Clay's Way
{{Short description|2004 novel by Blair Mastbaum}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox book
| name = Clay's Way
| image = Clay's Way by Blair Mastbaum book cover.jpg
| image_size = 170px
| border =
| alt =
| caption = Front cover
| author = Blair Mastbaum
| audio_read_by =
| title_orig =
| orig_lang_code =
| title_working =
| translator =
| illustrator =
| cover_artist =
| country = United States
| language = English
| series =
| release_number =
| subject =
| genre = {{hlist|Coming-of-age|Gay romance}}
| set_in = Honolulu
| publisher = Alyson Books
| publisher2 =
| pub_date = 2004
| media_type = Print
| pages = 246
| awards = Lambda Literary Award
| isbn =
| isbn_note =
| oclc =
| dewey =
| congress =
| preceded_by =
| followed_by =
| native_wikisource =
| wikisource =
| notes =
| exclude_cover =
| website =
}}
Clay's Way is the debut novel of American writer Blair Mastbaum. Released in 2004 by Alyson Books, this contemporary novel, which won the Lambda Literary Award for LGBT Debut Fiction,{{cite web
| title = 17th Annual Lambda Literary Awards: Gay Men's Debut Fiction
| publisher = Lambda Literary Foundation
| url = http://www.lambdaliterary.org/winners-finalists/07/09/lambda-literary-awards-2004/
| accessdate = 18 July 2015| date = 2005-07-09
}} follows 15-year-old gay skateboarder Sam and the object of his affection, conflicted surfer Clay around Honolulu.
Reception
Poet and novelist Trebor Healey called Clay's Way "a brilliantly raw and insightful coming-of-age story for a new queer generation" and concluded as "a coming of age novel, it hits pay dirt because, instead of a happy ending, it ends on a note of expansion: Something has happened to Sam that, after the smoke has cleared, causes him to look up at the sky and realize he's no longer Sam the kid, but Sam the man."{{cite web | url=http://gaytoday.com/reviews/091304re.asp | website=www.gaytoday.com |title=Clay's Way |publisher=Gay Today |accessdate=18 July 2015 }} The Gay & Lesbian Review found it an "impressive comic debut novel" and that "Mastbaum’s quirky narrator and comic verve propel the reader through this story of painful yet instructive young love made art for readers of all ages."{{cite web |url=http://www.glreview.org/article/article-1319/ |website=www.glreview.org |title=Do You Surfer Boy? |date=1 November 2011 | author=Dan Luckenbill |publisher=The Gay & Lesbian Review |accessdate=18 July 2015 }}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Portal|Children and Young Adult Literature}}
Category:Lambda Literary Award–winning works
Category:Gay male teen fiction
Category:American LGBTQ novels
Category:LGBTQ-related young adult novels
Category:2004 LGBTQ-related literary works
{{2000s-ya-novel-stub}}
{{2000s-LGBT-novel-stub}}