I love this story. Love it. It fed my soul.If I could write a book of my own, I think it would be very similar to Billy's Boy. And if I could gather all my own chosen family up and hand them one book to remind them of the value of having each other, it would be this novel. In so many places throughout the story, the characters' conflicts and relationships spoke to me; they really are nearly a mirror of the people and emotions that populate my own family life.Warren has a powerful message to send, here, and I think she gets that message across with a lot of grace and understanding. Only in some places does it become even slightly afterschool-special-ey. However there's good reason for it to have those overtones, as apparently Warren has done significant work with gay youth and clearly wants to share the resources she knows. Can't blame her for that.The only complaint I have is that the ending should have been about twenty pages before where it was, just to make the reader feel a deeper sense of satisfaction and peace. As it was, it sort of rambled a bit and then ended with a lot of unanswered questions. But, I guess, life's not like that, so why should realistic literature be like that?
A little disappointed with this final book in the series. This is the story of an artificially inseminated offspring of Billy Sive, the gay track start from The Front Runner, and his lesbian friend, Betsy Heden. It is written from the perspective of the pre-teen main character, William, but the conversations he has with his peers seem a little too mature for an 11-y/o. Contrast this with the attitude William has against life in the other extreme... trashing his bedroom and handmade telescope in one scene, and complete disregard for smashing heirloom china when he is a guest in someone else's home.The bird theme is carried over from the previous two novels, and there is also a theme of star-gazing or astrology with Billy's Boy. In a twist of drama by the end, we find out William's biological ancestry (again, un-enchanting), that left me with another level of "huh?"
