Brian and Jamie are two everyday kids growing up in town,
Brian is fostered and Jamie's middle class, but they're
good friends in and out of school. Aged seventeen however
Brian starts to fear that the Baptist preacher is correct,
and everyone will hate him, and he will go to damnation.
It's not his fault that he fancies Jamie, however much he
tries to think of girls. Terrified of ruining their
friendship, he can't say anything. One teacher is a gay
man, and he spots that Brian is withdrawn, and asks if he
can help. But Brian doesn't know what he wants. CHOICES
will have to be made.
An internet search produces alternate views of the Biblical
words; it seems there is no one right interpretation. Brian
dares to confide in Jamie, to learn that his friend has
similar feelings and is also confused. Neither of them
wants to be gay, but at least they can talk about it now,
hidden in a tree-house. As their closeness develops they
find the need to date girls for the first time as a cover;
they double date, but the less well-off Brian isn't
popular. The boys in school come out with lazy, negative
comments regarding gay guys they don't even know, so Brian
will be even less popular if he tells the truth. Then
there's his foster mother - doesn't she deserve to know?
Jamie Mayfield has written a story that's deceptively easy
to read, getting us into the mind of young Brian and all
his fears and wishes. Forget worrying about being popular;
he's worried about losing the guy he loves and being driven
out of town. Once rumours start Brian also has physical
bullying to contend with and the art teacher explains that
he was only hired when he threatened a discriminatory
lawsuit. I thought one of the better characters was
Richard, Brian's foster father, who is an emergency room
doctor. He treats the lad like any person should be
treated, and is strongly supportive of him against a
disinterested headmaster.
Sticks And Stones a factual book about bullying was
released this year, including case studies of young adults
who were bullied at school because they were gay. One
managed to sue his school for discriminating against him
while others overcame their situation by organising an LGBT
support group. CHOICES has brought the situation to
fictional life, and I sincerely hope that no other young
people have to endure Brian's circumstances.
As the country’s religious and secular leaders battle over
equality in the abstract, Brian McAllister and Jamie
Mayfield live in the crossfire. In their little town of
Crayford, Alabama, loving another boy is the worst kind of
sin. Best friends since childhood, they explore their love
and each other in Jamie’s backyard tree house as they hide
from the world. They happily plan for the future
together—until their lives are rocked when their secret is
exposed and Jamie’s family intervenes.
When hatred turns to violence in their sleepy little town,
Brian tries to cope with the loss of his best friend, who is
stolen in the night. In desperation, he turns to Adam, a new
friend with a shared pain. Can Adam fill the hole left by
Jamie’s absence? The answer will change everything.
Adapted from the award-winning Little Boy Lost series by
J.P. Barnaby.
100% of the author's royalties are being donated to help
homeless LGBT kids find safe shelter.
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