Finished We 2/20/19
This is one of my old trade paperbacks that I first read over a couple of weeks during September of 2005.
This is a coming of age novel of a fourteen year old boy who lives on the wrong side of the tracks during the Reagan Years in rural Maine.
Ben's father is an alcoholic, often unemployed man who believes in 'traditional values'.
Plumbco is the local factory and this is where many of the town is employed. Ben's father and mother both have worked at this plant. However, when Ben's father is let go, he slips further into alcoholism.
Later in the story Ben's mother works at McDonald's to make ends meet.
Ben's mother is basically the head of the household and primary breadwinner. She had to drop out of high school because she was pregnant with Ben's older brother, Jeff.
Jeff is a senior at Chautauqua High School where Ben begins his freshman year. Jeff is good at sports, yet he does little or nothing scholastically. Jeff's father has convinced him that he is destined to get a scholarship and nothing can end this dream. But, it does.
Jeff learns that he is not accepted at any school and he decides to join the army. Jeff's father thinks it's a great idea (It will make a man of you) and convinces Jeff. His mother is not convinced.
Marsha is Jeff's girlfriend and she is very smart and loves Jeff. She has gotten a scholarship to Harvard and she refuses to accept her destiny which would be to stay in the town, swallow her dreams, and to have a large brood of children.
For nearly his whole life Ben has been close to Mag. They are very close friends, yet Mag wants more out of their relationship. Ben only tells her of his true nature after he has been outed at school.
Ben begins to deal with his homosexual feelings and finds himself very much attracted to his history teacher Mr. Mariner. This man is unaware of Ben's feelings, but Ben is shocked and dismayed when Mr. Mariner gets engaged and then married.
Aaron becomes the object of Ben's affection when this boy moves into the school district. Ben lives in Tranten Township, which is the wrong side of the tracks, and Aaron's family lives in the town of Lipton.
Ben's mother and father are progressive thinkers and they have lived the hippie lifestyle most of their adult lives.
Although when Aaron's parents learn of the nature of Ben and Aaron's relationship they move Aaron to another town. This ends Ben and Aaron's relationship.
Ben's grandmother lives in the house with Ben, Jeff, and his parents. This woman is deeply religious and wants Ben to accept Jesus and 'learn' to be straight. She arranges for Ben to attend a Christian summer camp.
The last part of the book is about Ben's experiences at this camp. Ben meets another boy, Peter, who is gay and is being abused by a bully, Vinnie.
I guess the point of this section is to allow Ben to come to terms with his gayness and to learn to stand up for himself. Vinnie is treated as a total negative character and almost a cartoon.
The novel ends when Ben's family picks him up from camp and he feels that he is ready for his sophomore year- 'wise fool'.
The novel is written as a journal. Ben bought a pink notebook at the beginning of his freshman year because this was the last one left at the local store.
In the final paragraph he muses that he might pick a different color for the coming year, but then he decides...."No...hot pink is good".
The novel is well written and Ben's outlook is wry and quite witty. Parts of the book are quite funny and this is an excellent coming of age tale. Although the point of the book is to highlight Ben's awakening gayness, he is also just like any other fourteen year old boy trying to handle the difficulties of growing up poor in a dysfunctional family.
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