[.ca] Desire Lines (ISBN 0374417032)

don't read this book if you're a glbt teenager:
it paints an unnecessarily grim picture of what it's like to be gay or lesbian. It reads like something out of the 50s--The Children's Hour or something. Nasty. And as other reviewers said, not even well-written.

Tra la la la la......:
Shove this into your kitchen pantry (a pantry is a little spot in the kitchen where you store dry food that doesn't need to be refrigerated. the food in my pantry is simply delicious, especially these cute little candy snowmen. Oh, it's such a shame you have to eat them because they're so adorable! but they taste so good!... er just in case you didn't know) but anyway... the people in this book are mean! Oh and all the protagonist talks about in the first chapter are lines. I know that the book is called "Desire Lines" but still! Oh, but the writing is terrific! =p Hee hee hee!!!!!

It doesn't deserve an award, but it makes you think...:
Let's be honest-- Desire Lines is not a well-written book. But with that same honesty, let's admit that the book is absolutely awe-inspiring in the feeling it leaves you with. Living in the midwest, I walked through my house after finishing it, numb; I brought it to school as passed it around among my firends who have the same concerms I do. I recomended it to every English teacher I could talk to. I want to make it a requirement for joining the GSA I head... This book is important because it makes you think about the way things can get out of control; it makes you think of a phrase I assume originated from an Amnesty tee shirt: 'The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for enough good people to do nothing...;' it makes me paraphrase Kim Gordon and say you take a look at all the hate, it makes you feel very up-to-date...

Fascinating:
Besides being thought provoking this book is exceptionally well written. I agree with everything Booklist said. It's a gut wrenching story about a basically likable kid making the wrong choices. Bravo to Mr. Gantos for finally writing a story about a realistic teen who struggles with his conscience and doesn't do the right thing.

A completely different Jack Gantos, and just as good.:
When I started reading this book, I thought it would be somewhat like Jack's New Power, or Heads or Tails, books I really enjoy. But as I read on, I realized that this wasn't going to be a drive through a country of humor. It's a serious, thoughtful book about what some people are like and what they go through. It's very different, but like his other books, I enjoyed it greatly