Bad Boy

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Full of action and dramatic tension, this story set in Canada reveals the problems of a high school hockey player during his first year on a Triple A team. A. J. Brandiosa's elation in making the Cyclones is undercut by the fear he will not measure up to the other players. The 17-year-old's hot temper and aggressiveness in the game soon bring him the wrong kind of notoriety. Trying to dispel his reputation for being a ``bad boy'' on the ice is not the only challenge A. J. faces. Even more difficult is his struggle to accept that his best friend and teammate, Tully Brown, is gay. After A. J.'s initial shock over this news wears off, the boy begins to question his own sexuality. Besides relating the dynamics of amateur hockey, Wieler ( Last Chance Summer ) explores the psychology of a confused adolescent trying to prove his manhood. The topics of homosexuality and peer pressures are dealt with openly yet with delicacy; messages regarding tolerance and self-control are effectively conveyed. Ages 13-up. (Mar.)

School Library Journal

Gr 8-12-- After he and his best friend, Tulsa Brown, are selected for the high school ice hockey team, 16-year-old A. J. Brandiosa is suddenly confronted with a multitude of crises. With his coach's encouragement, he becomes an ``enforcer''--someone whose main job is to make cheap, violent hits against opposing players. While the boy comes to terms with his new role, he discovers that Tulsa is gay. To further complicate his life, his secret crush on Tulsa's sister becomes public just as his friendship with Tulsa is deteriorating. In addition, his father brings home a female friend who is closer in age to A. J. As the boy works through his confusion and pain, he clarifies his own relationships, eventually emerging as a winner on all counts. The fast-paced hockey action is only a backdrop to the off-rink clashes that are told by an omniscient narrator who leaves little to the imagination regarding what the protagonists are thinking and doing; this helps clarify any uncertainty about plot or character, but it also increases the story's predictability. Important questions are raised about homosexuality, high school sports, single parents, and male sexism. This is an issue-laden story that is rescued by the carefully delineated main characters, although more discriminating readers might be dubious about how neatly the conflicts are resolved. --Jack Forman, Mesa College Library, San Diego