Boy Toy by Barry Lyga

Josh is a brilliant but difficult kid. His anger flashes into violence in a heartbeat. He won't even talk to his former best friend, and you know that he has done something to her about which he feels terrifically guilty.

As the story unfolds, the truth of what has happened to him is revealed: When he was only twelve years old, his married social studies teacher very carefully manipulated and seduced him. An unconventional sexual predator, Eve was caught and convicted of the crime. Now Josh is a senior, and Eve has just been released. Along with her release comes a confrontation with Rachel, the girl he has been avoiding for five years. Will Josh be able to tamp down the flood of memories that threaten to drown him?

Chilling, difficult, interesting, and at times long-winded, Boy Toy is a piercing look at the relationship between the confused child victim and adult predator. Well-written but very disturbing.


Students have been asking for this one for over a year; then I read a School Library Journal article about censorship that featured this book. The topic alone is pretty intriguing.

Bibliotherapeutic value: The tension comes from the fact that, as readers, we know exactly what is going on -- and that's a brutal reminder of how young and innocent the victim truly is. A deep look at how, for the victims of sexual abuse, even the most normal situation can become fertile ground for guilt and shame. Potently shows how sexual trauma robs its victims.

Lyga, Barry. Boy Toy. New York: Houghton, 2007.

ISBN: 978-0-618-72393-5.  $16.95.

When Jeff Comes Home by Catherine Atkins

One of the most riveting YA novels ever written, When Jeff Comes Home begins as 16-year-old Jeff is dropped off in his old neighborhood. When the door to his home opens, it is the first time that his family had seen him for years. When he was 13, Jeff was abducted from a rest stop by a man named Ray, who had held him captive and shut off from the world. Thus begins his painful reentry into everyday life, with the man who abducted and enslaved him still lurking around, and Jeff absolutely refusing to describe what has happened to him.

Based on the true story of Steven Stayner, a boy who was abducted in the 1970s and then escaped years later, When Jeff Comes Home is a wonderfully written novel about the psychology of a victim who is too ashamed to accuse his attacker. Though seemingly sensationalistic in its topic, writer Atkins creates a true-to-life, meticulously detailed story about serious trauma and its aftermath.


Always wondered why we had three copies of this one in my library. The cover image was immediately disturbing. Now I know why we had so many -- a fantastic read.

Bibliotherapeutic value: As painful as it is, this story underscores the importance of safety net for victims of abuse. The final revelation is a psychic punch to the gut -- and a reminder of how the mind can twist a traumatic situation around to hurt a victim again and again. 


Atkins, Catherine. When Jeff Comes Home. New York: Putnam, 1999.



ISBN: 0-399-23366-0. $17.99.