A review by library_brandy
Desire Lines by Jack Gantos

5.0

It took me a little bit at the beginning to decide if I liked this book, but by the time I got to the end, there was no question. It's rare to see a teen book with such a realistic narrator: a high-school sophomore catches two of his female classmates secretly dating, and rather than tell them, he keeps the secret to himself--until the rest of the school, led by a creepy Preacher Kid moving in across the street, starts accusing him of being gay. Sure, sounds very realistic, but usually there's the Big Lesson that the kids learns, apologizes to classmates, and everyone's happy at the end. That's not the case here. Love, courage, betrayal--this isn't a happy story with happy characters. It's troubled, dark, and disturbing--and that's what makes this novel so amazing.