Coyote's Creed: Broken Mirrors
Coyote's Creed"Five, five, five, five, let's sing a song about five." that's from Sesame Street in case you aren't a fan of PBS. this book is easily five stars. It's hilariously funny, laugh out loud in some parts, and very clever. Spencer is a big TV addict and his life is filled with references to shows and, in particular, common tropes associated with plots and characters and action. He constantly refers to himself as the hero and what should happen to him, such as having amazing powers, when in reality he's convinced he's going to die and how that is just not fair.
A typical quote:
"I slumped in my seat. 'Thank God. I mean, I don't want to be the first to die. The funny guy always dies first, for shock value, you know? Rourke would get killed next, because it'd be a hero sacrifice or something.' I motion to Shiko. 'You'd live, though, unless you had sex.'"
Another time he's convinced he's going to die because as a half breed he's a minority, has had too much sex recently, he's walking through a cemetery alone under a full moon and is the funny guy of course. He just knows the zombies are waiting to kill him.
Spence tells his story talking to you the reader, saying things like he's not going to go into details about something because it's just embarrassing and you don't need to know. Or he'll share something's along the lines of him whimpering in the face of danger and then says something like, "Fuck you, you know you would, too." He knows he's not hero material, and he's teased by the other characters about being dumb, but he reads (Wikipedia has great synopses of books and it's reading, right?) and he's good at Scrabble he claims.
His reactions are normal and expected behavior except for his insane lust. He doesn't suddenly confess his undying love for his romantic partner as soon as they (early on) which is refreshing. There is a lot of jumping into bed and jumping intonthecback of cars and jumping to the floor for very hot (and informative) sex. (He explains the sensations and specifics of the first time he does each thing of gay sex. And he's bi! How many heroes are bi? Well my new hero is. )
The plot hinges on some science that is normally ignored in stories due to convenience. The realism in that regard is fabulous. He's a realistic teen boy, too, in many ways, always horny, lazy, smart ass, and convinced that the Zombie Apocalypse is likely because there is science proving its a possibility. And he takes care if his mom who is very ill. He even cries when people he loves are hurt or he's tripped or something, although he tries not to admit it.
I worried about the extreme difference in age and the sort of familial relationship they once had. But somehow it worked. I think removing the male/female dynamics and sexism helped and also that the younger guy is pretty much in control and somewhat using the older guy. He takes advantage of people but he knows this and does feel guilty about it. He tries to change with Rourke but he's a teenage boy and there's sex involved. Really hot sex, did I mention that? At one point I decided I was a gay man cleverly disguised. (Though I think I would have given myself fake breasts that were bigger than my real ones which have more in common with kiwis than melon. If this kind of thing makes you uncomfortable, don't read the book.)
I can't tell you how much I loved this book. It was one if the best books I've read in a long time. Highly recommended if you're good with explicit gay sex and hearing a teenage biy's innermost thoughts.