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Boy Toy

4.03 of 5 stars 4.03 · rating details · 3,699 ratings · 551 reviews

Josh Mendel has a secret. Unfortunately, everyone knows what it is.
Five years ago, Josh’s life changed. Drastically. And everyone in his school, his town—seems like the world—thinks they understand. But they don’t—they can’t. And now, about to graduate from high school, Josh is still trying to sort through the pieces. First there’s Rachel, the girl he thought he’d lost yea...more

Hardcover, 410 pages

Published September 24th 2007 by Houghton Mifflin Company

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The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Best Teen Books About Real Problems

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Sep 13, 2012 Jackie "the Librarian" rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: youngadult, controversial

There's no way to review this book without spoilers. Read at your own risk, folks. (view spoiler)...more

36 likes · like · see review

Jun 07, 2012 Stacia ~ Mistress of Mediocrity rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult

I was molested. When I was twelve. And everyone else in the world knew it except for me.

One little phrase - one big revelation. How different could Josh's life had been, had he realized this sooner?

No one ever said, "He was wrong, Josh. You're not a little fucking perv."

Boy Toy was a study in the aftereffects of abuse. Written in both present tense, as well as in flashbacks, we see one young man's life fall apart before our eyes over a period of five years.

This isn't the first book I've read a...more

20 likes · like · see review

Jun 28, 2008 Claire Scott added it

Shelves: depressing-or-just-plain-sad, ya

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I disliked reading Boy Toy so much that I don't think I can rate its overall quality. I had to force myself to finish reading it, and then by the neatly-wrapped-up ending I didn't feel any less uncomfortable. So all thoughts below say more about my gut reaction than how good the book is.

Other reviews have already discussed the plot, so I'll leave that alone. Here are the things that I found hardest to deal with, and I think several of them may be related to Josh's narrative voice.

First, both th...more I disliked reading Boy Toy so much that I don't think I can rate its overall quality. I had to force myself to finish reading it, and then by the neatly-wrapped-up ending I didn't feel any less uncomfortable. So all thoughts below say more about my gut reaction than how good the book is.

Other reviews have already discussed the plot, so I'll leave that alone. Here are the things that I found hardest to deal with, and I think several of them may be related to Josh's narrative voice.

First, both the characters and the author seem to implicate Josh's mom as the cause of all of this: when she goes back to work instead of staying home until Josh is ready for college, Josh becomes a potential victim for Eve. Every story contains "if only"s, but this one really does come back to the mom's choice to work, and several of the characters repeat this idea over and over in case the reader forgets it. And then when everything is found out, the mom gets angry (sure) but doesn't ever develop into a three-dimensional character. Is it just that Josh isn't an omnipotent narrator and only sees limited parts of his mom's personality? Totally possible.

Along those same lines, is it Josh's narrative voice that lingers on the fantasy-like details of the sex/seduction scenes? It totally read like MILF-themed porn, and the narrator kept the darkness of Josh's later trauma out of the descriptions. It was hard to remember, in fact, that the experience was supposed to be traumatic at all. This was clearly the author's informed choice -- to show that Josh really felt like he had agency, not like he was being molested, I guess -- but I wonder how many teen boys reading it will think "gosh, that really is inappropriate" and how many will jerk off? Maybe that's intentional too, to take them along for the ride... but I didn't like it. Along the same lines -- taking them along for the ride -- it's pretty sudden when Josh confronts Eve and she tells him that it was a calculated game for her, that she picked him out as a victim early on and was fucking with him all along (no pun intended). That explicit confession was a little surprising, as was the miraculous effect it had on Josh, who's then able to go and have beautiful, non-triggery sex with Rachel in the park that night. Does it really all resolve for him that quickly? I just had a hard time believing it.

Overall, I had a hard time with the representations of women in the book. The mom causes all the trouble by working in the first place. The hot teacher is actually an evil seductress (named Eve). The best friend's girlfriend is a gorgeous and sweet but vapid popular girl who's never had to worry about anything in her life because she has a great body. And the girl-next-door who becomes his girlfriend, the only female character the reader's encouraged to respect, is "just one of the guys". Again, maybe this is Josh's limited viewpoint and the reader is supposed to recognize it as such. I hope. (less)

12 likes · like · see review

May 09, 2008 Krista rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: teen-fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Speak vs. Boy Toy: Sexual Assault Narratives in YA Literature

At the heart of young adult literature is the balance to present stories that both cater to a teen’s desire for escapist fantasy and tangible realism. However, as research in the field has focused on in recent years, literature targeted at young adults has become increasingly more serious in subject and tone. Choosing to forego the cliché “happy-go-lucky” nature of fluff that discusses dating, parties, and other mis-adventures as norma...more

9 likes · like · see review

Dec 23, 2011 Sita Sargeant rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: love-triangle, needs-review, own, nl, teen-romance, young-adult, sexy-sex, favourites

HOLY FUCK!! This book was disturbing, beautiful, awesome, amazing. I stayed up until 4 in the morning reading this. And I had to catch a plane at8. But god it was worth it!

