Golden Boy: A Novel

Golden Boy is an intense and emotional read that centers on Max Walker, an intersex teen. We follow Max’s story through the eyes of the important people in Max’s life: Max’s parents, brother, doctor, and girlfriend, and Max as well. This book provides food for thought about gender roles and identity, and this book really stretched my mind. Max’s story is inspiring, heartbreaking, and thought provoking. If you’re interested in crossover books, gender issues and just great storytelling I think you’ll really respond to Golden Boy.

The multi-POV format works very well in Golden Boy. It’s enlightening to get different reads on Max and see that how people react is not necessarily what you’d expect. The parents (Karen and Steve) provide the history and why they made certain medical and gender choices about Max from the beginning, and where there was conflict between them. Steve’s POV comes in late in the story, and before that we have to rely on only Karen’s side of the story. Max’s younger brother Daniel is quite a character – he says just what he means, and hero worship’s Max. Archie is Max’s doctor and is one of the first in Max’s circle of trust. And Sylvie is Max’s love interest.

This was my first book on intersexuality and it opened my eyes about my own gender assumptions. There are not a lot of fiction or YA books out there that tackle intersexuality and gender issues and Tarttelin expertly addresses these topics and makes me hunger for more.

This book had me so on edge- I was so worried about Max and angry and stressed about the situation. At one point at the end I was afraid I’d throw my iPhone across the room but thankfully it didn’t come to that. I had to put the book down though after a very traumatic incident in the narrative- it was just so vivid and upsetting. But my thoughts kept straying back to Golden Boy and I returned of course to finish this powerful story. Abigail Tarttelin seems like she’s well versed in the intersex topic and makes this book informative and quite gripping. The multi-pov’s work together so beautifully and give the reader such a well-rounded reading experience. Can’t wait to read what Tarttelin writes next.

Audio notes – Yay for full cast audiobooks! This audiobook is perfection- there’s a narrator for each characters’ POV, which fully brings Max’s story to life. The vocal performance of Max in particular is splendidly portrayed. It was just like listening to a play, so well acted and full of emotion. I did speed up the narration a little bit because I was eager to find out what happened and the audio sounds great at 1.25x.If you are inclined to listen to audiobooks, you won’t regret listening to this one.

Wow! This book had me feeling every emotion there is. I was curled in a ball during Max's encounter with Hunter. I was laughing and crying through other scenes. But I also learned so much about a topic people find taboo to talk about. A great listen!

This book is a great story as well as imparting a lot of education to the reader. I very touching story with great character development.

There is some harsh reality but the characters are all very real and understandable. I miss them already!
Thank you

the book is read so amazingly, i couldn't stop listening to it and i can't stop hearing it in my head now that i've finished it. the reader who reads daniel, in particular, is smashing. a super cast for a simply fabulous book.

Don't let the subject matter scare you off. This is a beautifully written and brutally honest book about relationships. I loved the different points of view and how the author realistically portrayed everyone. The author nicely illustrated the disconnect between parents and teens and the anguish it can bring. More importantly, she did it with characters that really stick with you. Definitely a book I was sorry to see end and haven't been able to get off my mind since I finished it.

I loved this book, it made me laugh out loud and tear up many times throughout the duration of it. It was eye opening to hear about the self conscious thoughts that go through both intersex individuals and victims of sexual assault.
The voice actors read it well and complimented the personal narrative style the author employs throughout the book.
I really did love this one.

Loved this novel, it's very heavy but extremely well done. Many portions are stressful and pull strings of emotion. Well worth a read for those who can handle a heavy heart throughout the read.