The New Boy of William Sutcliffe's hilariously touching debut novel causes a bit of a stir when he arrives at Mark's posh private school. For a start, Barry is devastatingly handsome and causes girls and boys to buckle at the knees. Mark is more than a little jealous, considering himself to be much less attractive. But he spots an ally in Barry and the two quickly become friends though Mark's feelings for Barry are often confused. For a start, he finds himself lusting after the boy in the showers but refuses to think it's because he is gay. Meanwhile, Barry is getting busy with most of the female population within a 50-mile radius, including an affair with one of his own teachers. Mark quickly realises that if he is ever going to be a hit with the opposite sex, he needs Barry's help. But he learns that Barry is hiding a few secrets of his own.

This wonderfully funny and engaging novel is a fast and captivating read, as Sutcliffe hits so many marks about the clichés of school life. The neurotic teachers, the geeky pupils and the rites of passage will all strike a chord within most readers, and the characters are effectively and warmly drawn. Mark and Barry's relationship is so wonderfully captured; their brief conversations are mainly populated with swearwords and degenerate into arguments by their end. There are examinations of both religion and, more importantly, homosexuality, and it's a comfort to see these issues treated with a respectful sense of humour. In the end though, New Boy isn't so much a novel about being gay, more about being who you want to be. --Jonathan Weir

A novel that explores adolescent life in the sixth form, where raging hormones and sexual confusion lead to two friends falling out when one of them announces that he is gay. From the author of ARE YOU EXPERIENCED?

2008-01-24 Very Funny Indeed

I loved this book, every single side splitting page. Not giving this book its due credit because the main character is difficult to empathise with is madness. When I was at School in the same era, every one was a 'Mark'. I was reluctant to initially read the book assuming that it would honey comb school life like so many books do. This showed school life in all its nasty natural glory. Mark is extremely pitiful and funny all in the same breath. Though the ending was disappointing, for one who aches for a happy ending! It is a book I can recommend to all my friends. When you see painful and awkward films like 'Chuck and Larry' you can really appreciate this all out and out comic book with real laughs where its OK to be confused and lust over whatever gender, albeit reluctantly. We often laugh at the protagonist not with him i.e. line in the book 'Some guys would wait outside the girl's school for glimpses of girls' we all thought this was so gay. Life through the lens of a sexually confused homophobe who is not necessarily the nicest person you would meet is a fantastic read indeed. If the book had went where most people reading it thought it would go or would have liked it to then this fantastic book would be relegated to gay fiction and not enjoyed the success it has.