It's Dade's last summer at home. He has a crappy job at Food World, a "boyfriend" who won't publicly acknowledge his existence (maybe because Pablo...
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Oct 26, 2011
Cory
rated it: 
Reading this book was painful.
Our main character, Dade Hamilton, is an idiot. I wanted to pimp slap him every other page. Dade makes Bella Swan look like Mother Teresa.
Just as a side-note, Dade is gay, but that's pretty much irrelevant to the plot. Dade wants you to think that his problems stem from being gay, but actually, he's just an asshole. There are kids who get tormented every single day because of their sexuality. Then we have whiners, like Dade, who are the Jesse J More...
Our main character, Dade Hamilton, is an idiot. I wanted to pimp slap him every other page. Dade makes Bella Swan look like Mother Teresa.
Just as a side-note, Dade is gay, but that's pretty much irrelevant to the plot. Dade wants you to think that his problems stem from being gay, but actually, he's just an asshole. There are kids who get tormented every single day because of their sexuality. Then we have whiners, like Dade, who are the Jesse J More...
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Apr 27, 2011
Mello
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16 comments
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(17 people liked it)
Oct 31, 2011
Nikyta
rated it: 
3.5 stars
I have a hard time rating this one because nothing really happens besides some mild angst on Dade's part and a brief scene at the end of the book. I also hated the ending but after I got into the story, I didn't really want to stop reading it.
I loved the characters. Well most of them. Dade is funny in a sarcastic, somewhat mellow, what-do-I-do-now type of way and I liked that. Lucy, Dade's lesbian friend, brought Dade out of his shell and made him into a funny, lika More...
I have a hard time rating this one because nothing really happens besides some mild angst on Dade's part and a brief scene at the end of the book. I also hated the ending but after I got into the story, I didn't really want to stop reading it.
I loved the characters. Well most of them. Dade is funny in a sarcastic, somewhat mellow, what-do-I-do-now type of way and I liked that. Lucy, Dade's lesbian friend, brought Dade out of his shell and made him into a funny, lika More...
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Jan 21, 2012
Cris
rated it: 
This book was about a boy who had problems with his family. His mom and dad weren't doing so good and on the verge of getting a divorce. To top it off, his "boyfriend" wasn't acting like one. his boyfriend was still in the closet and wasnt planning on coming out anytime soon because he had one of the hottest girls in school. At least this is his last summer before college, but what will this summer bring? It brings crazy evenings and parties and a boring job at a super market. As wel
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Jan 06, 2012
Roger
rated it: 
Having just read a bad–mediocre gay novella that was more porn than anything else, I read this book in two days—between work and sleep and my second anniversary celebration with the most wonderful man in the world—and it completely wrecked me. For one thing, I couldn't stop reading. That hasn't happened to me for a long time, for a book I've never read. I literally did not want to stop reading it, not even to go to bed.
The story is engrossing from the start, and while it is not perfect More...
The story is engrossing from the start, and while it is not perfect More...
Oct 08, 2011
Candido
rated it:
Ever since I read the summary of this book online I’ve been craving to read it, and now I finally did^_^. The Vast Fields of Ordinary by Nick Burd is just breath taking, captivating, and vivid read. The book is told through Dade’s perspective, he has finally graduated high school, and is just trying to make it through his last summer in Iowa with his parents, and basically figuring out himself before he heads up to college.Through out the book we see Dade struggle with his sexuality, his friend-
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Jul 22, 2011
Becky
rated it:
THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS!!!!
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A lot of people criticized this one for being so angsty, but I must like angst, because I really liked it. Dade has just graduated high school in Cedarville, Iowa, and though he comes across as introverted and detached, his life has a lot of drama. First off, he knows he's gay. There's his not-boyfriend Pablo, who has a physical relationship with Dade but wants to keep his girlfriend and jock stat More...
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A lot of people criticized this one for being so angsty, but I must like angst, because I really liked it. Dade has just graduated high school in Cedarville, Iowa, and though he comes across as introverted and detached, his life has a lot of drama. First off, he knows he's gay. There's his not-boyfriend Pablo, who has a physical relationship with Dade but wants to keep his girlfriend and jock stat More...