3 likes · like · see review

Jan 31, 2008 Abby Johnson rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book was disturbing and super compelling. I seriously could not put it down. The story starts when Josh is 18. He's messed up. No, I mean really messed up. When he was 12, his history teacher sexually abused him. And what's worse? Her detailed confession made its way on to the internet and Josh is sure that all of his classmates and teachers know exactly what he did with her. And what's WORSE? Mrs. Sherman is getting out of jail. Early. Right now.

Because of the abuse, Josh made a mistake w...more

9 likes · like · see review

Feb 13, 2008 Mokamonkey rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: teen-books

I had to read this one after all of the discussion on the sex and objectionable content. It's about a boy who had a sexual relationship with a female teacher in middle school. He's now in high school and is still having a hard time getting past it and his guilt, because he thinks he ruined her life, rather than realizing he was molested. With all of the cases that have surfaced lately, it's good to have a book with a boy in this circumstance, rather than a girl.

4 likes · like · see review

Jul 31, 2009 Ilana rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, realistic-fiction

This book is awesome and insane. It puts you in the head of someone who doesn't believe himself innocent and is full of guilt and shame for five years for something that was not his fault at all. It's also written in first person from the perspective of a boy, which is beyond weird for me. Do I really want to be inside a boy's head? No, not really. But I was, completely enough that I was almost as confused as he was sometimes.

2 likes · like · see review

Jun 01, 2012 Fred rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to Fred by: Jolene Perry

I was surprised at what a great read this is. Honestly I was a bit sceptical, I don't like YA written by guys, as a general rule. Too jock-y, too jokey, too hearty, too hokey. They don't usually have an emotional component that resonates with me. But this one completely had a powerful and intense impact on me. Also it's from 2007, and I've been trying to keep up with new stuff, but this felt fresh and new, even though student/teacher affair stories are hardly even news anymore. Remember Mary Kay...more

5 likes · like · see review

Feb 05, 2010 Libro Joven rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

First things first: thank you thank you thank you, Barry Lyga!!!!! For finally explaining to me the sexual meaning of baseball bases. I had them more or less figured out, (after tons of times of reading over and over and over again about second base or the importance of getting to third base), but I always had some residual doubts left. So, Barry Lyga is a god. Finally someone who's not ashamed to explain it to non-American people!! (Meaning: people without baseball engraved in their brain, and...more

3 likes · like · see review

Aug 13, 2009 Heather rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-reads, library

Rating B+

Review There was so much I liked about this book and only a little bit that I didn't like (but it's a pretty major thing).

What I did like: the seduction by the teacher (which, I believe, is actually called "grooming" when it comes to child molestation) scenes are done really tastefully and are told from Josh's POV and are so eye-opening. That sounds weird to say, and you might think, 'Why would you want to have your eyes opened to that?' And I guess the reason I found this book so fabul...more Rating B+

Review There was so much I liked about this book and only a little bit that I didn't like (but it's a pretty major thing).

What I did like: the seduction by the teacher (which, I believe, is actually called "grooming" when it comes to child molestation) scenes are done really tastefully and are told from Josh's POV and are so eye-opening. That sounds weird to say, and you might think, 'Why would you want to have your eyes opened to that?' And I guess the reason I found this book so fabulous is that every year I volunteer at a camp for kids who are in the CPS system because they've been abused (physically or sexually) or neglected. It's reality, but everyone likes to pretend it doesn't happen. But I think books like this, that show how it can happen even in white middle-class America, and the effects it has on kids, can help open the discussion up so that we can start to really address the underlying issues and start to move toward solutions.

Lyga thanks a number of people at the back of the book in the acknowledgements section, but I didn't see anyone who gave him insights into the psychological profile of sexually abused kids. I don't know if he did a lot of reading, or how he did it, but Josh's confusion and misinterpretations and latent manifestations of the misplaced shame and guilt were so poignant. Very well done.

What I didn't like: The resolution of the student/teacher situation. Most notably I didn't like how it happened, or more specifically, where it happened. The situation was just so unbelievable. And everything else up to that point (up to page 392 of 410) was so believable and well done that it just left a sour taste at an otherwise exceptionally well written book.

