"Set against the tumultuous backdrop of life in 1973, when homosexuality is still considered a mental illness, two boys defy all the odds and fall in love"--

HL490L

1973. The Watergate hearings are in full swing. The Vietnam War is still raging. And homosexuality is still officially considered a mental illness. Jonathan Collins, a bullied, anxious, asthmatic kid, is alone aside from an alcoholic father and his sympathetic neighbor and friend Starla. In his imagination his hero, David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust, and dead relatives guide him through the rough terrain of his life. In this alternate reality Jonathan can be a completely normal boy-- not a boy who likes other boys. Then he meets Web. who is everything Jonathan wishes he could be: fearless, fearsome and, most importantly, not ashamed of being gay. -- adapted from jacket

Decoding demand: 93 (very high) Semantic demand: 100 (very high) Syntactic demand: 79 (high) Structure demand: 88 (very high)