Reviews for Prayers for Bobby

The average rating for Prayers for Bobby based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2012-06-21 00:00:00 Michael Koehler The phrase "Only the good die young" is really suitable for this amazing and heartbreaking book. This book is the biggest of my must reads for everybody. Its filled with a powerful message that brings awareness to homosexuality and suicide and the connection between the two. I read this book and felt Bobby's pain even though I myself am not gay I could empathize with not feeling comfortable in your own skin. The most heartbreaking quote for me. “I write this in hopes that one day, many years from now, I will be able to go back and remember what my life was like when I was a young and confused adolescent desperately trying to understand myself and the world I live in. At the rate I’m going right now, though, I seriously wonder if I’ll live to be very old, that is if I will live past being a teenager. Another reason I write this is so that long after I die, others may have a chance to read about me and see what my life as a young person was like….” Leroy Aaron's did a great job on bringing the story to light in this book. His incorporation of Bobby's diary entries and the flashbacks of Mary's early life was a great addition to this book. It gave me some insight on how she became the way she did. It was hard to like her for so long, then I just wanted to tell her that she was doing good. That Bobby did love her, but in the end no one could have saved him. Now I have read this book more than once and have recommended this book to several people and will continue to do so because it needs to get out there more. Bobby was a lost soul who needed help and understanding and instead his family made him feel worse. I have now accepted no one could have helped him in the end, only had someone done something earlier, but the last few months there was no real hope. ‘You can change if you really want to’, they say. ‘Don’t underestimate the Lord’s power.’ God damnit, how in the hell do any of them know? What gives them the right to tell me I’m going to burn in eternal hellfire and damnation? They account my ‘deviation’ to an inherent sinful nature. Well, then, if God gave it to me, I’m gonna keep it! They think I’m so blind and stupid, well they’re the ones who are wrong.” It also brings religion in and rips it apart for me and then gives me hope in certain religions. The funeral and what happened makes me angry and upset that they just sat by. The hypocrisy of the priest's at the funeral made me angry. He could not even rest in piece when he died. This is the most heartbreaking book I have ever read. It brought tears to my eyes more than once and I could not control them. Bobby deserved so much more in life than he was given. I just wanted to scream things will get better. Alas his life was not meant to be a long one, and that broke my heart just as much. By the time Mary made the change I have to admit I was so proud of her and just wished it had happened before Bobby died. I will say that people should read this and have their eyes opened. I truly believe this book could change a lot of peoples opinions. It changed my opinion on some things and it showed me that people can change and tragedy can change more than the lives lost. Highly recommend it for anyone who wants to read about a real life struggle and here!

Review # 2 was written on 2012-12-29 00:00:00 William Baker This book was very good. I watched the movie first, and cried and cried my heart out, and I highly recommend watching the movie before you read this book, so you can more fully appreciate it. The book deals also with the history of gay and lesbian teens and advocating for their rights, and at points can be more dull than the movie, which simply covers the life of Bobby Griffith. It is a tragic story, but beautiful in a way. I think it can be a source of hope for gay and lesbian children, hope that there is a future for them. Coming out as gay for a child can be frightening because one never knows how his or her loved ones will react. Fear of losing a friend or the respect of a family member is terrifying, and the actual loss can be devastating. Future's can seem dark and unreachable. Prayers for Bobby by Leroy Aarons gives hope that there is a future. It reassures children that there is a future, that the people you love will accept you for who you are, and there is nothing wrong with you. This story was tear worthy. I cried often, and I cried hard, and i didn't care who saw me. Bobby Griffith was a beautiful person, placed in a time and life where his circumstances were unfortunate. Today, perhaps, Bobby would have survived his self-discovery, but his story, no matter how tragic, can be a lesson to us all.