Four teenage boys:

Ant – has lots of questions he wants answers to. What is virginity and when do you lose it? Is it only when you’ve been with a girl or does it count if you practise with a boy?

Jack – Ant’s friend. Ant knows the truth about Jack but others like to guess, tease and taunt Jack about being gay. Jack deflects it all with humour, making bullies even madder.

Charlie – Not sure who he really is, and is taking that struggle out on others. Change is not welcome in his life and a secret being discovered isn’t either. Betrayal of a friend is easier to deal with, but the fallout is painful.

Freddie – loving rugby now that he’s become wide shouldered and barrel chested, without losing any of his speed on the field. Only Freddie it seems is comfortable in his own skin, providing a well-needed anchor for a friend.

This short illustrated novel is in the viewpoint of Ant. It is unique in the fact that the strong language the characters speak (as they would do in real life) is blacked out so the reader cannot see it.

Any teen reader will understand what is being said underneath each solid black box. The characters can also see them and they find it interesting to test what they can say without the word being blacked out.

This brings humour into the novel as four teenage boys, inseparable when they were young, are thrown back together in a classroom group.

Sparks fly, along with fists. Secrets are spat out as protection and stronger friendships forged.

As always with multi award winning author Patrick Ness, Different for Boys is something special.

Author – Patrick Ness

Illustrator – Tea Bendix

Age – 15+

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(2023, Walker Books Aust, Illustrated novel, Teenagers, Sex, Gay, LGBTQ+, Secrets, School, Friendships, Betrayal, Football, Relationships, Loyalty, Identity, Growing Up, Questions, Virginity)