Let me begin by saying that I'm not the intended audience for this book. It's classified as a Young Adult novel - and much as I wish I was, I'm not one anymore.

Let's see! RV is a young teen when the novel begins. He's got a lot going on in his life and in his head all the time. His character was great, constantly bouncing back and forth between emotions and thoughts. It seemed quite authentic to me.! Being a teenager can be a bit overwhelming. RV takes to writing everything down in a journal so that he can try to understand himself.

He's Lithuanian and struggles to find his identity as a result of that. Is he just American? Does he have to do all the "Lith" traditions that his parents insist upon? At the same time as he struggles with his cultural identity, he begins to wonder about his sexual identity.

This was the part at which, for me, I thought the voice slipped a little. I felt as though I was reading a middle-school-aged character rather than a teenager. While RV is a terrific character, he reads as much younger in my mind. That's okay, it's just that I think it may make it more difficult for older teens to connect with this book.

Many of RV's struggles seem "typical" of teenagers and some are unique. He's been raised to be very religious and wonders what "the big guy," thinks of the "gay" feelings that he's been having. for his age, he is quite open with his thoughts and feelings.

It's a good story, biographical, and RV is a great character. ( )