Golden Boy

Golden Boy

Publisher

Atria Book

Publication Year

2013

ISBN

9781476705804

Pages

347 pages

Genre

realism

Format

novel

Item Type

Fiction

Annotation

The Walker family is good at keeping secrets from the world. They are even better at keeping them from each other. Max Walker is a golden boy. Attractive, intelligent, and athletic, he's the perfect son, the perfect friend, and the perfect crush for the girls in his school. He's even really nice to his little brother. Karen, Max's mother, is a highly successful criminal lawyer, determined to maintain the fac̦ade of effortless excellence she has constructed through the years. Now that the boys are getting older, now that she won't have as much control, she worries that the fac̦ade might soon begin to crumble. Adding to the tension, her husband, Steve, has chosen this moment to stand for election to Parliament. The spotlight of the media is about to encircle their lives. The Walkers are hiding something, you see. Max is special. Max is different. Max is intersex. When an enigmatic childhood friend named Hunter steps out of his past and abuses his trust in the worst possible way, Max is forced to consider the nature of his well-kept secret. Why won't his parents talk about it? What else are they hiding from Max about his condition and from each other? The deeper Max goes, the more questions emerge about where it all leaves him and what his future holds, especially now that he's starting to fall head over heels for someone for the first time in his life. Will his friends accept him if he is no longer the Golden Boy? Will anyone ever want him--desire him--once they know? And the biggest one of all, the question he has to look inside himself to answer: Who is Max Walker, really?"

Grade Level

9-12

Diversity Topics

LGBTQ (Gender and Sexuality); Intersex; Gender nonconformity; intersex teenager; gender identity

Main Character

intersex teenager

Race/Ethnicities

White

Family Formation

mother and father

LGBTQ+

intersex person

Awards

Alex Awards, 2014, Winner
Booklist Editors' Choice: Adult Books for Young Adults, 2013 Fiction
School Library Journal Best Adult Books 4 Teens, 2013 Fiction

Keywords

brothers; families; family secrets; sexual assault; athlete; guilt; blame; England; politics; lawyer

Diversity Impact

direct

Golden Boy

Find in your library

Find on Amazon

Find on Barnes & Noble

Share

COinS