{Synopsis} – My Razzle Dazzle is an unforgettable trip of a lifetime. Beginning with a Wisconsin farm in the 1960s, Todd Peterson characterizes every outsider's candid, moving, and often hilarious coming-out story that will take you apart and put you together again. His adventures are set against a backdrop of the cultural events of the sixties and seventies and a burgeoning gay Mecca that changed our world forever. Along this unusual journey Todd not only meets carnival freaks and murderers, but also lions, tigers and bears. . . oh my!
Young Todd is ostracized and bullied by the kids at school, simply for being different. An outsider at school and at home, he retreats into the shadows. When Todd first amazes to Roller Derby© on Tv, he identifies with the athletes who are rebels and outsiders like himself. Todd longs for a life of adventure and a place where he can belong and find acceptance and love. But does such a place even exist?
After graduating from college, Todd dreams of life beyond his Midwestern hometown and hitchhikes across the United States with only a suitcase, the money in his pocket, and a heart full of hope.
As this unique story unfolds, Todd encounters heart-wrenching setbacks and extraordinary breakthroughs. You will live this story as if it were your own and whirl with Todd around the banked track. Experience this thrilling ride of unexpected beauty and mayhem.
{My Thoughts} – Tod Peterson for the most part was like everyone else. He survived a path of self-discovery, he had issues with belonging, he worked odd jobs, he had dreams, he had partners and he lived by his terms. This book was about his first twenty years and it concluded with his families acceptance and his ability to feel loved by his father.
I struggled to read this book. It took far longer then I’d thought it would have. When you start reading a book about a gay guy and his power struggle to survive the world around him, you don’t expect to read this. This book was very monotone in the sense that it bordered complete boredom. It had all the desired facts of a good story but it wasn’t presented in a way that truly pulled the reader into the pages.
I didn’t feel connected to Todd throughout any of the emotional aspects of the book. I felt like I was reading something I had zero interest in. This book also switched point of views on a frequent basis making it difficult to truly grasp what the writer was trying to portray to the reader.
I do think the the writer, has a story to tell, and that they need to find a more, effective means in doing so. I’m not so sure I’d be keen to read another monotone book written in the same aspect.
Final Conclusion: 3 Star Rating.
