Marvin is a wonderful, well-rounded character who is an absolute gem to read about, even though for decades he’s probably exactly the kind of character who would be tragically relegated to the sidelines so his best friend can have the star romance. It’s so wonderful to see the script flipped, to see the ‘gay best friend’ as the star of his own story, finding love and healing childhood trauma and working to make his life better. I adored Marvin so much; he’s sweet and thoughtful, funny but never at the expense of others, horny and cuddly. He’s got a cat (Gonzo) who is a fabulous character of his own, and a love interest who’s a whole person, working through his own shit and doing his best to keep being good to his daughter and Marvin every single day. It’s refreshing to read a story full of normal — fabulous, don’t get me wrong, but also deeply normal — people, and see them find not just love, but family. 

 

We live in a day and age where queer educators are on the front lines of homophobia every day, facing it from parents and school boards and state governments. Here we have a book about an openly gay young man teaching kindergarten. It would be so easy for homophobia to be a plot line and it just *wasn’t*. The first time I read this book, I was a little on edge, wondering, hoping it wouldn’t fester out, but half expecting it to because, well, I’ve been burned by careless authors before. But now that I’ve read it twice, and seen the author’s content on instagram, I know that’s not who MA Wardell is. That’s not the kind of book he set out to write. TOY is safe, letting its queer characters thrive, even in a career that has become vulnerable to homophobic attacks from all directions. There’s ‘drama’ (I use the word loosely) in this book, but not a single bit of it has anything to do with the MC’s sexuality, and that is such a relief. 

 

Instead, we get to see our beloved MC tackle childhood trauma, get to see him heal his relationship with his mom (who really is trying her best to make amends), and see him grow as a person to be better for the man he loves.