The Drowning of Stephan Jones

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

The author of Summer of My German Soldier tackles the controversial topic of homophobia in her tale of a girl roused to action when her boyfriend persecutes a local gay couple. Ages 12-up. (Nov.)

School Library Journal

Gr 7-12-- Gay couple Stephan Jones and Frank Montgomery, antique dealers, escape Boston for a small town in Arkansas, only to face the bigotry of its small-minded, fundamentalist, and ultraconservative population. Carla Wayland, 16, lives with her liberal, librarian mother, and dreams of being part of the ``in'' crowd; dating handsome, rich, and popular Andy Harris is her wish come true. Although raised to act on her ethical beliefs, Carla finds that her enchantment with Andy draws her as a silent partner into his hate campaign and harassment of the couple. As a direct result of the gay bashing, Stephan dies. Hatred, the power of mob psychology, put-downs of the weak to gain power, and the self-righteousness of self-serving religious groups are themes addressed in this thought-provoking novel. Unaddressed are the psychological abuse of Andy by his father, the absence of support for intellectual freedom and religious tolerance, and the lack of justice in the death of another human being. Stereotypes are rampant and include not only the gay couple but extend to fundamental Christianity, conservatives, liberals, attorneys, and small-town inhabitants. Greene has a polished writing style; powerful scenes of dialogue include strong language and street slang that add immediacy and realism to arguments and taunts. Descriptive passages plod, however, and character development is uneven. Greene has addressed volatile issues, albeit somewhat unrealistically. --Gail Richmond, Point Loma High School, San Diego