There aren't very many good knitting books. Of any genre- whether a
how-to or story books that have it as a theme. Even more rare is a
knitting book that includes guys as a big part of it and the whole
masculinity/femininity thing that surrounds knitting. I don't think
there are many books like that, but here is one. Boys Don't Knit (In Public) is definitely a new idea wrapped in an old cliche. Here were my thoughts on it;
1. Good part- themes- The whole idea of tackling a stereotype in a book is a cool. It's been done many times before, but this one was interesting. Usually the stereotype is that a girl is trying out a mainly male dominated activity or career and is being pushed down by all of the misogynists. This book follows Ben, a nerdy everyman who after getting into trouble with his friends has to take up an
'uplifting hobby' and do social service for his community. He picks knitting to avoid awkward time spent with his hyper-masculine dad trying to teach him how to fix cars. His struggle with trying to hide it from his dad and his less-than-supportive friends but also enter knitting competitions after realizing he's really good is new, and entertaining, and one of the best parts of the book.
2. Bad Part- Remember what I was saying about how it rebelled against stereotypes? It does do that, definitely, but not in all aspects. Most of the characters themselves are stereotypes. The unexpected underdog lead. The stifling parental presence. The hot girl character who, with little reason, likes the lead. The comic relief friend who only gets the lead in trouble. The mean competition. They don't leave these molds for a cast at all. You know the hot girl and the underdog will get together. You know the mean competition will lose. You know the stifling parental presence will see the error of their ways, and the comic relief continues to be stupid. It gets tiring.
Despite the bad stuff, it was a pretty good book over all. I'm not going to tell you it's life changing like other books I've reviewed, but it's a decent read for someone looking for a short and different summer book.
