Dangerous to Know

Eleven year-old Andy is a precocious boy who enters sixthh grade with ideas of being one of the popular kids. Abandoning his friendship with the obviously gay James, Andy begins to court the attentions of the star football player Mark and his crowd. Not counting his days of playing "Doctors" with James, Andy is determined that this will be the year he finally kisses a boy.

It's easy to forget that all too brief time in our lives between wanting to be play with toys to be wanting to play with boys, but Babcocks charmingly disarming novella manages to bring it flooding back. Andy's internal struggle, the inability to understand his own feelings for heart throb Mark and why he doesn't have those same feelings for Marks girlfriend are extremely relateable. Babcock's writing is wonderfully simplistic, keeping it on the same level as Andy's thought processes will make this book an excellent read for young gays who find themselves in our leads situation.

Andys' relationship with James throughout this book is something keenly insightful. Perhaps just two sides of the same character. While James is portrayed as overly emotional (something Andy hates him for) Andy keeps his in check, focusing all his pent up feeling into writing a fairy tale of a girl abandoned in the forrest with only talking animals for friends and dreams of a handsome prince. James is known as the "school faggot" and Andy teases him in front of the other boys while still calling him at night and inviting him for 'sleepovers.' James is the part of Andy that he, himself must learn to accept and only by accepting his friend as he is can Andy move forward.

This charming, wry, coming of age story is unlike most others because that's exactly what it's not. There's no huge life affirming discovery here, just a quick snapshot of who we were even if it's only who we were for the briefest of times.