Review of Broken Boys Beyond Friendships

[London Baum]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Broken Boys Beyond Friendships" by Dak Kopec.]

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4 out of 5 stars

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Blake Roberts is now in his fifties, living a simple and quiet life in the mountains of California, when his old friend Ivy asks him to allow her daughter to interview him about his wild youth days in LA. He hesitantly agrees to rehash his past—the fun, the ugly, and the truly heartbreaking—to give a better picture to a story many think they know all the parts of already. Over the few weeks he spends with Jillian, she interviews him and retells how he wound up at the center of a very public legal trial and how it all took place. He tells about the people he loved, those who only sought to harm him, and those around him as he tried to make a name for himself in Hollywood. 

Broken Boys by Dak Kopec is simply a beautiful story. I was very unsure at first where the story was going at the beginning. The setup of Jillian interviewing him seemed odd, but slowly it all came together, and then I could not put it down. Everyone can take something away from this book: struggling with your identity, an unsupportive family, unrealistic expectations, and so much more. A critical part of the story is Blake's feeling driven to terrible choices because he believes he has no other option, and while I have never been in his exact situation, I can relate to the feeling. You will want to know how his story plays out, and, in the end, you’re rooting for him. This story touches on some difficult topics, such as sexuality, drug use, and abuse, but does so with extreme care, which can be hard to accomplish.
 
In the end, I rate this book 4 out of 5. I loved the story and the interview-style format of it. My only negative is that the dialogue between Jillian and Blake between the interviews didn’t match up to the level of writing in Blake’s flashbacks and at times took me out of the story. That said, this is still a great book and a very good read, but keep in mind some of the heavier topics that may be unsettling for some to read. 

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Broken Boys Beyond Friendships
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