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Dear Mr. Coville,
I read a thing recently where a gay man said that as a kid in the 90s, the first time he learned homosexuality existed, it was in the context of a gay man who had been a very dangerous criminal. It was basically presented that the person being gay and being a dangerous criminal were the same level of bad, and it had a profound impact on his youth.
This made me realize that the first time I learned homosexuality existed was from your book The Skull of Truth in the hilariously awkward Thanksgiving dinner scene, where everyone in the family is magically compelled to tell the truth. The main character’s uncle was being needled about getting a girlfriend, and he said (with perfect truthfulness) that he had a boyfriend, and everyone would be happier if the accepted that. I remember being about 8 and going “neat, didn’t know that was a thing”. The main character’s uncle later tried to say that he couldn’t hang out with his uncle now, but couldn’t (it not being true) and instead said it would feel weird. This element of the minor character wasn’t dwelled on more heavily than any other serious issue in the book, such as cancer, but it stuck with me. The book also taught me that a lot about truth, and how although it is good, it can also be scary, and painful, and even dangerous. It’s rare, especially for kids literature in that era, to find a book that handles such heavy topics and does so with such finesse and respect.
I remember feeling like your books never talked down to kids (and I read many of them), but The Skull of Truth taught me a lot, and I recently realized that it helped me grow up as the well-adjusted person (and gay uncle) that I am now.
I wanted to thank you for that.
I read a thing recently where a gay man said that as a kid in the 90s, the first time he learned homosexuality existed, it was in the context of a gay man who had been a very dangerous criminal. It was basically presented that the person being gay and being a dangerous criminal were the same level of bad, and it had a profound impact on his youth.
This made me realize that the first time I learned homosexuality existed was from your book The Skull of Truth in the hilariously awkward Thanksgiving dinner scene, where everyone in the family is magically compelled to tell the truth. The main character’s uncle was being needled about getting a girlfriend, and he said (with perfect truthfulness) that he had a boyfriend, and everyone would be happier if the accepted that. I remember being about 8 and going “neat, didn’t know that was a thing”. The main character’s uncle later tried to say that he couldn’t hang out with his uncle now, but couldn’t (it not being true) and instead said it would feel weird. This element of the minor character wasn’t dwelled on more heavily than any other serious issue in the book, such as cancer, but it stuck with me. The book also taught me that a lot about truth, and how although it is good, it can also be scary, and painful, and even dangerous. It’s rare, especially for kids literature in that era, to find a book that handles such heavy topics and does so with such finesse and respect.
I remember feeling like your books never talked down to kids (and I read many of them), but The Skull of Truth taught me a lot, and I recently realized that it helped me grow up as the well-adjusted person (and gay uncle) that I am now.
I wanted to thank you for that.
Reply by Bruce Coville
Marco -
Many thanks for this warm and heartening message. At the time I wrote SKULL, the few books for that age group that dealt with homosexuality were "problem novels" - that is, books where an issue was the main driving force of the story. My goal with SKULL was to integrate the issue into the fabric of the story, not as a PROBLEM, but as simply a part of real life that Charlie had to deal with. Your message is a clear affirmation that I managed to pull that off!
I did, as I had anticipated, suffer some blowback for it (canceled school speaking engagements). But I figure what's the point of being an author if you don't talk about things that matter to you!
Anyway, I wanted to let you know that your message was received and much appreciated!
All good wishes,
BC
Many thanks for this warm and heartening message. At the time I wrote SKULL, the few books for that age group that dealt with homosexuality were "problem novels" - that is, books where an issue was the main driving force of the story. My goal with SKULL was to integrate the issue into the fabric of the story, not as a PROBLEM, but as simply a part of real life that Charlie had to deal with. Your message is a clear affirmation that I managed to pull that off!
I did, as I had anticipated, suffer some blowback for it (canceled school speaking engagements). But I figure what's the point of being an author if you don't talk about things that matter to you!
Anyway, I wanted to let you know that your message was received and much appreciated!
All good wishes,
BC