Talk

Kathe Koja

There are few writers on the planet today whose every new novel brings such pleasure as Kathe Koja. Talk, Koja's fourth novel for young adults and ninth overall, continues the trend.

Kit Webster is in high school, in the closet, and generally not the kind of guy you noticed when growing up. His best friend Carma convinces him to try out for the male lead in the school play, Talk, and he gets the part. He is quite surprised to find he has a real flair for acting, as is his female lead, Lindsay Walsh, the queen of the drama department. Instead of things going smoothly, of course, complications must arise, from Lindsay dumping her boyfriend to concerned parents protesting that the subject matter of the play is too controversial for young minds to handle.

While it's not of the same brilliance as her four mid-period novels (Skin, Strange Angels, Kink, and straydog), Talk delivers on many levels, as do almost all of Koja's novels (Bad Brains being the sole exception). Short, punchy, readable, and powerful. Some of the characters, especially the minor characters, fall into stereotype, but it's hard to avoid that when so many real gay-bashers try their best to emulate the stereotype. There's really no way around it. Kit and Lindsay are quite well-drawn, and they carry the story (told alternately in chapters narrated by each) wonderfully.

Another winner from the Koja stable.