This book isn't funny or exciting or even easy to read. But it's good and worth your time. Sure, most teens who might pick up this book are past the point where they might be prime targets for predators, but this book is fantastic reading material for parents of young children and tweens. I don't mean this to be all, "Lock up your children!" because it's more than that. It's about abuse and its effects (there are long-term effects to all forms of abuse) and it shows what life after abuse is like for the victim (and a small glimpse at the life of the predator).

I don't know that this is the best book I've ever read from a literary stand-point (okay, I know it isn't... the dialogue was really lacking in some parts), but the way the subject matter is handled earned this a good grade in my book.

Recommendation Anyone who doesn't want to have their head stuck in the sand. (less)

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Nov 15, 2012 Jennifer Wardrip rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: trt-posted-reviews, trt-gold-star-award-winner

Reviewed by Sally Kruger aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com

In BOY TOY, author Barry Lyga takes readers on an incredible journey into a world that, for some, like main character Josh Mendel, is all too real. Josh's life was changed at age twelve when his teacher took the role of educator far beyond the limits of acceptable behavior. Lyga's story does not cut corners or mince words. He is straightforward and direct in telling Josh's story. His graphic descriptions may have earned him criticis...more Reviewed by Sally Kruger aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com

In BOY TOY, author Barry Lyga takes readers on an incredible journey into a world that, for some, like main character Josh Mendel, is all too real. Josh's life was changed at age twelve when his teacher took the role of educator far beyond the limits of acceptable behavior. Lyga's story does not cut corners or mince words. He is straightforward and direct in telling Josh's story. His graphic descriptions may have earned him criticism, but they have also made his story a powerful one.

Josh Mendel loves baseball. He is a wiz at math. His best friend, Zik, seems to be the one with the rocky home life and all the problems, but not for long.

Mrs. Evelyn Sherman is the new history teacher recently transferred from the local high school to the middle school. She is drop-dead gorgeous. All the boys probably find it a bit embarrassing to stand up and leave the classroom some days. Josh certainly does.

Josh's involvement with Mrs. Sherman begins when she praises his writing and asks him to help her with a project for her graduate class. Honored and excited, Josh is eager to help. Problems at home make staying after school, and later actually going home with Mrs. Sherman, a convenience for Josh and his parents. He begins spending more and more time with her even after her project is complete.

At first, being in Mrs. Sherman's apartment everyday after school is exciting, because Josh gets to play unlimited video games, drink Coke, and hang out with an attentive, beautiful woman. His time in the apartment becomes even more fascinating when Mrs. Sherman begins inviting him to help her cook dinner and sip wine with her. Then kisses begin - tentative and then passionate. The passion moves from petting to full-on sexual experimentation.

Josh is addicted. There are feelings of guilt, but those feelings are outweighed by the incredible physical pleasure Mrs. Sherman offers. Life is spiraling out of control.

The world comes crashing down when Josh finds himself playing spin the bottle with Rachel. He and Rachel have been friends on the baseball field for as long as he can remember, but when Josh's newfound experience turns the innocent teenage game too sexually explicit, Rachel runs screaming to her parents. The "game" is over, and Josh's secret is about to come out in the open.

BOY TOY is not a short romp between the sheets. In fact, it has raised many eyebrows in the world of YA literature. Readers will see exactly what went on with Mrs. Sherman, but they will also see deeply into the world of a young man trying to continue with life, make amends to his friends, and make plans for his future. It has a strong, powerful story to tell, and it tells that story well. (less)

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Apr 17, 2008 K Nolfi rated it 1 of 5 stars

Oh how I hated this book. It's way too long. Like, I'm not fazed by sex talk and I didn't think it was too explicit but it made the character one dimensional to me. If the point was that sex was the only lens he had for viewing people and that he thought was a disgusting perv, that's fine. But it didn't make an interesting complex character. If I read this book as a younger person, I would be uncomfortable with his objectification of women's bodies. And again, if that's the point, that his teach...more

1 like · like · see review

Mar 27, 2008 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: teen-reality

Interesting take on the tteacher as predator, it is the female teacher and the boy is in 7th grade. Very Mary Kay LeTourno. I like the complexity of the impact of the relatio0nship on teh boy not the typical acting out, getting bad grades, turning to drugs you might expect. it was the guilt, and complete isolation he put himself under that was interesting. ASlso, his own complex emotions about the teacher. he liked her on some levels, he wanted her on soem levels too. But the book NEVER blames t...more

2 likes · like · see review

Aug 10, 2011 Andrew Porteus added it

Shelves: young-adult

Boy Toy is a disturbing look at the life of Josh Mendel from the time he was sexually abused by his seventh grade teacher, Eve, until the end of high school. It portrays his relationship with his friends, family, other students, teachers, and team-mates both before and after the abuse, but most of all deals with the maelstrom of emotional and psychological issues that he must deal with. These are brought to the forefront when Josh accidentally reconnects with Rachel, a childhood buddy, after avo...more

