Boy Toy by Barry Lyga

This book has gotten reviews that have been all over the spectrum from great to bad. There is a lot going on in this book, some of it is left unfinished and has been a distraction from the main story line for some readers. But, the main story moves very quickly and kept my attention. I never really paid much attention to the other smaller plots. Five year's ago, Josh was in an intimate relationship with a young teacher. When it was discovered, Josh's life basically went on hold and the teacher got a five year prison term. With her release, and his impending graduation from high school. Josh seems to want to move on finally. Things start when he accidentally crosses paths with Rachel, a girl he once was friends with until an ugly incident at her birthday party. Surprisingly, she had forgiven him long ago and wants to be friends again. Rachel seems too good to be true but I know that some people try to rescue every abused, stray animal that comes their way and people too. Josh takes a long time to commit and has many missteps along the way that include probably losing his friend Zik, the only friend for the past five years. He lets go of baseball where he was a star player in favor of a college math major. He decides on his future. We get an inside look at the damage done by the relationship and the beginnings of healing, this is the part that grabs and holds readers' attention till the end.