Boys Don't Cry
By Malorie Blackman
Blurb
Big Boys Don’t Cry is about a 17 year old boy called Dante who is anxiously waiting for the postman to come with his A level results. He has big plans to go to university and become a journalist.
Whilst he is waiting his ex-girlfriend comes to visit him with a baby. She says she has been away staying with her aunt and is just passing through. Dante doesn’t understand why she is there to see him and is horrified when she tells him that baby Emma is her baby.
Dante is even more horrified when Mel eventually tells him that he is the father.
When she leaves Emma with him to go to the shops Dante paces anxiously for her to come back until he gets a phone call from her to say she isn’t coming back, she can’t cope and is worried what she might do to her.
Our Review
Big Boys Don’t Cry is about a 17 year old boy called Dante who is anxiously waiting for the postman to come with his A level results. He has big plans to go to university and become a journalist.
Whilst he is waiting his ex-girlfriend comes to visit him with a baby. She says she has been away staying with her aunt and is just passing through. Dante doesn’t understand why she is there to see him and is horrified when she tells him that baby Emma is her baby.
“Mel wasn’t even nineteen yet. How could she have been stupid enough to have a kid at our age? …kids were for those sad people who didn’t have anything else to do with their lives.”
Dante is even more horrified when Mel eventually tells him that he is the father. At this point Dante has all the stereotypical reactions of is she sure it is his etc. I was thinking that I probably wouldn’t enjoy the book if it was going to be that stereotypical but thankfully it didn’t last.
When she leaves Emma with him to go to the shops Dante paces anxiously for her to come back until he gets a phone call from her to say she isn’t coming back, she can’t cope and is worried what she might do to her.
Dante is left reeling from this information and worrying how to tell his dad and his brother Adam about Emma. Dante is particularly worried about his dad’s reaction as their relationship is fractious to say the least.
The whole family has to figure out how to look after Emma and Dante needs to decide what he is going to do about his future.
Big Boys Don’t Cry is not what you expect at all.
Big Boys Don’t Cry was a refreshing change from the norm, it made a change to read a book written from the perspective of a single father and the challenges and prejudices they can face.
This book is about so much more than that though. Dante, Adam and his dad are all still trying to deal with the loss of Dante’s mother. Each of them has bottled their grief away and feels unable to talk about it with the others. They all feel that if their mother was there she would know what to do about Emma.
On top of that Adam is gay and their dad refuses to discuss it with him and Dante keeps telling him it is a phase.
As if that isn’t enough Adam has been suffering from regular excruciating headaches but his phobia of hospitals and doctors means he is unwilling to get them checked out.
Boys Don’t Cry has something for everyone.
Our Final Rating...
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