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A review by apostrophen
Cub by Jeff Mann
5.0
In a word, Cub was superb.
The vast majority of small-town gay young tales generally involve the city as the goal. In Cub, you won’t find the typical gay kid desperate to escape the farm for the bright lights of the city. Instead, you meet Travis: someone not at odds with his rural upbringing, a poet and a passionate young man who isn’t like any youth I’ve read in gay young adult literature before.
Travis is gay, yes, but he’s also worried that his unfulfilled penchant for kink might mean he’s on the path to becoming a sociopath. He’s burly and hairy and strong, not smooth and slim and toned. He longs to have power over others and yet terrified of never finding someone to protect. He’s angry, horny, frustrated and confused, and well aware that the world doesn’t want him the way he is.
In other words, he’s seventeen.
I can't praise the psychology of this book enough. There's such a visceral reality to the thoughts and feelings in Travis. Added to the layer of "otherness" all queer kids face is his yearning for the rough/tender world of BDSM, and his intensity is brilliantly handled. This is Mann at his finest, and the potential relationship that builds in Cub is deftly handled.
Lyrical and possessing that raw honesty, Cub should be the next gay young adult bestseller. Most importantly, with Travis, Mann has given a voice to youth who haven’t found themselves in the gay young adult books that have come before.
The vast majority of small-town gay young tales generally involve the city as the goal. In Cub, you won’t find the typical gay kid desperate to escape the farm for the bright lights of the city. Instead, you meet Travis: someone not at odds with his rural upbringing, a poet and a passionate young man who isn’t like any youth I’ve read in gay young adult literature before.
Travis is gay, yes, but he’s also worried that his unfulfilled penchant for kink might mean he’s on the path to becoming a sociopath. He’s burly and hairy and strong, not smooth and slim and toned. He longs to have power over others and yet terrified of never finding someone to protect. He’s angry, horny, frustrated and confused, and well aware that the world doesn’t want him the way he is.
In other words, he’s seventeen.
I can't praise the psychology of this book enough. There's such a visceral reality to the thoughts and feelings in Travis. Added to the layer of "otherness" all queer kids face is his yearning for the rough/tender world of BDSM, and his intensity is brilliantly handled. This is Mann at his finest, and the potential relationship that builds in Cub is deftly handled.
Lyrical and possessing that raw honesty, Cub should be the next gay young adult bestseller. Most importantly, with Travis, Mann has given a voice to youth who haven’t found themselves in the gay young adult books that have come before.