Parents' Guide to Boy Toy

Better plotting and character development make this second book more intense, more disturbing, and ultimately more memorable than the first. Lyga again centers his novel on a messed-up teen boy protagonist and even sets the story at the same high school he created for his popular debut, The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl. Readers may be drawn in by a scintillating premise, but they will quickly feel sickened as Josh is easily and expertly manipulated by his teacher into a sexual relationship he is much too young for. They will find it easy to empathize with Josh, who even years later is traumatized by Eve's sexual molestation; Lyga carefully draws out Josh's flaws, from his violent tendencies to his fears of intimacy to his paranoia that everyone around him knows what has happened to him -- and that Eve could reappear at any moment.

There is no doubt that this is a mature book, from the subject matter to the language. But Lyga shows great respect for his audience and doesn't go the sensationalistic route. He writes in specific detail about Eve and Josh's sex life, but he also reveals Josh's vulnerability, presenting intimate conversations between Josh and his therapist, or between him and the girl who wants to be his girlfriend. This level of detail makes the story feel very real and makes Josh's pain very palpable.