day there is snow and he has a disaggreement with his friend. So his stuck in the school. One...more
From about page 3 of this book until the end, I was confused. Something about the style, the way the words come at you, left me feeling like I was a couple steps removed and my filter slightly broken. And yet this was a quick read, and for all that you feel foggy, the story is easily enough understood. Search for self, mob mentality, cowardice versus bravery, the things that are done to innocent people just because they can be... Not a friendly book, in many ways, but a true one. And worth the r...more
Sexy est mon premier roman de cet auteur.
Il s'agit d'un roman de jeunesse, édité dans la collection SCRIPTO (très jolie collection!).
L'histoire : Darren Flynn, 16 ans, est un magnifique garçon. Bon nageur et plongeur, tout le monde l'admire, sauf que lui ne comprend pas pourquoi. Il n'est pas très bon élève et même dans son sport, il pourrait être meilleur. Sa vie bascule le jour où son professeur, M. Tracy le raccompagne en voiture chez lui. Que s'est-il passé ou ne s'est-il pas passé?
Partant d...more
Il s'agit d'un roman de jeunesse, édité dans la collection SCRIPTO (très jolie collection!).
L'histoire : Darren Flynn, 16 ans, est un magnifique garçon. Bon nageur et plongeur, tout le monde l'admire, sauf que lui ne comprend pas pourquoi. Il n'est pas très bon élève et même dans son sport, il pourrait être meilleur. Sa vie bascule le jour où son professeur, M. Tracy le raccompagne en voiture chez lui. Que s'est-il passé ou ne s'est-il pas passé?
Partant d...more
The book is trying to say that our culture is obsessed with the notion teachers are pedophiles. The teacher didn't do anything, and I think one of the messages of the book is people should not make claims against another because that accusation can ruin that person's life. Darren is trying to have his friends come clean about lying for the second half the book. Another positive aspect of "Sexy" is that Mr. Tracy affected Darren for the better even after Tracy's death. (a response to another comm...more
Your swim teammates start talking about how creepy your teacher is (because he goes to every swim meet). They decide to write a letter full of lies about him, resulting in his firing. You never told anyone, but this teacher once seemed to hit on you. When your teacher wants you to speak on his behalf, you don’t want to be involved at all. What responsibility do you have to protect the innocent and how innocent is this teacher? Does he deserve what he gets? Is it your fault?
At first I didn't know where this book was going. OK, he's a cute young jock, and all he thinks about is sex. But the writing is so murky, I couldn't grasp the point. As the plot moved along (sorta) i still couldn't get the point. Was Darren gay? Did the teacher do anything untoward? Was the teacher gay? WHAT IS THE POINT OF THIS STORY? Ultimately, the only point of this story was to get to the end of the book. Seemed more like a writing exercise than a fully realized novel.
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Joyce Carol Oates is a recipient of the National Book Award and the PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in Short Fiction. She is also the recipient of the 2005 Prix Femina for The Falls. She is the Roger S. Berlind Distinguished Professor of the Humanities at Princeton University, and she has been a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters since 1978. Pseudonyms ... Rosamond Smith and Laure...more
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