David Inside Out

Title: David Inside Out
Author: Lee Bantle
Genre: YA; LGBT; Romance
Pages: 184
Time to complete: 2 days


Book Summary:
David Dahlgren, a high-school senior, finds solace in running with the track team; he's a fast runner, and he enjoys the camaraderie. But team events become a source of tension when he develops a crush on one of his teammates, Sean. Scared to admit his feelings, David does everything he can to suppress them: he dates a girl, keeps his distance from his best friend who has become openly gay, and snaps a rubber band on his wrist every time he has "inappropriate" urges. Before long, Sean expresses the thoughts David has been trying to hide, and everything changes for the better. Or so it seems.

In this thoughtful yet searing coming-of-age novel, Lee Bantle offers a raw, honest, and incredibly compelling account of a teenager who learns to accept himself for who he is.

Review:
Ohhh where do I begin with this one....Um, I'll be honest here. I hated this book. I really, truly LOATHED reading this book. So, it follows this kid David and him discovering he has a crush on his track teammate Sean. Now, I know that not every book will have a happy ending (thanks Vlad Todd series), but this book has no ending or purpose at all. The summary says it's an honest account of a teen who learns to accept himself, but I didn't see it. I will be spoiling it in the rant below, so if you want to read this book, look away.

SPOILERS!!
My biggest question is: what the hell is wrong with Sean!? Is he gay? Is he straight? Sideways? Please someone tell me cause he confused me so much. Sean sneaks into Davids house, has his sex, and then leaves like nothing happened. Call me crazy, but that's a crap thing to do to someone. Every chapter that went by I kept thinking this is it, there's going to be some happiness for David and then Sean just runs away! UGH! Sean, really? I feel sorry for David for having to go through that, but that's as far as my sympathy goes for these characters. None of them have any meat to them. They are so flat and two dimensional that it makes me cry.
END SPOILER!!

On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give this book a 3 ONLY because seeing David go through this made me sorry for him and want to hug him.