Review of Bellamy

[Amy Saunders 2]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Bellamy" by G. Bradley Davis.]

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4 out of 5 stars

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"Bellamy" by G. Bradley Davis is a story of a boy growing up, told from his point of view. Cal, the youngest of four children, did not fit in with the rest of his family. His brother and sisters excelled at everything they did, while Cal seemed to struggle with everything. He was not good at school, struggled to sit still and pay attention, and was often in trouble. His stepmother's solution was to beat him with a belt. Cal did not feel that he really fit in with his friends either. As he was growing up, he felt his only true friend was Bellamy. Bellamy truly understood Cal, accepted him, offered advice, and was there for him as he grew. As Cal grew up, he befriended the local florist, who was a known gay man. Perry accepted Cal for who he was, and they discovered they had a love of butterflies in common. But since Perry was gay at a time when it was not widely accepted, Cal and Perry's friendship stayed secret. When he was a teenager, Cal fell in love with a Black girl. An interracial relationship was also taboo at this time, so Cal kept their relationship secret as well, causing it to end when the girl wanted to go public with the relationship. During this time, a friend of Cal's was found murdered, and Cal's friend Perry was accused and put on trial. The story is full of twists and turns of a troubled boy growing up, not fitting in, struggling with relationships, and a murder that consumes a small town.

Davis did an excellent job of telling this story from the perspective of the boy. Cal is a character I can easily see sitting in my classroom as a teacher. Many of the obstacles Cal faces are faced by children every day. The reader feels for the boy as he tells his story, wanting to protect him from his abusive stepmother and hoping for him to succeed as he grows. The book includes sexual experiences that a boy may have as he grows, and Davis does a good job of explaining these experiences without graphic descriptions. I did find a few errors that would be caught in one more edit of the book, but these errors did not distract from the story.

I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others. I would rate this book 4 out of 5 stars. I really enjoyed reading this book. I found the story easy to follow and Cal to be a character easy to empathize with. As a bonus, I did not expect the ending. The only thing keeping me from giving this book a perfect rating is the errors I found.

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Bellamy
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