One October morning, high school junior Bryan Dennison wakes up a different person—helpful, generous, and chivalrous—a person whose new admirable qualities he doesn’t recognize. Stranger still is the urge to tie a red sheet around his neck like a cape. Bryan soon realizes this compulsion to wear a red cape is accompanied by more unusual behavior. He can’t hold back from retrieving kittens from tall trees, helping little old ladies cross busy streets, and defending innocence anywhere he finds it.
Shockingly, at school, he realizes he used to be a bully. He’s attracted to the former victim of his bullying, Scott Beckett, though he has no memory of Scott from before “the change.” Where he’d been lazy in academics, overly aggressive in sports, and socially insecure, he’s a new person. And although he can recall behaving egotistically, he cannot remember his motivations.
Everyone, from his mother to his teachers to his “superjock” former pals, is shocked by his dramatic transformation. However, Scott Beckett is not impressed by Bryan’s newfound virtue. And convincing Scott he’s genuinely changed and improved, hopefully gaining Scott’s trust and maybe even his love, becomes Bryan’s obsession.
With a foreword by C. Kennedy
ebook, 190 pages
Expected publication: February 21st 2014 by Harmony Ink Press
Book Links:
Excerpt:
What had I gained
by rejecting him?
First of all, I had
a very strong suspicion that everybody in my gang already knew I was gay. And,
second, they all knew I was way into Scott. Yeah, everybody knew the score. So,
what had we gained by humiliating him? I wished I knew every single detail of
that night so I could figure it out, but there was still an enormous blank spot
there.
I got out of bed
and went over to the window, where my red sheets were currently serving as a
second set of curtains. I pulled them down and let them fall to the floor,
clutching the corner to my chest. I lay on that icy-cold, hardwood floor for so
long, curled into a shivering ball, chastising myself for who I’d been. After a
while, I must have drifted off into a fitful sleep.
I woke up very
early in the morning, my teeth chattering and my body covered in goose bumps,
and simultaneously experiencing a strong desire to rummage through my closet in
search of old winter coats, sweaters, scarves, mittens, and hats that I could
drop into the big yellow clothing-donations bin near the Main Street Post
Office on my way to school this morning. Sleeping on that frigid floor last
night must have subconsciously gotten me thinking about the plight of the
homeless who had to spend winter nights outside on the streets. After all, it
was December, and the temperature wouldn’t be rising for many months. And
homeless people would suffer unnecessarily if I didn’t get my ass in gear and
drop off some warm clothing to protect them from the frigid winter weather.
Before my alarm had
even thought about ringing, I was on my feet and bent over, digging through the
cluttered piles on the floor of my closet. Anything to keep myself from
dwelling on the dream that reminded me of how it had felt to hold Scott when he
was mine.
The Red Sheet is a gay YA story that allows the reader a glimpse into the mind of the both the bully and his target. Then you get to watch as the bully becomes the protector and falls in love with said target, but he’s going to have to work for it!
Bryan Dennison’s life is a memory of a dream. He cannot reconcile the person he used to be, and only vaguely remembers, with the person he is now. The most important person to him now is Scott, but Scott is not so easily convinced of Bryan’s motivations. So Bryan sets out to prove to Scott that he has changed, he loves him and he is worthy of Scott’s love in return.
Scott Beckett doesn’t trust Bryan any further than he could throw him! He doesn’t believe Bryan can’t remember. The superjock or superjerk, either fits, that made his life hell now wants to protect him and be his friend. Whatever. As the story unfolds Bryan learns more about the person he was; mean, cruel and almost vindictive. And slowly but surely how he becomes more than who he was, and earns Scott’s love in return.
Kerick really conveyed a different side of the bullying in high school aspect than I’ve ever read, and she did it well. The reality of this story was shocking and made my skin crawl. This is a reality that young LGBT YA teens have to deal with from their peers on a daily basis, to the point some believe that dying is better than living. It saddens and sickens me. If just one of these teens could see things from the perspective of Bryan and Scott, I think this book should be required reading in school. Can we turn it into an after school special?
Loved it, if my previous statement wasn’t a givin, this is a must read! The topic is dark yes, but the execution is wonderful, taking a different road to explore the highly debated issue of bullying.
This book reminded me of a movie I watched many years ago. Saved By the Light starring Eric Roberts, based on the true story of Dannion Brinkley.
{click here to see the trailer for the movie on YouTube}
- A mean, loud-mouthed town bully is talking on the phone one night during a lightning storm when, in a freak occurrence, a bolt of lightning strikes a telephone pole, travels down the phone wires and hits him. He is declared clinically dead, but miraculously recovers shortly thereafter--with a completely new personality.
Thank you so much to Mia Kerick for the opportunity to read this story, and participate in your tour! Until next time...
0 comments:
Post a Comment