Monday, November 24, 2008

The Child- Review

Stewie is a gay 15-year-old from a troubled family. He begins a relationship with a 39-year-old man named David, whom he met on the internet. When he is arrested at Grand Central Station and his family finds out, David is charged with molestation. Stewie is forced to testify against him, though he maintains he was not forced into sexual contact. His family does not want him in their house anymore and is upset when a social worker refuses to put him in a juvenile detention center. Eventually he is accused of killing his 7-year-old nephew and tried as an adult.

Eva and Hockey are David’s defense attorneys. Eva is a lesbian who is having issues with her lover Mary. She is also battling health problems. Hockey is a HIV+ gay man whose lover has just died of AIDS. Together they struggle to create a defense for their client without putting too much blame on Stewie, who they feel is also a victim.


The controversial premise may stray people away from The Child, but those who pick it up will not be disappointed. Sarah Schulman is no new face to the LGBT community, and what other authors may avoid like the plague, Schulman takes head on. Dealing taboo subjects- AIDS, homophobia, and teen sexuality, and even pedophilia, the author shows us just how important it is to be educated on these subjects. The Child is a book everyone can learn something from, and it will be appreciated by people of every type.

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