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May 20, 2013 Chris rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to Chris by: Stephanie O'Neil

This book was recommended to me by Stephanie O'Neil, as part of a list of recommendations to show me that I might actually like YA fiction. So far, it is working. I doubt I would have picked this book up on my own, based on everything from the cover to the premise, but I would have missed an excellent book. Boy Toy follows part of the senior year of a kid who was molested five years before, an event which changed his life and the fallout of which is an everyday part of his senior year. Initially...more This book was recommended to me by Stephanie O'Neil, as part of a list of recommendations to show me that I might actually like YA fiction. So far, it is working. I doubt I would have picked this book up on my own, based on everything from the cover to the premise, but I would have missed an excellent book. Boy Toy follows part of the senior year of a kid who was molested five years before, an event which changed his life and the fallout of which is an everyday part of his senior year. Initially, it seems formulaic due to carefully dropped hints at what happened without really giving you the story. Soon, the book takes on a life of its own, following neither the path you expect, or the alternative path you assume it will once your initial assumptions are proved false. Instead the reader is taken along to relive both the present and the past, to the extent that you begin to feel both guilty of the crimes that took place, and violated yourself. It is neither sensationally presented or glossed over, and that is very refreshing.

There are only two complaints I had about this book, both of which aren't necessarily negative. The narrator loves baseball and math, and speaks of both continually. In some ways, I think it takes away from the story, constant discussions of batting averages gets distracting fast, but in other ways, it slows down an otherwise very fast paced tale and allows the reader to digest. I also wasn't entirely satisfied with the ending. After nearly four hundred pages of build-up, things seemed to be resolved a little too quickly. I can appreciate that the author was trying to avoid some neatly tied up ending, and left things messy like the rest of the story. At the same time, it seemed a tad anticlimactic. Overall, however, it is an excellent piece of fiction, and seldom do I find myself having complaints about a book, then turning around and mentally chastising myself and explaining why the author did what he did.

In short--this is an excellent read. It is also an uncomfortable read, but that is part of what makes it excellent fiction. (less)

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Apr 06, 2013 Arti rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: a-bit-cliche

WOW. I am honestly shocked. This book was amazing. We always find books where a girl was sexually abused by a man, but this is the first book I've read where a boy has ben sexually abused my a woman. And Josh's case was more unique than usual.

We hear Josh's story when he is explaining to his friend Rachel why his actions were what they were five years ago when they were playing Spin the Bottle. His story is what happened with him and his teacher Eve, the led up to him being sexually abused.

Josh...more WOW. I am honestly shocked. This book was amazing. We always find books where a girl was sexually abused by a man, but this is the first book I've read where a boy has ben sexually abused my a woman. And Josh's case was more unique than usual.

We hear Josh's story when he is explaining to his friend Rachel why his actions were what they were five years ago when they were playing Spin the Bottle. His story is what happened with him and his teacher Eve, the led up to him being sexually abused.

Josh was manipulated and lied to by his history teacher. She took him to her apartment with the excuse that he was helping her on a project. (Keep mind that Josh at the time was 12 years old) For the first two months, she gave him fake tests and quizzes. She also let him play with her husband's video games, gave Josh dinner, soda, and basically treated him like an adult. By the third month. Josh was pretty comfortable and the two of them, Eve (the history teacher) and Josh started hanging out on the couch. Josh used to lay his video games and Eve used to sit and watch. She always had a glass of wine when she got home so Josh started pouring her a glass of wine and grabbing himself a soda everyday. One day, he asked how wine tasted, and Eve let him taste (THIS IS ILLEGAL). She made him promise not too say anything and Josh said he wouldn't. A week later, Josh came to her house and opened the T.V. to play his games as usual. But this time, there was a very graphic adult movie going on. When Eve found out, she was very embarrassed and asked him not to tell. Josh said he wouldn't. The next day Eve and Josh were talkind and Josh let slip that he liked her. Instead of being responsible and correcting Josh, Eve kissed him. Over the next two months, Eve convinced Josh to do things that most adults haven't done. She taught him how to 'pleasure a woman'. Finally, when his parents found out she was put in jail. Josh didn't understand that what had happened was wrong and that it was abuse.

This book flickers back twice into Josh's past and then his life as a senior dealing with confidence, Rachel problems, baseball, and college.

