This book stuck with me lomg after I finished reading it.

books:

	• Guys Don't Rat on Guys Grey Baker Kendall Publication, 2008 - 208 pages average customer review:based on 8 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Tough subject matter, executed well

GUYS DON'T RAY ON GUYS is a novel with a touchy subject.

That subject is child abuse.

Many authors willingly take the risk of having bad things thrown in their direction when they write about such a taboo subject, but that didn't stop Grey Baker in writing his story. Deep down, I believe that everyone is interested in the unknown or the little-known. This is part of the reason why I was attracted to GUYS DON'T RAT ON GUYS (the other being that I met Grey online and wanted to support him as an author.)

So, on with the story.

Our main character is Kevin Hurley, a pubescent boy who, like all children, just want attention and love from their parents. This is something that Kevin doesn't has. Early on in the novel, we learn of the troubles the family has. From the parents' fighting over alcohol, money, or just over nothing at all, to the oldest daughter's constant obsession with being popular and skinny, to the second-oldest daughter's burden of having to take care of her younger brother. All of this comes together in a way that is rarely seen outside the eyes of the family's home.

Like all young boys, they want attention and admiration from their father, something Kevin doesn't have. Kevin's father is burnt out on his relationship and life altogether, which is what eventually makes him leave the house. Through this dramatic event, we watch Kevin mature and develop over the time that his father is gone. We see him grow into a boy who's depressed over his father's loss, and through this, we see his reaction to `Lefty,' Kevin's mother's ex-boyfriend.

This is where GUYS DON'T RAT ON GUYS takes on its real meaning.

The book itself is relatively short, coming in at around two-hundred pages. At times, I felt there were extra chapters added to try and create suspense. While we see the narrative switch to Kevin's childhood to his adult hood through these changes in tense, there were times that it was forced. A scene that I felt could've been extended to have trailed off into the next chapter more smoothly didn't turn out that way, or the chapter would just spring out of nowhere. There were also a number of glaring typos. Oftentimes, punctuation was left outside the dialogue, or the paragraphs weren't intended/were indented too far past the other chapters. There were also a few obvious spelling errors, which were often repeated in the same way.

The punctuation and paragraph/typesetting mistakes aren't why I'm giving this book four stars. I blame the publisher's editing for this. Baker's writing is generally solid, as the mistakes weren't all the same.

I'm giving this book four stars because I felt that there was a lot of untouched material here. At the end of the novel, the real meaning of `guys don't rat on guys' comes up. There was a lot of undeveloped character development here, particularly in the emotional aspects of Kevin's character. An event that often traumatizes most children does little to Kevin (as we see in the writing.) If that is because of his past experience with his parents' fighting and his own abuse, that's one thing; but if this left out character development isn't there for some other reason, this is why I feel the novel is missing something.

On the plus side, GUYS DON'T RAT ON GUYS gives the reader an unexpected ending, a twist that won't be seen or thought of throughout the novel. That's something I enjoy in a novel. I like to have an ending that I can't guess at the end of a novel, and Grey Baker did this quite well.

This is definitely a book that won't leave me for a long time.

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great book

WOW~ What a book, A rollercoaster of emotion...sad, heartbreaking, sarcastic & insightful and told with just enough humor.
I could not put it down & read it in a day.
i will definatly look for the next book keep them coming.
a great summer read!!!

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What literature is supposed to do!

Grey Baker's new book "Guys Don't Rat on Guys" reminds you of what good literature is supposed to do: tell a gripping story that makes you think, and makes you FEEL. Baker tackles a terrible theme, child abuse and its lifelong repercussions, and in this book, the victim is a boy child, a group we hear little about because..."guys don't rat on guys."
Now an embittered young man, the book's protagonist returns to the scene of the crime, his hometown. He needs to punish, avenge, and somehow, understand. He has to banish his demons, who hide behind familiar faces. This is a book with a message and a mission: to make us all confront the pain and ugliness that lives in every town.

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Interesting fiction

Grey baker certainly has the ability to spin an interesting yarn.
A good read if you keep in mind that it is 90 percent fiction.

This book stuck with me lomg after I finished reading it.

Guys don't rat on Guys is tremendous in every way. I bought it on a suggestion from a friend and I know that I have discovered a hidden gem. This book pulled my emotions in every possible direction. I found myself on the edge of my seat at times and crying the next. I have never been an abuse victim but I found myself being able to relate to this book. I read quite a bit and am I comfortable saying that "Guys Don't Rat on Guys" may be the best book of the year. Great job Mr. Baker.

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reviews: page 1, 2

Kevin Hurley has a unique--some would call cynical-view of the world and the people in it. His childhood was something he survived, rather than celebrated, so it is no mystery why he is hesitant to return to his childhood haunts. After nearly twenty years of keeping skeletons in their closet his visit drums up memories and the people who made them. Kevin's encounters with the people in his past prove puzzling until a rush of memory decides who, what and why Kevin is who he is. The mind of a child is a playground--simple and sincere; for Kevin, it is a dangerous place where trust and loyalty died young, and if he is to have a future he must make peace with all the horror that came before. Dramatic in all the right ways, Guys Don't Rat On Guys is a compassionate and searing novel of one man journey to reconcile his past in order to embrace the future.

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