The Last Exit to Normal by Michael Harmon

Miss Mae is Edward's mom who is a very tough woman who teaches Ben how to live and how to show respect. In an effort to save him his father and his lover, Edward, take him to Miss Mae's house. After this Ben spirals out of control by smoking, drinking, and taking illegal drugs. When Ben reaches the age of 17, his father tells him that he is a homosexual, which causes his wife to leave him. I would recommend this to reluctant male readers, or anyone looking for a story where the main character has two parents of the same gender. While nothing blew me out of the water, I still enjoyed the quaint country feel from the setting and the hot button issue of gay parents the author addressed.

The plot was also surprisingly original - the conflict was not resolved the way I foresaw, and most of the time the story was funny and entertaining. Sometimes stereotypes were utilized, like with Kimberly, but it did not interfere with the story. They dealt with situations in certain ways that made the book seem realistic, instead of simply getting along without any problems. For example, most of the characters were extremely well-developed, especially Paul. But it takes time for a city boy to adapt to a country setting - and according to Edward's tenacious mother, lots of hard work as well.Įverything about this book was very good, just not perfect. After seeing various therapists and attending numerous counseling sessions, Ben is forced to move to Montana with Paul, and Paul's boyfriend Edward. Paul came out to their family about thirteen years too late, and after his announcement Ben's mother moved away. In fact, he wanted to get caught - just to spite his gay father, Paul.

Ben's dad wants to keep Ben from staying out of big city problems thinking, 'The Beverly Hillbillies' is the place for the three of them to settle down.In his old life, Ben did drugs and hung out with the wrong crowd.

That was the reason why Paul and Edward came to Edward's small hometown, Rough Butte, Montana. Ben deals with bullying at school, conflict in the community, and trying to stay out of serious trouble during his high school years. The controversial issue in the novel would be gay men, his father and the boyfriend.

Ben's mom left him when he was young so he lives with his dad, Paul, and his dad's boyfriend, Edward. Ben has the dysfunctional family thing and the normal thing with the girlfriend, that he is trying to figure out. The main character, Ben, a high school boy, even though he was not in the best situation, meets a girl, Kimberly Johan, that really liked him. The characters fit together in the small town of Rough Butte, Montana. The Last Exit to Normal A Novel Genre: Controversial Books

The Last Exit to Normal by Michael Harmon