Lawn Boy

Clever and straight-forward writing. Good character development. I thought Mike would never get out of his own way, but I'm glad he did.

a typically marginalized young Mexican/American boy who through hard work, love of family, and humor cuts his own path to individuality and success. i would not mind knowing someone like Mike! Author is an excellent story teller.

I read the book before I found out it was being band . I know way people wanted it band. We can't have sympathetic characters that don't lack act,feel,look or love like we do . Evison has has wozin a tail of truth, pesos and Hope .Mixing sexual identification/awakening Despair College judgment End And income inequalityuality

I bought this book because it is high on many "banned books" list - books that censors want removed from libraries or bookstores. This one has a lot in common with others I've reviewed - it has a hero who is an ethnic minority (Hispanic in this case) and who has had non-standard sexual experiences. The hero in this book is poor, angry desperately trying to succeed in a world that is designed to make him fail. In reading the book, I was kinda shocked to recognize myself as one of the people who would have told him to get a job, a truck and a lawnmower without recognizing how impossible it would be for him to do any of those things. While reading, I gained a great deal of empathy for his situation - and that is probably why the book banners want to stop kids from reading it. The irony is - there is not a high schooler in America who does not know the "dirty" words in this book or know that there are gay people in the world. Reading this book will not turn anyone gay - but it might give some comfort to a questioning kid who will find out that he is not alone.I hope ever "banned book club" in America reads this book!

Mike has a dream that someday he will finally fulfill his dream of actually becoming a successful landscape artist. The reader worries, laughs and cries as he plugs along. He never gives up! I highly recommend this book if you don’t mind some of the profanity.

Though he's been on my radar for some time now, this is my first dive into a Jonathan Evison novel, and I can tell you now that I'll be reading them all.Lawn Boy tells the story of Mike, a kid in his early twenties growing up on the poor side of the tracks across the water from Seattle. Mike is not only trying to find himself, but he's also trying survive, struggling to make ends meet when the world seems stacked against him.Evison's gifts are on full display with Lawn Boy. The style is often breezy, yet he's adressing big ideas and deep themes--capitalism, power, sexuality, and empathy. Even the seemingly most awful people in the novel are not without humanity. I came to love them all (well, except maybe one), along with their considerable warts.I laughed out loud many times during my reading of this wonderful book. I suppose I share the author's sensibilities; after all, we grew up in the PNW around the same time (the local references are golden for any other Western Washington folks). I also chuckled at his numerous barbs on writing itself, especially the overcooked style of prose that the MFA programs of our country seem to pump out.Lawn Boy is a whole lot of fun with a whole lot of heart. Ignore the one star reviews from the nitwits and prudes: there is nothing unsavory or smuttty about this book at all. It's an honest and often humorous depiction of real, Pacific Northwest working-class life, which is something I've always thought we needed to see more of.Bravo.

Great read — poignant, funny, authentic. Evison creates an entire world populated by complicated characters interacting in specific strange places. Read this book!

The book was very easy reading for an adult. It was light and funny but the underlying theme is a much more serious look at poverty in this country and the fact that white superiority is a real fact that we like to ignore, especially if we are white. The language is a bit salty for certain, but sounds exactly the way children talk, even white ones, and my goodness, the subject turns out to be gay, all contributing to its banning. However, the book is meant to encourage all poor people who are not white to try to attain their dreams, whatever they may be. It also makes it abundantly clear that if you are poor and not white in this country, in spite of our progress over the past 60 years, this will still be an uphill battle.

A young man discovering himself and how he's going to deal with the life he has, highly recommended

I enjoyed this book much more than I had expected from the blurb. The main character is very likable, and most of the secondary ones, even those that initially appear hopeless, have at least some positive trait, at least from the point of view of the protagonist. He is refreshingly non-judgmental and overall has a very positive attitude, especially considering his circumstances, but it does not feel contrived. This is a light (and somewhat predictable) book - but it definitely has a few profound messages. It could have felt a little preachy, had it not been for Mike Munoz's self-deprecating and engaging voice, which I was sorry to part with at the end. I never thought I could get so engrossed in the story of a topiary artist....

Roller coaster of emotions. I went from sad to happy and again upset. Love the ending. A good feel book