Apr 23, 2011
Ozimandias
rated it: 
Burd graduated from the Iowa Writers' Workship and the book takes place in a Cedar Rapids-type of place. All fine so far. The main character Dade is a gay kid from a middle-class family with stereotypical problems (mom drinks, dad works a lot and has affair). He himself is plagued with the issue of being in a secret relationship with the Sexican, Pablo, the hot athlete. Apparently, Pablo had a girlfriend and wanted Dade on the side. Dade wanted more, Pablo couldn't abide, and their relationship,
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Feb 18, 2011
Vladimir
rated it:
Amazing. I had a hard time sleeping after finishing this book simply because I was heartbroken. The author didn't invest much on sex scenes ,unlike others, to highlight this book and yet I caught myself wanting to read it again because the sheer pang of sorrow I feel for it. On one hand, I can't exactly say the book was tragic because Dade was able to endure the summer and came out stronger after everything that's happened but on the other hand, I can't exactly describe it as a triumph either be
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(6 people liked it)
Jan 22, 2011
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2 comments
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(1 person liked it)
Jul 21, 2010
Sarah
rated it:
Dade Hamilton spends his senior prom in the boys' bathroom drawing a monument to the one he loves. The only problem is, the one he loves is on the dance floor with his football buddies and popular girlfriend, and not only won't acknowledge Dade in public, he barely accepts him in private during their secret rendezvous. With parents lost in their own suburban misery, and a soul sucking job with the high school heathens that have ignored or tormented him for years, Dade's last summer before coll
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(1 person liked it)
Jul 06, 2010
Kassa
rated it:
Vast Fields of Ordinary stands out in the dense genre of young adult fiction. Although it’s emotional and filled with angst, it’s also edgy and daring. It puts teenage behavior on display with all the rebellion, antisocial yearning mixed with tentative forays into drug and alcohol use. This is not a book parents will give to their kids to learn from but there is so much captured within these beautifully written pages that readers can’t help but identify and learn from the characters. I can easil
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(4 people liked it)
Jun 04, 2010
Dade Hamilton is graduating from high school—and he’s a pretty likable guy, if not slightly awkward. And although he holds his own, he still gets harassed on occasion. At school, he’s thrown a gay slur every once in a while…possibly in part, because he is gay. While not not yet "out of the closet,” and despite a secretive sexual relationship with a popular guy on the football time, Dade plans to come out to his parents after he’s left for college. That is, until everything changes: his da
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May 27, 2010
Troy
rated it:
I'mma just keep it plain and simple
LIKES:
-the description of Dade and Alex's relationship, it was cute how Dade realizes that not only he's gay but he has feelings for another boy
-the character Lucy, I mean this was the only character I'd really ever wanna meet
DISLIKES:
-the blatant stupidity of the main character. He sits with boys who pick on him?? Uhh, okay what's up. He sleeps with a boy who hits him, he's a blind alcoholic, and the whole bookish/timi More...
LIKES:
-the description of Dade and Alex's relationship, it was cute how Dade realizes that not only he's gay but he has feelings for another boy
-the character Lucy, I mean this was the only character I'd really ever wanna meet
DISLIKES:
-the blatant stupidity of the main character. He sits with boys who pick on him?? Uhh, okay what's up. He sleeps with a boy who hits him, he's a blind alcoholic, and the whole bookish/timi More...
May 11, 2010
Aaron
rated it:
Dade Hamilton just finished from high school, and he is getting ready to enjoy his last summer before heading off to college. Little does he know, but it is going to be filled with all sorts of changes.
The first of the changes relates to the fact that he has known that he has been gay for years. The kids at school used to tease him about it, but he said or did little to confirm or deny the fact. What everyone doesn't know is that he was having a relationship with Pablo, one of the mo More...
The first of the changes relates to the fact that he has known that he has been gay for years. The kids at school used to tease him about it, but he said or did little to confirm or deny the fact. What everyone doesn't know is that he was having a relationship with Pablo, one of the mo More...
Mar 30, 2010
Brenna
rated it:
Dade Hamiltion is the main character's name. This is his last summer before college and all he wants to do is get out of his crappy town, Iowa. There is one thing that Dade has going against him no matter where he seems to be and that's the fact that he's gay. Yes, Dade Hamiltion is gay. He tells his ceiling fan "I'm gay" everyday in hopes of eventually coming out to his parents. His mom is a pill popping mother who cares for Dade. Dades father is in another world of his own, trying to
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(2 people liked it)
Jan 12, 2010
Alex
rated it:
My initial draw to this book (aside from the fact that it was queer lit), was the title and the cover, which should teach me to never judge a book...well you know how it goes.
This was very much angsty/emo teen lit. It feels along the lines of American Beauty and Cruel Intentions (though it's been a while since I saw the latter, so we'll stick with the former). It could probably be compared with Catcher in the Rye but with more sex (none of it graphic that I remember).
Life in More...
This was very much angsty/emo teen lit. It feels along the lines of American Beauty and Cruel Intentions (though it's been a while since I saw the latter, so we'll stick with the former). It could probably be compared with Catcher in the Rye but with more sex (none of it graphic that I remember).
Life in More...