This is honestly a beautifully written book and I recommend it to everyone.(less)

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Mar 13, 2013 Juushika rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: genre-ya-or-childrens, status-borrowed

When he was twelve, Josh was sexually abused by his history teacher, Eve. Five years later, Eve is released from jail and Josh is at the end of high school, still trying to piece together his life. Boy Toy is unflinching and unsensationalized, a surprisingly robust and level-headed look at the personal effects of sexual abuse. It's utterly joyless as a result, but by no means a bad book. Josh's narrative is inseparable from his history: while not strictly an unreliable narrator, his point of vie...more

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Feb 19, 2013 Scott-robert Shenkman rated it 5 of 5 stars

So I know this review is going to be controversial, and I know I’m probably going to piss a few people off. I am also very familiar with the place that Josh comes from so I’m not speaking from some “ivory tower”. I have my own story that I will not be sharing. Just so people know that I have this perspective and hindsight is 20/20. I will also be generalizing. When I speak of teens (especially boys) always remember that I mean SOME and not all.

Now as for the writing, I thought it was superb. The...more So I know this review is going to be controversial, and I know I’m probably going to piss a few people off. I am also very familiar with the place that Josh comes from so I’m not speaking from some “ivory tower”. I have my own story that I will not be sharing. Just so people know that I have this perspective and hindsight is 20/20. I will also be generalizing. When I speak of teens (especially boys) always remember that I mean SOME and not all.

Now as for the writing, I thought it was superb. The way that the author was able to convey Josh’s thoughts and feelings and make them oh-so-real was rather amazing. And his creation of Eve, especially. It’s very simple to think of her as evil, but she never struck me that way at all. Rather, I felt like she was desperately trying to find something that she had perhaps lost or been denied when she was a child. I’m not defending her, what she did was wrong, but the “average” pedophile you find in books is basically a drooling monster. The secondaries were also created beautifully. I loved Rachel. I loved Michelle. And loved Zik. And I also “loved” Josh’s parents, the coach, and the assistant principal, who were all fascinating. I never felt like this book titillated at all, it wasn’t sensationalistic. As a matter of fact, it was a lot cleaner than I expected. The author captured the mindset of a 12-year old boy and an 18-year old man perfectly.

Here is the controversial part:

I wonder what the effect on Josh would have been had the Rachel incident never happened. It is clear from the writing that he is never coerced, never forced, and is clearly having the time of his life. That he felt he “loved” Eve didn’t strike me as Stockholm Syndrome. It was like he was enraptured to a goddess (my impression). What if the incident never happened? Would this have continued for a while and Josh would have grown to be a simply a sexually precocious teenager? I ask this because I have encountered a few guys in my life that had sex at a very young age with an older woman. I was one of them (I was 15, she was 22, and this has nothing to do with my having a feel for Josh’s perspective – that was another incident and there was no consent at all). Were these guys pressured? Not according to them. Was I pressured? Hell no. Would I change anything looking 32 years into the past? Hell no again. I also managed to grow into a (relatively) normal man.

Let me just get this out there: a 12-year old boy having sex with a 24-year old woman is just wrong. On so many levels. But that’s not to say that this is not the fantasy of most of the young teenage boys out there. And I think a lot of them would act on it, given the chance. That’s why it’s up to the adult to exercise the restrain. There is a double standard. This situation begins like a fantasy, but it goes bad. But thinking about a 24-year old man with a 13-year old girl? Disgusting. Vile. Rape. I believe that girls fantasize more about teen idols and such – guys much closer to their age. I think that part of the problem is that boys face different pressures than girls do. I don’t think a young teenage girl is expected to prove her “womanhood”. Maybe in the later teen years some girls are pressured. But with guys it’s totally different. From a very young age we’re supposed to prove we’re MEN. And once puberty strikes, virginity is not something to lose, it is something we need to get rid of – preferably as quickly as possible. We aren’t MEN to the other guys unless we’ve done something sexual. Now half the guys could just be pretending to have taken a trip around the bases. But I know that even in the “innocent” early 80’s, the era of “Just Say No”, there was a lot of yessing going on. I KNOW that a lot of young guys, if put in the same position as Josh, would have jumped at the chance (Anyone remember the controversial movie “Private Lessons” from 1980?). Eve really didn’t coerce him – she offered and Josh took, and, again, I wonder what he would have been like at 18 if the incident hadn’t happened. She was much older and in a position of authority.

The same does not hold true for girls. I think if the situation was reversed and it was a 24-year old guy coming on to a 12-year old girl, I believe the vast majority of the girls would either flee or shut down. I guess what I’m trying to say is that we (guys) learn at a very young age from the media, movies (American Pie anyone? Even “Summer of ‘42” from over 40 years ago), society at large, hell, even our fathers and older brothers, that our virginity is a bad thing and is something to get rid of as quickly as possible. Again: GENERALITY. But we face different pressures and expectations.

