What I Know Now

Set in California during the summer of 1957, this introspective first novel chronicles a 14-year-old's transitions after his parents' separation. While his father and older brother tend their ranch, Dave travels with his mother to her childhood home several miles away. There, at the sorely neglected ""Home Place,"" he meets his future friend and mentor, Gene Tole, a landscape designer who possesses qualities sadly lacking in Dave's father: gentleness, empathy and a willingness to listen. Adroitly linking Dave's attraction to Gene with tender moments of self-discovery, Larson produces a complex rendering of adolescent love. The narrator's childhood flashbacks and evocative fantasies help define who he is and who he is becoming. While homosexual issues are not ignored, Dave's inner growth and broadening perspective remain the central focus. His emotions continue to evolve even after Gene's departure marks the close of another ""chapter."" At the end of the book, Dave is still confused about his feelings for Gene, but looks forward to finding answers in the future: ""How could I love Gene Tole? I wondered. A man. How could I not love him? Couldn't figure love out. Too crazy. But I would, I knew, I would figure love out. I'd figure love out and I'd live by the kind of love that was right for me."" Ages 13-up. (May)