Boy Toy by Barry Lyga

This was the most difficult book I've read in a while, because the subjects it deals with are so intense and heavy. BOY TOY is about a senior in high school who is still dealing with intense psychological trauma from being sexually molested by his female teacher at twelve years old. Because of the way our society discourages men from expressing their feelings, Josh has sublimated his guilt, shame, and anxiety into anger, lashing out at "safe" authority figures to prove he has agency, even as he is unable to have healthy physical relationships with kids his own age.

The portions describing the abuse happen both in flashbacks and in very descriptive on-page scenes. I saw another reviewer saying that they seemed "sexualized" but that would imply that they were done for titillation and I don't think that was the author's intent. It felt like it was intended to show how grooming works, and how insidiously the abuser chooses and manipulates their victims, and how a child's curiosity and innocence are corrupted and exploited by a predator. Josh's hypersexuality and anger and terror of intimacy were a byproduct of abuse and it's easy to see why, with the context given.

The only book that made me feel this disgusted without actually making me throw the book down in disgust was TAMING THE BEAST by Emily Maguire, which also depicts an abusive student/teacher relationship in graphic detail. It's a hard line to tread, I think, wanting to show the insidiousness of abuse without being too graphic-- you don't want to sexualize children as an author, but you also do want to create literature that is relatable for victims of CSA to show that they shouldn't feel shame and that they're not alone. I think Barry Lyga achieved that with BOY TOY but the content is VERY disturbing and upsetting and you should exercise caution when picking up this book and protect your own mental health.

I'm not sure who I would recommend this book too, since it's a very depressing read, but as a work of young adult literature it certainly tells its story while navigating the subject matter deftly.

3.5 to 4 out of 5 stars