Tolog Review: Boy Toy

Boy Toy
by Barry Lyga
reviewed by Madeleine Hara

Written by Barry Lyga, the fictitious young adult novel: Boy Toy exposes the most private thoughts of Josh Mendel, a sexually harassed teenage boy, whose life perpetually changes after sexual relations with his seventh-grade history teacher. Lyga writes the non-linear narrative to relate Mendel’s past and present thoughts and feelings, with alternating chapters of his seventh-grade experiences, his current life as an eighteen-year old, and his therapy sessions with his therapist, Dr. Kennedy. Mendel experiences “flickers,” or recollections of his actions with Evelyn Sherman or Eve, the seventh-grade history teacher, and Rachel, the girl he took advantage of at thirteen years old. His support system of his family, friends, teammates, and therapist fails to convince him that the molestation was not “your idea. Your fault” (Lyga 397.) The readers and “everyone in the world knew” (399) that Eve victimized him, but he carries the weight of it for five years, before realizing Eve’s seduction and manipulation.

At the age of thirteen, Mendel learned how to “please a woman” (1.) His teacher’s interest in him as a student, furthers into a horrifying sexual relationship between the two. Shortly after Mendel and Sherman’s relationship immensely advances, Mendel finds himself in a closet with Rachel, his thirteen-year old best friend. Mendel sexually harasses her and she “dashed out of the closet, wailing, and tugging at her skirt and blouse” (11.) For five years he avoids talking or even seeing her, but one day, he runs into her at the local grocery store, “the Narc” (33.) They begin talking and rekindle a relationship of trust, one that continuously helps Mendel as he copes with Sherman’s release from jail. Mendel struggles understanding his friend’s actions and feelings, knowing how to make Rachel happy, excelling at school and baseball, and finding himself. He strives to escape the identity of the molested boy that people “avoid touching” (30,) and create a new name for himself.

I would recommend Boy Toy to teenagers, that are able to handle mature content. When explaining, Mendel and Sherman’s sexual encounters, Lyga does not hold back any details or sweeten anything that happened. Lyga’s brutal honesty increases the intensity and informs the reader of the effectiveness of Sherman’s manipulation. Because of the disturbing topic, and the use of a male victim, very few similar books exist. The first-person perspective allows the reader to see the mind of a boy, who believes he should be blamed for the molestation and that he “ruined your (Sherman) marriage” (396) and “took advantage of you (Sherman)” (396.) The comparison of his thoughts versus what he chooses to tell people creates an atmosphere of loneliness and blindness. Mendel keeps a persona of confidence, but Boy Toy proves that the molestation affects his every move. I recommend this read, that not only keeps the reader on the edge of her seat, but also opens her eyes to the mentality of a victim of molestation.