Safe Paperback – January 10, 2014

This is my first Mark Zubro book, and I'm so glad I found him and his impressive body of work.When I first started reading "Safe", I was concerned that, perhaps, I had inadvertently bought a Young Adult title. The writing was clipped, sentences short and, of course, it was about a gay kid in high school. I had visions of yet another "after-school-special".Fortunately, I couldn't have been more wrong. Yes, the writing is clipped, even staccato, but that's the style, not a self-conscious attempt to pander to less-than-erudite readers. When all was said and done, "Safe" turned out to be a pretty sophisticated novel, and a deeply moving one, at that.Roger is that standard gay romance novel meme: high school athlete in the closet. But that's where the meme ends, at our introduction to this wonderful character. His growth throughout the book is a wonder to behold, and he faces every event with his integrity and self-respect intact. The only reason he was in the closet was the sports thing - hoping for a college scholarship as a baseball player, he was (justifiably) worried that coming out might jeopardize his prospects. He was right - just ask Michael Sam. Despite that, he just couldn't deal with the lack of courage and integrity the closet represents, and throughout the book, he comes out more and more publicly.The defining event that caused him to finally take action and deal with his truth, was the death of another student. Though he didn't really know Kyle, he assumed he was gay (he was) and, as a high-school "loser", the disdain and bullying he suffered didn't really register on Roger's radar - or anyone else's. When Kyle went to the Administration to try to get help, they essentially threw him out. Almost no one was willing to invest more than half a minute in getting this bullied, sad kid the help he needed.Roger is a serious reporter on the High School newspaper, hoping to, one day, become a full-fledged journalist. And, though it's outside of his competence (he's a sports reporter), he decides to investigate Kyle and his death. Both good and bad came of that. The good - he discovered that Kyle was hardly a "loser". In fact, he was a talented artist who worked (and sometimes lived) in a local pet store where he cared for the animals and created amazing, artistic stuffed animals for sale. He also lived in a trailer, sleeping on a couch, while his parents did drugs, NASCAR races, motorcycle rallies and ignored him completely. He had no friends, but he had his animals and his art. What a terrible, sad, waste of a valuable young life.When Roger comes to suspect that Kyle didn't commit suicide, but was murdered, he puts himself in danger. He was in danger, anyway, by crossing the school's psychopathic bully who twice attempts to kill him and/or rape him. The second time, he gets driven off the road by this bully and his cohorts, only to find that they have another young member of the High School newspaper tied naked to a tree and beaten half to death. Well, Roger doesn't fool around. He gets away, doubles back, and knocks the mental case to the ground with a broken nose and testicles that may never recover from the blows. He saves Steve and carries him away to safety, the humble hero refusing to take credit.There's so much more that happens in this richly-textured book, including coming out to his parents (that doesn't go so well), being kicked off the baseball team for being gay (that goes much better), and really, just growing up into a strong, confident young man of both integrity and compassion.I promise you, you'll love Roger, and bleed for him. The villains are truly bad, and it's a hoot to see them get what's coming to them. There's no doubt his family loves Roger, but it's going to take some time and education for them to get their heads on straight. Regardless, it's a wonderful journey in the capable hands of the talented Mr. Zubro.Do I recommend this book? With all my heart. No matter what I feared when I first started reading this book, it ended with an ear-to-ear smile on my face, and a deep appreciation for an accomplished and innovative author.

A real case of don’t judge the book by its cover – I nearly dismissed this title because of the crappy PhotoShopped dust jacket, but I’m glad the blurb intrigued me enough to overlook that failing and settle in for a cozy afternoon reading.The main thing that attracted me to ‘Safe’ was that the protagonist, Roger, is on the school newspaper. YA – check; a blogger, reviewer or school newspaper – check; and a GLBT theme – check!An issue I had with the narrative was that there was something clinical about this novel. For a high school student struggling with his sexual identity, Roger seemed very together. At one moment he was purporting to never tell anyone about being gay, and then he blurts it out to someone with little emotion or anxiety… it felt very unrealistic to me. (I began to wonder if Roger wasn’t a little bipolar)Additionally, I had major problems stemming from the background and emotional motivations of Roger, pertaining his sexual orientation and coming out. It’s obviously connected to the point above about the inconsistent tone of the narrative. But these were the worst aspects I had with ‘Safe’ and even these are more nit picking than irreconcilable flaws.The relationships and character development is second to none, even though it felt all wrong for a High School setting – they all seemed so much more mature, like this should have taken place on a University Campus. Especially with Roger being so cool calm and collected in some of his keystone events in the coming out process and places we find him in. Though I can see why Mark Zubro included them, in trying to shed a light on the shadier aspects of homosexual culture.I really appreciated the statement this novel made, I just wish Zubro had either moved the landscape to an older demographic, or omitted the more difficult parts of Rogers culture to something more common and appropriate to teens. Ignoring that, ‘Safe’ is very enjoyable – think Veronica Mars.The mystery and sleuthing was paced so well, I really felt like I was there with Roger tracking down clues, following leads. Even though I had nothing much in common with Roger, Zubro had me caring about him and eager find out the truth about Kyle, not an easy task.On issues of bullying and making new personal relationships in the throes of being outed in an educational setting, this novel really bangs it on the head. And I’m not ashamed to admit, it gave me strength to know that all types of people are bullied in some form or another and it’s how we rise above it that defines us.I read the entire book in a day, average-ish rating, but leaves you with a warm hug…

Here is a piece of advice for gay readers: If you see a book with the name Zubro on the cover, buy and read it. You will not be disappointed. Unlike with so many other authors in this genre, you will never feel like the price of the book or the time spent reading were wasted.This book involves a mystery surrounding the apparent suicide of a young presumed-to-be-gay high school student. A closeted gay athlete working on the school paper is assigned to write a story about the death. As he begins to research the life of this boy who had no friends, he begins to discover anomalies in the official story. As he digs deeper, and learns more, danger ensues. Add to that, he is being targeted by the biggest (literally) bully in the school.The plot is well laid out and the characters are multi-dimensional and real, as is the dialog. The tension is palpable and there is nothing pat about the denouement. This is an exciting book that I am glad to have found. One more thing, for those looking for another gay story filled with graphic gay sex, this is not that book.

A really good read, in fact read this and the sequel, Hope. They will not disappoint.

Great book for a 'feel good read'! Was a bit predictable in areas, but still fresh enough to keep you interested and gave a warm, fuzzy feeling overall. Definitely worth the read!!!