That is a bad thing. But it’s the climate that most American boys and the climate that I grew up in that I kept thinking “wow, lucky kid”.
(less)

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Oct 28, 2012 Erin Cataldi rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, for-class

Barry Lyga did it again. Simply marvelous! I've never seen an author capture young adult literature nearly so well as Lyga does (I read "I Hunt Killers" a month back, look for my review, it's equally amazing!). One of my professors told me that I absolutely, positively, HAD to read this book. I am soo glad I did.

This young adult novel follows eighteen year old Josh as he tries to come to terms with his shameful past. As a twelve year old he had a relationship with his middle school teacher, the...more

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Aug 03, 2012 Destiny Miller rated it 5 of 5 stars

I really liked this book. it surprised me; all the time. i dont usually like reading books by male authors or in a male point of view because i feel like guys dont put enough emotion or description into anything. but id like to thank Lyga for changing my bias point of view.

but yeah, like i said, i enjoyed the book. i couldnt pry my eyes away. i had so many questions.
"whats his secret?"
"who did that to him?"
"why is he having these flickers?"

i finished this book just now tonight to get the answers...more

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Jul 23, 2012 kb rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-id-save-from-fire-flood, 4ever-young-adult

I'm heartbroken, disgusted, appalled, touched, attached to this book in more ways than one, and I thought that alone, or those feelings alone, already proves how much of a success this bold novel of Barry Lyga is to me. I thought there was something so raw and painful in the 17-year-old protagonist Josh, who was molested by his seventh-grade history teacher when he was 12, that anybody could relate to, be it literally or even just figuratively. This novel should be read by more people, especiall...more I'm heartbroken, disgusted, appalled, touched, attached to this book in more ways than one, and I thought that alone, or those feelings alone, already proves how much of a success this bold novel of Barry Lyga is to me. I thought there was something so raw and painful in the 17-year-old protagonist Josh, who was molested by his seventh-grade history teacher when he was 12, that anybody could relate to, be it literally or even just figuratively. This novel should be read by more people, especially those victims who have experienced the same, and realize that they could be more, that there could be more to life than what had unfortunately happened to them.

Yay!s
-Good job, Mr. Lyga, good job. The only time I ever commended a YA novel that touched on a v. sensitive issue such as sexual molestation was with Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak, and now, you're not too far back, because you're even.
-It was interesting how the whole story was played out with flashbacks to the actual sexcounters between Josh and Eve (history teacher), Josh's session with his therapist, Dr. Kennedy, and to Michelle's birthday party where everything began to change. It built more suspense and mystery than when told in a chronological kind of way.
-I adore just how Lyga lets his characters speak for their own. Nothing sounds contrived, at least, none for me, and I feel like I didn't even need any push to come closer to them because they already got me. Case in reference: Rachel.
-Speaking of ace pitcher and tomboyish girlfriend Rachel, I noticed how Lyga is so fond of the ~weird girl leads (See Astonishing Adventures of Fan Boy and Goth Girl, Goth Girl Rising). AND IT'S AWESOME. It's a relief knowing you don't have to deal with so much predictability. WAIT HERE'S SOMETHING THAT JUST CAME TO ME: Rachel sounded so much like Stargirl. If you didn't like Stargirl, what is wrong with you?
-How all the shiz about the sexual affair, from the discovery down to the court trial, circled was brilliant. I was half-expecting Lyga to pull a Houdini on me and just let me figure out what on earth happened to Josh after everything, but he didn't and I loved that he didn't because there was no way I would be able to give the story a justice if I were given the power to end it.
-I don't know if the portrayal of sexual abuse in this novel is scientific but here in this novel is more than a glimpse of how it could possibly happen to one person. It's almost a full-blown account of what is it like to be a victim.

Boo!s
-WHY DID EVE PLEAD GUILTY AND IN TURN, "SAVED" JOSH? WHY?? WAS THAT AN EASY WAY OUT OF THE CONFLICT??
-I hated all the other women in this novel - except, of course, for Rachel - because I felt that they were misrepresented in terms of the physical, the intellectual, the mental and the emotional. Like Michelle, both Rachel and Josh's friend, for instance. She was just this girl who was put in a sex bubble and she could have been more.
-One word: baseball. I'm not American so I'm not inherently obsessed with this sport, and while I do appreciate all those trivia about it, I had to skip some of the paragraphs because WHAT DO I CAAAAARE REALLY HAHA
-That cover needs some work. Yeah, it's cool, but not cool enough to actually show off in public.(less)

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Jul 04, 2012 Jen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: abuse-rape, disturbing, dysfunctional-families, guy-reads, high-school, ya

This is the story of Josh, an 18 year old senior who is coming to terms with a relationship he had when he was 12 years old... with his 7th grade history teacher. There is a major ick factor here, especially considering I am a teacher, but I appreciated that the story was told with great empathy and honesty. Josh was sexually attracted to his teacher, so it's not like he was forced to do anything he wasn't willing to do, but he is scarred and damaged nonetheless. The flashbacks showing the devel...more

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Jul 03, 2012 Hayley rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book made me uncomfortable and disturbed which means that it fulfilled a part of its purpose right off the bat. I don't think any book about child sexual abuse should make a person relaxed and happy.

