about the book
This story begins with Max Walker’s rape.
Max is different. Though he grew up as a boy, he is both male and female. Usually when this rare chromosomal condition occurs, doctors and parents chose one sex shortly after the baby’s birth and an operation assures the child grows up normal. Karen and Steve, Max’s parents, decided that he was perfect the way he was and never talked about his condition.
At fifteen, Max is a handsome intelligent student, athletic and popular with his classmates, especially the girls. He is the perfect Golden Boy. Hiding his intersex gender is second nature to him. No one knows except his parents and his friend, Hunter. The two boys have always been close, though they are so different. Hunter is moody and troubled.
Though Karen and Steve maintain a spotless façade as successful wealthy barristers with the perfect family, that image has repercussions. While they party downstairs, Hunter enters Max’s bedroom and abuses Max in the worst possible way.
When he can no longer hide his dual gender, all the unasked questions, all the ignored decisions, all the family secrets boil to the surface. It happens just as Max falls hard for the first time in his life for a girl. Now he is faced with decisions about who and what (female or male) he really is. As the family’s perfect façade crumbles and Max’s life falls apart, his father decides to stand for election to Parliament and the media spotlight glares over the family. Nothing can ever be the same again.
(This story is told from six different viewpoints: Max, his loving younger brother Daniel, his distant father Steve, his determined mother Karen, his open-minded girlfriend Sylvie, and his concerned doctor. It will definitely make you stop and think.)
about the author
Abigial Tarttelin was born in Grimsby, Humberside, England. Her father is an environmentalist, her mother is a charity worker, and her paternal grandfather is famed artist David Tarttelin. She trained in drama at the National Youth Theatre and the New York Film Academy in France and started her career as an actress, winning acclaim for her roles.
Abigail started writing young and has been published online in The Guardian and in print in the Huffington Post. She also edited the Book Section of The Phoenix magazine. Golden Boy is her second published novel. The award-winning book began as an e-mail she sent back and forth to herself discussing gender and two brothers, one of which was both male and female and who couldn’t keep his female side a secret any more. The concept she kept coming back to was whether he would have the courage to live as a dual gender in society.
The outspoken Abigail celebrates being an actress, writer, artist, musician, environmentalist, nature lover, world traveler, foodie, feminist, Instagram-er, cat lover, and humanist. She’s half of a feminist band called GIRLBOY. Check it out on YouTube.
Sources:
Author website
Author spotlight: London Evening Standard
Author interview: The Bibliotaphe Closet
Author biography: Wikipedia
Also by Abigail Tarttelin:
Flick. Beautiful Books. 2011.
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