Bad Boy
CBC Books | CBC | Posted: February 23, 2017 8:22 PM | Last Updated: March 6, 2017
Diana Wieler
A.J. and his best friend Tulsa share everything. But shortly after they both make the local Triple-A hockey team — a dream moment for A.J. and Tully — A.J.'s world is turned upside down. Tully has a secret: he's gay. Unable to handle or accept his friend's sexuality, A.J. takes all of his frustration, embarrassment and hurt out on the ice, becoming an explosively violent "bad boy." Underneath it all, Tully's revelation is making A.J. question something he thought was unquestionable: his own sexuality. A multifaceted take on how sexuality does and does not define who we are, and how we can accept and embrace difference in those closest to us. Bad Boy won the 1989 Governor General's Literary Award for young people's literature.
Bad Boy is for readers ages 15 and up.
From the book
A.J. looked left and right. Where was Tully when you needed him? His friend was so good at this kind of thing, introducing himself and breaking the ice. He didn't agonize over it or use stupid lines; he didn't come on like a jock. He just pulled up a chair and started talking. Pretty soon the girls would be laughing, then dancing, and A.J. would slide along, caught up in the current of the night.
From Bad Boy by Diana Wieler ©1984. Published by Groundwood Books.