Dec 08, 2009
Jennifer
rated it:
Gay teen in the Midwest, tired of shitty town, tired of fucking an in the closet jock dickhead, tired of his parents disintegrating marriage. During his last summer at home he makes a great friend comes out and meets a boy. Alex Kincaid is as hot, intriguing, and mysterious as his name implies. Good romance but then tragedy unexpectedly strikes and fucks it all up. Good for queer and straight teens looking for realistic romance with a side of “problem” fiction. I think Sarah Desson fans might di
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Nov 04, 2009
Brandy
rated it:
Dade is in that awkward space between high school and college. His kinda-relationship with Pablo is just about over, his parents' kinda-relationship with each other is just about over, and Dade is recognizing that he wants more than a kinda-relationship with anyone. Enter Lucy, a neighbor's niece who was kicked out of her own house for being a lesbian, and she and Dade quickly become close friends. Enter also Alex, whom Dade meets briefly at a party and immediately crushes on. With Lucy's enc
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Aug 09, 2009
Theresa
rated it:
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Aug 05, 2009
Marlan
rated it:
A good read. When I started it, I prepared myself for a long and bitter tale of closeted suburban hell. Dade's parents are splitting up, his hot closeted boyfriend is a selfish asshole, and he has no real friends in school. Thankfully things go up from here. The summer after he graduates he meets up with Lucy, a spitfire lesbian who becomes his bff. She's awesome and gives him the emotional support he's been starving for. Dade also meets Alex, an adorable drug dealer who's crazy sweet and is
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(3 people liked it)
Jul 28, 2009
Doug
rated it:
This book was tremendous. The characters are so life like and it really makes clear the angst of being a teenager. The story centers around Dade Hamilton who is secretly having sex with Pablo, one of the stars of the high school football team. Pablo also has a girlfriend and does not recognize any relationship with Dade other than that of clandestine sex partner, and Dade begins to question whether that is what he really wants. Dade is also having problems with his parents, his mother is dri
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Jul 26, 2009
Cornmaven
rated it:
I can't decide how I feel about this book - it's a story about a boy who has graduated high school and this is his last summer at home before going off to college. Needless to say he is lost and searching for himself.
Himself happens to be gay, still in the closet, with an abusive boyfriend. Parents are on the throes of a divorce. He doesn't fit in at school, and it's not just because he's gay, but that's a big part. Loneliness is a big theme here, and Burd got the painfulness of More...
Himself happens to be gay, still in the closet, with an abusive boyfriend. Parents are on the throes of a divorce. He doesn't fit in at school, and it's not just because he's gay, but that's a big part. Loneliness is a big theme here, and Burd got the painfulness of More...
Jul 25, 2009
Bunker
rated it:
In small town suburban Iowa, cookie-cutter houses fill row after row of perfectly planned and manicured neighborhoods, which appeal to homebuyers looking to purchase happiness and the American dream for their families. For Dade Hamilton's family, that promise of happiness has revealed itself to be an illusion.
With his nuclear family about to explode, Dade, who just graduated from high school, eagerly awaits his escape from his stifling house and his small-minded hometown of Cedarvil More...
With his nuclear family about to explode, Dade, who just graduated from high school, eagerly awaits his escape from his stifling house and his small-minded hometown of Cedarvil More...
Jun 27, 2009
Brian
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May 18, 2009
Darcy
rated it:
This is definitely one of the best books I've read in long time. I couldn't put it down! Through the author's mesmerizing writing I could feel the sheer loneliness that Dade felt growing up in a midwestern town feeling isolated and out of place as he laid in his bed night confessing to his ceiling fan he is gay. Don't get me wrong, Dade never comes across as helpless or pitiful instead you can see he is biding his time believing that there has to be more out there for him. His first More...
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Apr 28, 2009
Tasha
rated it:
Dade just graduated from high school and his entire life has reached a breaking point. He has a horrible job at Food World, his parents should be divorced but are hanging on until he leaves for college, and his “boyfriend” Pablo is so far in the closet that he has a girlfriend and won’t acknowledge Dade in public. Dade drifts through his summer in a haze of marijuana and booze, living in that strange world between high school and college. On the way he finds both a first true friend, a real b
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Apr 19, 2010
Ami
rated it:
I don't have many experiences with GLBT Young Adult, in fact this might only be my 4th books in this genre. I'm glad that I don't find too many angst or that "search of sexual preference". In a way, this is like reading one or two other young adult fiction titles, of living in a suburb, with a gay teenager as lead character. Dade Hamilton already know that he is gay. He never has that urge to try with girls. I'm sort of glad that it doesn't focus on his high school years -- I've read s
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Feb 18, 2010
Sharon
rated it:
While there was certainly a lot I could relate to in the story of this ostracized-feeling gay teen who spends a lot of free time writing longs to escape his boring and narrow-minded existence in suburban Iowa, the author actually did a little too much to convince me that main character Dade's life was boring at times. Too many times in the book, I felt almost bored reading the story, with lengthy descriptions of Dade drinking, lazing around his family pool (scenes of "The Graduate" cam
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Dec 12, 2009
Katie M.
rated it:
The only bad thing I can say about this book is that I don't think that anything I read from here on out will ever compare.
It was so beautifully written. Nick Burd made everything sound so poetic. He rocked at making everything feel real. I can see Taco Taco, Dade's house, and Dingos house perfectly in my mind, and his characters were as vivid as if they were sitting write next to me. I felt like I knew all of them. I worried about all of them, and even the ones I hated, I ended up lovi More...
It was so beautifully written. Nick Burd made everything sound so poetic. He rocked at making everything feel real. I can see Taco Taco, Dade's house, and Dingos house perfectly in my mind, and his characters were as vivid as if they were sitting write next to me. I felt like I knew all of them. I worried about all of them, and even the ones I hated, I ended up lovi More...