I'm a fan of Barry Lyga's writing and I was immediately hooked to this book. I think Lyga writes as a teenager, not as an adult writing a teenager if that makes any sense. The characters are real with all their quirks, flaws and average human-ness.

The story of Josh Mendel who was sexually abused...more This book made me uncomfortable and disturbed which means that it fulfilled a part of its purpose right off the bat. I don't think any book about child sexual abuse should make a person relaxed and happy.

I'm a fan of Barry Lyga's writing and I was immediately hooked to this book. I think Lyga writes as a teenager, not as an adult writing a teenager if that makes any sense. The characters are real with all their quirks, flaws and average human-ness.

The story of Josh Mendel who was sexually abused by his history teacher Evelyn Sherman when he was 12 is told with a mix of the present (where he's currently 18) and flashbacks (when he was 12). They're all in the first person which made the accounts of abuse all the more unsettling and just more wrong. We get to read how Josh slowly falls for his gorgeous teacher Eve in detail.

As a reader, better judgement makes it obvious that Eve is clearly the guilty party. However, since it's from Josh's perspective we feel what he feels and at at some points I got caught up in 12 year old Josh's feelings and found it hard to think of anything being wrong with the "relationship" because he didn't. And that was scary.

When everything blows up in Josh's face, he's determined to protect Eve, not to say anything because he promised and because he *knows* that she loves him and that he loves her back.

We see how much of a scar abuse can leave because five years later, despite all the evidence to the contrary, he blames himself.

He's unable to have a relationship because he thinks no-one wants to be around him because he's unable to do things correctly and that he's a pervert. He randomly get's "flickers" which are random vivid flashes of the past, particularly the sex he had with Eve. This stops him from ever moving forward with anyone. And that's okay because it's clearly his fault, it has to be right? He's the one who took advantage of her, and watched her while she slept. He was the one who wanted the relationship to continue.

It's only towards the very end of the book when he's finally confronted with the fact that he WAS a victim, that his teacher had planned to have sex with him the first time she saw him. When he can finally accept that fact, he finally begins to move on with his life.

I think Barry Lyga's writing and characters always slap me in the face and leave me stunned for a while.(less)

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Jun 01, 2012 Audrey Laurey rated it 4 of 5 stars

Excerpt:

On the way home, Eve drove with one hand; we held hands over the armrest.
"Did you like tonight, Josh? Please tell me." She pouted. "Yes." Deep down, though, I felt bad. Bad that I'd made her do it. Guilty that she'd felt compelled. Guilty for making a mess, of all things.
"Good. Look, this went farther than kissing, you know. I wouldn't just lose my job if this got out. I would go to jail. You don't want me to go to jail, do you?"
-page 185

Plot Summary:

Josh is an 18-year-old high school...more Excerpt:

On the way home, Eve drove with one hand; we held hands over the armrest.
"Did you like tonight, Josh? Please tell me." She pouted. "Yes." Deep down, though, I felt bad. Bad that I'd made her do it. Guilty that she'd felt compelled. Guilty for making a mess, of all things.
"Good. Look, this went farther than kissing, you know. I wouldn't just lose my job if this got out. I would go to jail. You don't want me to go to jail, do you?"
-page 185

Plot Summary:

Josh is an 18-year-old high school student about to graduate. He's good looking, smart, popular, a great baseball player, has a bright future, but something happened to him 5 years ago that makes him different from the rest of his classmates. When Josh was 13 he was having what he thought to be an illicit and mutual love affair with his then 26-year-old History teacher, "Eve". Boy Toy is the story of Josh coming to terms with his past, trying to make a future for himself, and having a difficult time moving forward and being a "normal" young adult. Boy Toy tells the story of Josh's molestation through flashbacks, while he deals with issues in his present that collide as he tries to make sense of it all.

Critical Analysis:

Boy Toy takes place in modern time. It is a realistic fiction novel that tells the story of Josh Mendel, a boy that was molested by his History teacher in the 7th grade. The subject matter is heavy, and over half of the novel is Josh sorting out his relationship with his History teacher, Eve, through flashbacks, or "flickers" in graphic detail. Lyga does not shy away from explicit details in this novel which though shocking and confrontational, it is also an honest portrayal of what we know to be the inner workings of a pedophile. For example, the slow progression of Eve offering Josh sodas and video games, then casual touching, then crossing further boundaries that eventually lead to graphic and explicit sexual content. Based on the graphic nature of this book, it is best geared towards older young adults.

