The abstract is from the cover of the book.
John William is one of those bright loner California kids who know where they are going from kindergarten on. He lives the life of a normal middle-class kid who gets good grades, loves astronomy, and dreams of exploring the stars in the NASA space program. He adores his mother, but longs for the father he never knew — whose life and death have always remained a complete mystery to him.
All that changes at age 12, when he has a disturbing dream that seems to reveal unsuspected facts about his father. The shattering dream will pit him against his lesbian mother, who is determined to keep the past a secret. It will transform him from a happy kid to a restless adolescent who is driven to reach beyond the stars and the limits of earthly life, to touch his father's spirit.
Along the way, the boy next door becomes his best friend and star buddy — till suddenly their friendship is threatened by the boy's parents, who sense that the bond goes beyond accepted limits.
Ultimately, John William has heard questions for his mother, for his best buddy, for a girl who becomes a close friend, for family members he discovers through his search, and for himself.
BILLY'S BOY is a provocative, heart-rending novel about American youth of the millennium from the landmark author of The Front Runner and Harlan's Race. Wrought from the author's first-hand experience as commissioner of education and volunteer teacher in Los Angeles Unified School District, BILLY'S BOY takes gay fiction into a whole new dimension — and fits easily into the mainstream.
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