Reviewed by Dan
TITLE: Violence Begets
AUTHOR: P.T. Denys
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 282 Pages
BLURB:
After a tragic accident devastates his family, 16-year-old Rick St. James starts his junior year of high school without any friends in a suburb of Salt Lake City, Utah. When he meets Kevin Vincent, he’s too distracted by the promise of new friends to see that Kevin has secrets of his own.
Having created an environment where he’s feared and admired by his classmates, Kevin finds pleasure in using his good looks and violence to control and manipulate those around him. Secretly, he cruises the gay club scene, turning tricks to earn money so he can party and get high.
As Rick’s dad becomes increasingly violent and abusive at home, the two form a surprising and volatile trust. In this battle of wills, their precarious friendship will either keep their lives from blowing up around them or possibly light the fuse that will cause the explosion.
Disclaimer: This book contains extremely strong language, graphic violence and sexual situations. It is not suitable for young audiences.
REVIEW:
Not even sure where to start on this review. This book was very powerful and well written. The subject matter was hard to read at some points, but I really liked the book. For some reason I’ve been taking up books to review that are further and further from the HEA bubblegum gay romance that so heavily dominates this genre. This book is definitely not part of the bubblegum crowd. It contains severe physical abuse of teenage boys by their fathers. It ends with a Real Life Ever-After, not a Happily Ever-After. You should not read the book if the subject matter might offend you. It is definitely not for younger readers.
When the book begins, Rick St. James has just moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, with his father, step-mother and young sister. As the book goes on we get a view into Rick’s life. Two years before, when he was fourteen, his brother taught him to drive. Then one night his brother, Jason, called him for a ride home from a party because he was so wasted. On the way home they get in a bad accident and Jason is killed. Rick’s dad blames Rick, and has never loved him anyway because his wife died giving birth to Rick. Rick’s stepmother has never liked him and didn’t like the brother that was killed either. His little sister dotes on him.
Walking to school one morning, Rick runs into Kevin and his “gang”. OK, gang is probably not the correct term, it is a group of teenage boys dominated by Kevin. Kevin seems like the ultimate asshole. He swears at people, intimidates them, smokes, drinks, does drugs and is all around not that nice. But when he throws on the charm, he can get anyone. Kevin pulls Rick into his group, but is there are ulterior motive?
As the story progresses, so does Rick’s father’s rage about Jason’s death. When he finds the guitar that Jason gave Rick, he loses all control and beats Rick quite heavily. That beating is far from the last. Rick’s dad is good at hiding it, and Rick doesn’t dare to share it with anyone. Who would believe him anyway?
Kevin’s home life is not any better than Rick’s, in fact it turns out to be much worth once Rick gets him to talk about it. It is just him and his sociopath Dad. His life in many ways makes Rick’s look good.
This book is the story of the two teens over the period of their Junior and Senior years of high school. It is a story of their coming to depend on each other, learning each other’s secrets and trying to get beyond their horrible and brutal family lives. The way the book is written it really makes you question yourself as well. Do you know the signs of domestic physical abuse? Don’t be like the neighbors in this book who “never noticed”.
I couldn’t put this book down while I was reading today. I had to finish it. I will say that the book left me feeling pretty damned devastated when I finished it. It takes a true author to be able to affect reader’s deep seated emotions. P.T. Denys does that in droves in this book. I truly do recommend the book. I really liked it, even though it messed with my emotional state in a big way. I’m rating it 5 stars, even though it left me devastated, because the writing, the story line and the character development all rated that score. You should read his book if you can handle dark stories, with twisted psyches, brutality and abuse. It isn’t a comfortable read, but it is one that will stay with me for a long time. I’m very glad I read it…you will be too.
RATING: 
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