Mostly through Josh's neurotic examination of himself, actions, and how they have effected others, the following themes are taken in to consideration; The examination of caring, or loving someone, versus primal passions. As well as the distinction between victim and predator.

There are other marginal characters and minor stories taking place in this novel besides Josh and Eve, but none of them demand the attention or interest like the characters or story previously mentioned. Also, I had a hard time at moments when I would get wrapped up in what was taking place in a flashback, and then have to fast forward to the present which I found distracting.

I also found it disappointing how perfectly things tied up at the end and how Eve is still somewhat glorified when in actuality she is a calculating child molester. Though Eve is a repeat child molester she is still beautiful after her 5 years of prison, she has the support of a doting husband, a job proof reading for a law office, her previous apartment, and has obviously moved back to the same location where she has molested a total of 3 known students in that district. Is that likely?

(less)

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Apr 05, 2012 Katrina Ly rated it 4 of 5 stars

this book was pretty strange. which can be a good or bad thing.

SPOILER ALERT

for one thing, the whole idea that josh seduced eve instead of the other way round was pretty creepy but unique as well as that idea that he almost raped or actually raped (i'm not sure which it is) rachel. then there was that whole thing with rachel forgiving him and them actually ending up together and the flickers just going away after he visits eve and finds out the truth. it doesn't really make sense but hey life do...more

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Feb 03, 2012 Allison rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-realism

"Josh Mendel has a secret. Unfortunately, everyone knows what it is.Five years ago, Josh’s life changed. Drastically. And everyone in his school, his town—seems like the world—thinks they understand. But they don’t—they can’t. And now, about to graduate from high school, Josh is still trying to sort through the pieces."

I don't ever really go around picking up books and saying to myself, "I seriously hope this is like Lolita..." but I did with this one. I knew it was about sexual abuse, and I kne...more

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Nov 15, 2011 Wesley Mcginnis added it

Shelves: 2010-2011-advisory-m-lau

The book Boy Toy by Barry Lyga was a very informative and thought provocative novel about a boy named Josh who was sexually harassed by his teacher as a child. When Josh was 10 his teacher convinced him that she loved him and they embarked in a secretive illegal relationship that lasted about seven months. It ended when Josh at his birthday party attacked a girl he liked in a closet and while explaining to his mom what happened he let it slip that he was having a romantic relationship with his h...more

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Oct 02, 2011 Marriah Levesque rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Sep 01, 2011 Beth added it · review of another edition

Shelves: pre-2011-reads

I told myself I wouldn't start blabbing off about books I read pre-2011 while I still had VERY IMPORTANT READING and SCHOOLWORK to get done, but Mello's review (which I would link to if I knew how) inflamed a lot of my old feelings about this book.

The key problem was this:

What do you do with a book whose central point you agree with 100% in principle, but whose execution you wholly disagree with?

Such was my problem with Boy Toy.

At its core, I thought Boy Toy and I were about to embark on the kin...more

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Is BOY TOY appropriate for 12-year-old boy or not? Help me please.	8	41	Jan 05, 2013 09:31pm

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About Barry Lyga

Barry Lyga is a recovering comic book geek. When he was a kid, everyone told him that comic books were garbage and would rot his brain, but he had the last laugh. Raised on a steady diet of comics, he worked in the comic book industry for ten years, but now writes full-time because, well, wouldn't you?

The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy & Goth Girl is his first novel.

http://www.barrylyga.com ...more

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Books by Barry Lyga

The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl (The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl, #1)

Goth Girl Rising (The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl, #2)

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Quotes from Boy Toy

“See, forgiveness doesn't happen all at once. It's not an event -- it's a process. Forgiveness happens while you're asleep, while you're dreaming, while you're inline at the coffee shop, while you're showering, eating, farting, jerking off. It happens in the back of your mind, and then one day you realize that you don't hate the person anymore, that your anger has gone away somewhere. And you understand. You've forgiven them. You don't know how or why. It sneaked up on you. It happened in the small spaces between thoughts and in the seconds between ideas and blinks. That's where forgiveness happens. Because anger and hatred, when left unfed, bleed away like air from a punctured tire, over time and days and years. Forgiveness is stealth. At least, that's what I hope.” — 64 people liked it

“Anger and hatred, when left unfed, bleed away like air from a punctured tire, over time and days and years. Forgiveness is stealth.” — 32 people liked it

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