Robin McKenzie is a 13-year-old boy who wants to belong to a world where every other boy is “normal.” Sounds like another dull coming-of-age story, right? Thankfully, no. But The World of Normal Boys, by K.M. Soehnlein does start simply. The first two chapters are essentially a well-written, hungry-for-more short story. Chapter 3 arrives innocently enough, but by its end, you are in a novel, and the world is a great deal more complex, and you can’t let go, and you don’t want to.
The setting is the New Jersey suburbs of 1978. Robin enjoys traveling with his mother into New York City to observe the people and weave outlandish tales about them. But when younger brother Jackson lands in the hospital after a playground accident, the family begins to unravel, secrets emerge, trust fades, and emotions fly. Robin escapes into the company of a “stoner” boy who ditches gym class in order to be alone and smoke pot. Scott’s father is abusive, probably unemployed, and alcoholic. Scott is seasoned in his relationship with his father and can easily stand up to him verbally. Were these brother-to-brother exchanges, they might be comic, but because the father is a bully and is the stronger, he wins.
Meanwhile, 17-year-old Todd is Robin’s next-door neighbor. Todd is a player and a user. He’s cool and has all the attributes of a grown man. Robin sexually awakens with both boys, and each will affect his worldview in profound ways.
Robin is not the speaker in this book (it’s in third person), but he is the lens through which all of the plot and characters develop. Great choice. His is the evolution that is the most startling, and since he is so hyperaware, we can see how the plot is affecting everyone else, too.
Although it may seem troubling to say so, let’s be honest. The sex is hot, but not because you want to see a 13-year-old plodding through his first experience. Robin acts 13 throughout most of the book, but his thoughts and words are often much that of someone more mature.
And then, the ending. A surprise or not? I was a bit surprised, again because Robin’s age does not seem to fit so well with the final action he takes. Nevertheless, this is a vastly transformed Robin, and depending on your point of view, the ending was either happy or sad. I’ll give you two examples to show both points of view. Remember the ending of E.B. White’s Stuart Little when Stuart’s decided to continue his search for the bird, not sure where he was going but “confident that he was going in the right direction”? That very same quote would have worked here, and thus with a bit of narrow focus, this ending is happy.
The sad-ending point of view requires a bit more extrapolation. Start with this question: Have we just witnessed (via Robin) a younger Malone from Dancer from the Dance? Is that dreadful future what Robin has waiting for him? And worse, consider that when Robin turns 18, a brand new gay “cancer” will be making its first appearance. One can only hope that his tendency to think much older than he is will translate later into more mature action.
This is Soehnlein’s first novel and it took him 5 years to write it. It is of sufficient quality to sit on your shelf next to At Swim, Two Boys and In the City of Shy Hunters. It doesn’t pack the emotional wallop of either, but it’s worthy to stand with them. Highly recommended!