That Door Is a Mischief

Liam is a fairy changeling living in rural Massachusetts with one of his gay adoptive fathers. Bullied at school for his many differences, he has no friends or romantic interests and little interest in developing any. But one day he meets another fairy who offers to take him back to fairyland, and the encounter jump starts his physiological maturation, which includes the development of wings, psychic ability, and eventually sexuality. Episodic and meandering, this is less a novel than an aggregation of incidents from Liam’s life. As he ages, the tone shifts from YA to erotica, and the book suffers as a result. The relationships among Liam and his fathers are complex and interesting. Unfortunately, Liam’s own romances are almost completely devoid of any tension, and the focus on “splooge” and list-like itemization of sexual acts—especially once Liam enters the rosily depicted porn industry—make the erotic scenes lackluster at best and uncomfortably awkward at worst. (Sept.)