Review: Brilliant And Profound
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 08 15, 2013
I almost didn't buy this book. The thought of reading one more word about children abused and discarded by families in the name of some kind of perverse God was just more than I could bear.But something compelled me to buy it, and I'm so glad I did.Yes, this book has a very depressing situation at its core - a family that discards its child because he's gay and tosses him out onto the streets. But the courage and innocence this boy demonstrates in the worst of all possible worlds - where all the adults in his life and community just walk away or look away and leave him to the predators in their cars trolling to corrupt innocents for their own pleasure.The book grabbed me. Deeply. And it didn't let go until the very last line.Sadly, this situation is hardly unique, and the world has made its young gay people suffer terribly for its mindless adherence to the rubbish written in a 2000 year-old-book - not to mention the greedy individuals who peddle hate and intolerance for profit and power.How many of our children do we have to destroy or kill before the world finds its conscience, and religion returns to its mission of comfort and hope instead of spending its considerable resources spreading hate, intolerance, lies and fear.Suffer the children...I've read many gay romances, and many have moved me in some way or another. Mostly, however, they were simply tearjerkers - love, love lost, love regained. That's not what this book is about. It is truly both profoundly moving and important. If your heart does not bleed for these abandoned children, you are no longer human.And it is a wake-up call to the rest of us to do something about it. 40% of all homeless youth are gay. It is a national disgrace.You can do something about this. Contact The Trevor Project and see what you can donate or how you can help. Visit the site of the Family Acceptance Project ( [...] ) at San Francisco State University which is dedicated to researching, educating and healing the families of gay youth. If you're in New York, volunteer or donate to the Ali Forney Center, New York City's largest shelter for homeless gay youth.It would be enough were this book was just a great read - which it is. But if even one of us is moved enough to lend a hand to these discarded children, this book will have risen above the realm of fine literature and actually helped to build a better world.