Teen Fiction - Choices & Transitions, Teen Fiction - Boys & Young Men, Teen Fiction - School

Sexy

Name: Sexy
Author: Joyce Carol Oates
ISBN: 9780060541514

by Joyce Carol Oates

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Overview

The most provocative young adult novel yet from New York Times best–selling author Joyce Carol Oates.

Darren Flynn is popular, good–looking, and has a spot on the varsity swim team. But after what happened that day in November (did it happen?), life is different for Darren.

Now his friends, his family, even the people who are supposed to be in charge are no longer who Darren thought they were. Who can he trust now?

In her third novel for young adults, the author of the acclaimed Big Mouth & Ugly Girl leads readers on an internal journey of self–discovery, moral complexity, and sexuality.

Sixteen-year-old Darren Flynn, a popular, good-looking high school athlete who lacks self-confidence, learns that his jock friends are hatching a revenge act against their English teacher for failing a member of the swim team.

Synopsis

The most provocative young adult novel yet from New York Times best–selling author Joyce Carol Oates.

Darren Flynn is popular, good–looking, and has a spot on the varsity swim team. But after what happened that day in November (did it happen?), life is different for Darren.

Now his friends, his family, even the people who are supposed to be in charge are no longer who Darren thought they were. Who can he trust now?

In her third novel for young adults, the author of the acclaimed Big Mouth & Ugly Girl leads readers on an internal journey of self–discovery, moral complexity, and sexuality.

Publishers Weekly

In a starred review, PW said, "As she did in Freaky Green Eyes, Oates once again explores the link between sexuality and aggression as she delves deep inside a vulnerable 16-year-old's psyche." Ages 14-up. (Jan.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

About the Author, Joyce Carol Oates

In a prolific and varied oeuvre that ranges over essays, plays, criticism, and several genres of fiction, Joyce Carol Oates has proved herself one of the most influential and important storytellers in the literary world.

Reviews

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Editorials

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

“Touching and believable. An unusually sensitive and sympathetic assessment.”

ALA Booklist (boxed review)

“Fans of Oates’ previous YA books will want to read this.”

Des Moines Sunday Register

"Can’t-put-it-down thriller."

BookPage

"Fine young adult literature."

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"Touching and believable. An unusually sensitive and sympathetic assessment."

The Horn Book

"Palpable and compelling."

(boxed review) - ALA Booklist

"Fans of Oates’ previous YA books will want to read this."

The Bulletin for the Center for Children's Books

“Touching and believable. An unusually sensitive and sympathetic assessment.”

ALA Booklist

“Fans of Oates’ previous YA books will want to read this.”

The Horn Book

“Palpable and compelling.”

BookPage

“Fine young adult literature.”

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

“Touching and believable. An unusually sensitive and sympathetic assessment.”

Des Moines Sunday Register

“Can’t-put-it-down thriller.”

Publishers Weekly

School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up-Oates has produced another novel with a compelling story line and a complex protagonist. Darren Flynn is incredibly good-looking, but isn't quite sure how to handle all the admiring attention he receives from females and males alike. In addition, his teachers and swimming coach remark consistently on his untapped potential and the way he holds himself back both in the pool and in his writing, and Darren knows this to be true. The teen's hardscrabble rural New England lifestyle is juxtaposed with the professional, well-off families of his friends. As in Big Mouth and Ugly Girl (HarperCollins, 2002), Oates takes an ambiguous and uncomfortable incident with a male teacher and allows the story to unravel through rumor and innuendo into a horrible climax. Here, a retaliatory attack on the man's character by some disgruntled students careens out of control and has deadly consequences. The characters of family and friends are well drawn but the star is the protagonist, and Darren's authenticity shines through. The male-centered, first-person narrative and athletic allusions make this novel appealing to reluctant male readers. This is sure to be a popular title and is great for sparking discussion, even though the explicit language and subject matter may be problematic in some schools.-Courtney Lewis, Wyoming Seminary College Preparatory School, Kingston, PA Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Handsome, popular, and athletic, 16-year-old Darren Flynn should be on top of the world. But this "guy's guy" is not exactly what he seems. Loaded with self-doubt, burdened by other people's expectations and distressed by feelings he can't articulate, Darren likes to keep things light and jokey. However, after fellow swim-team member Jimmy Kovaks is kicked off varsity for plagiarizing, a group of Darren's buddies anonymously accuses the teacher who caught and failed Jimmy, of coming onto boys. The school and police take action, destroying the teacher's life and putting Darren, who knew about but refused to participate in the hoax, in a state of moral turmoil. Oates further complicates matters by giving Darren some unsavory but still ambiguous information about the teacher as well as an inchoate terror that he will somehow be tarred with the same brush. Full of ethical complexities, this deftly written page-turner offers a sympathetic portrait of a young man devoid of adult guidance, who struggles to come to his own conclusion while sorting through messy, complicated truths. (Fiction. YA)