In Mike We Trust

by P.E. Ryan

Book Overview

Honesty.He wanted it. He craved it.He could barely remember what it was.When Garth's uncle comes to visit, he's like a breath of very needed fresh air. Mike is laid-back and relaxed--and willing to... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060858133
• ISBN13: 9780060858131
• Release Date: February 2009
• Publisher: Harper Teen
• Length: 321 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.4" x 7.1"
• Age Range: 13 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 8 and higher

Customer Reviews

Hilarious page-turner

I started this book last night and finished it at 2 a.m.-- couldn't put it down. The story starts off mild and everyday-seeming, but Garth's ability to get himself into worse and worse situations really keeps the story moving. I really liked Garth, and kept wanting to yell at him "No, Garth, don't do that!" But it was no good, he would do it anyway, and by the end of the book he ends up in huge trouble, but somehow better off. It was also very funny. Books rarely make me laugh out loud, but this one did, many times. The only thing I didn't like about it was having to get by on four hours sleep today.

An Excellent Book

Ryan, P.E. "In Mike We Trust", HarperTeen, 2009. An Excellent Book Amos Lassen "In Mike We Trust" is both offbeat and rich as it tells with the subject of truth and how it can be twisted. It is fast moving and realistic and compelling. Garth is 15 years old and has been living a lie. He has told his best friend, Lisa that he is gay but when he tells his mother, she insists that it be kept a secret. However, things get a bit wild when his uncle Mike, his father's twin brother appears and when Garth falls in love with Lisa's friend Adam who is open about his sexuality. Adam also has issues that deal with honesty. These cause a good deal of trouble because Garth believes in honesty but gets involved in shady activities. Uncle Mike asks Garth to help him with some mysterious things and Garth is forced to keep secrets and he not only wonders about his uncle but about himself as well. Mike has no trouble in accepting his nephew's gayness and this endears the two to each other. As they becomes closer, Garth begins to feel separated from those that he loves and he finds himself entering a tangle of lies. He does not understand how a person who is so trusting be so wrong. The book has a share of moral dilemmas and we watch Garth deal with them. Garth is an authentic character and the book is ideal for young men who have trouble with sexuality and/or other identity issues.

Courtesy of Teens Read Too

Things haven't been going so well for 15-year-old Garth since his father died. He and his mom have had to move into a dingy apartment. She works two jobs and is always tired, while he has to pretend to enjoy working for the irritable owner of the local department store. Worst of all, he finally found the courage to come out to her - only to have her put that discussion "on hold" for an indefinite period, after extracting a promise that he tell no one else. Garth feels stifled, but he has no idea what to do about it. Then change comes without warning in the form of Garth's Uncle Mike, who shows up one evening in need of a place to crash for a few weeks. Despite Garth's mom's concerns, Garth finds himself immediately warming to Mike. Mike has the sort of confidence Garth wishes he had, and when he tells Mike about his sexuality, Mike is not only accepting, but also encouraging. Yet even as Mike helps Garth feel more comfortable with himself, he starts to involve Garth in a series of increasingly elaborate money-making schemes. As desperately as his family could use the cash, Garth can't help feeling the pressure of all the secrets he's suddenly keeping. But how can trusting the person who's given him the support he so needs be wrong? IN MIKE WE TRUST is full of those sorts of tricky moral dilemmas, and watching Garth navigate them is just part of the novel's appeal. Ryan offers no easy answers, and Garth's responses feel completely authentic. The stifling Garth feels is vividly drawn, as is his developing relationship with another gay teen. The conclusion wraps up several loose ends in a believable but optimistic way, and leaves others open to the reader's imagination. Teens who've struggled with parents who can't quite accept them for who they are - whether their sexuality or any other aspect of their identity - will find much to relate to, not to mention hope. Recommended to all fans of contemporary YA. Reviewed by: Lynn Crow