I found Night Kites in the teenage fiction section of a local mobile library. It was the very pleasant cover design that caught my eye and then the blurb which mentions AIDS.
the story is about the relations of a teenage boy (Ricky) with his peers. He is a typical American youth, interested in girls and having a good time, his older brother is ‘Gay’ and has AIDS. This character and the parents – who react badly to the annunciation of the illness – are cliched.
Night Kites will not revolutionise the public’s view of Gay people, AIDS or sex. Indeed, it reinforces some of the stigmas, however, the fact that a work of fiction on this subject is in a mobile library, on the teenage readers’ shelves is a sign of hope in itself.
Product details
- Publisher : HarperCollins Publishers (1 May 1986)
- Language : English
- ISBN-10 : 0060232536
- ISBN-13 : 978-0060232535
Links:
The game is a foot, but that is probably in some peoples dream. The Tearoom being referred to here is that of the men’s toilet, where before the law was changed, and indeed even afterwards, men who wanted ‘gay sex’ use to frequent and attempt to have sex or do a pick up without the police catching them.