Golden Boy
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max is an intersex teenager who identifies as male. when he becomes the victim of a sexual assault, the consequences are both physically and emotionally devastating and wayyy too much for a sixteen-year-old to deal with, especially one who has until then led such a charmed life.
despite having to carry this secret his whole life, max was remarkably well-adjusted before the attack. he is an accomplished athlete and student, his home life is fairly stable, despite two overachie ...more


This would make a really fantastic film. Intersex fascinates everyone and the book is extremely visual. I don't want to ...more

Abigail Tarttelin has written an amazing story of her Max, who is intersex - it is a topic that I have not really thought of much before now, not a lot of us would have I suspect. I feel like I am lost for words right now, I don't want to retell the story, this is one that must be read and understood by all that are lucky to come across this fabulous book.
Max's story comes to us from the p ...more

This is a story about a unique 15 year old named Max, a perfect golden boy who everyone adores but who h ...more

I think it might be the best thing I've read in the last couple years, and I'm not good at choosing favourites. Still, a book that makes me sob my heart out - silently, in the middle of the night - is not something I encounter everyday. An emotional impact this powerful is something to commend, and it's not the only exceptional thing about this novel.
I tricked myself a little bit when I started this book. Both covers are colourful and simply nice-looking, so even though I knew ...more

Here's one small quote... Then I won't say anything more, other than this is an engaging page turning unforgettable important book.
"If we don't listen to him, if we take away his right to his own choices, his own body, then he ceases to be an autonomous being and becomes a thing." ...more

Max is an intersex child. (previously called hermaphrodite) His story is not an easy read. It begins in a rather shocking manner and continues in a sometimes disturbing and often unsettling direction.
When I first started reading GOLDEN BOY, I wasn't quite sure where the au
...more
1. Suzanne so sorry that this book did not work for me the way it did for you.
2. Two thumbs up for the education provided around intersexuality. I hope with time that this group will be represented more in all areas of life with dignity and respect.
3. However, I hated this as a novel. The book was like a three ring circus. Histrionic, overly affective and completely unbelievable. The voices of the characters ...more

I feel like a big old meany for not liking this book as much as my friends did.
It is wordy and repetitive, the multiple viewpoints drove me nuts, and the characters lacked substance and authenticity. Though I really admire Max’s parents’ decision not to make their child undergo surgery to correct his intersex condition, I could strangle them for being so secretive about it and allowing Max to grow up and navigate the difficult world of adolesc ...more

I am recommending it to everyone. Like “We Need to Talk About Kevin” (by Lionel Shriver), there is no way I will ever forget this story.
The intersex (previously called hermaphrodite) hero is incredibly well drawn and sympathetic. The story is bizarre, thoughtful, intense, well-written, and fast-moving. I couldn’t put it down. There is a disturbing scene in the beginnin ...more

This is a story of an intersex child named Max. Nothing has been done to change Max since Max was a baby, so Max grows up identifying as a male, but is really both male and female. (That may seem some awkward wording, but it just shows how intrenched we are at labeling anyone a he or a she right from the beginning.) So, this ...more

I really could not put this book down for long..it's about an intersex boy named Max and struggles he's going through, one especially terrible, kept me up all night reading because I had to know what happened to him, the story is told from a few different peoples POV. ...more

Max is what people call a “golden boy”: He has perfect grades, he's good-looking, all girls have a crush with him, he's everyone's favorite, etc. He's also an intersex. But that's no problem – not even to him. That is, until he's sexually assaulted and he starts to question himself and people around him.
This book evokes so many feelings, but joy is not one of them. In general, it's depressing and painful to read, but I also got really, really angry at some points. This is highl ...more



This was still beckoning me on the library shelf, so I ended up checking it out despite its very small font. I managed to finish it in two days, which is quite the accomplishment given how wordy it is.
I'm just going to write down some thoughts before I hit the pillow.
Golden Boy was quite gripping, I kept reading and turning the page to find out what happens next. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides was the only other book I read about an intersex/hermaphrodite person. This was quite differen ...more

What a moving and heartfelt story!
Max Walker is truly a golden boy.
A gorgeous blonde haired, blue eyed teen who is the envy of his peers and the one all the young girls dream about going out with.
He is great at school and is the captain of the football team.
And as well as all that, he is a beautiful soul who shares a close and loving relationship with his parents and his brother.
But Max has a big secret, he was born intersex and until now everything has been ok with him. He has long since come ...more


Not my normal read but still interesting.
So Max Walker is what most people would call the perfect teen boy. The perfect son, perfect athlete, perfect friend, perfect boyfriend, perfect date, and perfect big brother. But under it all Max has a secret. A secret no one wants to talk about. A secret that his family has hidden all his life. Max is intersex. But when his oldest and closest friend betrays him in the worst way possible, Max's perfect life begins to unravel.
The story is definitely an em

Wow. Just wow. This book hits you hard from the beginning, and doesn't let go until you've read the last word on the last page. I wouldn't recommend letting younger people or those easily offended/sensitive to touchy subject matters read this book, but that's just my opinion. I read the general summary of the plot on the Internet, but OH MY GOSH that did not prepare for the roller-coaster that is this book. But I say that with absolutel ...more

4 STARS!
“The scariest thing is a secret,” he says very slowly and sort of rhythmically. “Secrets are like invisible maggots,” Max says ...more


Part of it was because I spiraled back into my video game obsession, plus spending my entire summer vacation watching a bunch of shows I've always wanted to watch but never did until then. But really, another reason is that whenever I look at the young adult books of today, it feels... exhausting, in a way. Because honestly a huge majority of it is still the same shit. A huge chunk of YA is still as uninspired and trope-infested as ...more

Through the use of multiple characters' perspectives -- and the empathy we ...more


That's about as kind a rating as I can give to a novel that can't rise above its melodrama. I commend Ms. Tarttelin for attempting to bring attention to "intersexuality" (once referred to as hermaphroditism, or having both male and female genitalia), and we do at times get an interesting look into the mind of the intersex titular "Golden Boy" Max, but was it really necessary to introduce Max in such a tawdry fashion as what's provided in pp 7-20? Before we know anything about Max, ...more



DBR ALERT!! DBR ALERT!!
Oh this shit is going to be a cacophony of insanity. How to express the mother fucking feels??
I LOVED THIS BOOK! OH HELL YES.... LOVED!
It made me so angry, so sad about the world we live in and the bullshit that is endured every day.
Watch this video, pretty please!!!
https://www.ted.com/talks/ash_beckham...
Okay, okay.... there are things that as a reader, and a lover of diversity, that I hated about this novel. Sometimes life is UN-FUCKING-FAIR, And as a quiet, ha, weak w ...more
topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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YA LGBT Books: * October 2016 BotM - LBTQ+ #2- Golden Boy (note trigger warnings) | 16 | 194 | Jul 26, 2019 12:08AM | |
Our Marginalized ...: Golden Boy Quotes | 2 | 9 | Nov 14, 2018 07:30AM | |
YA LGBT Books: August 2013 BotM - Golden Boy *spoilers* - trigger warnings for rape, gender dysphoria | 8 | 229 | Sep 19, 2016 06:26PM | |
The Socratic Salon : Golden Boy | 1 | 16 | Sep 21, 2015 12:19PM | |
Movie adaption? | 1 | 26 | Sep 10, 2015 06:06AM |
Jun 27, 2022 06:59PM · flag
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