It's Not Easy Being a Tree

The mildly humorous title 'It's Not Easy Being A Tree' could be taken as misleading as the story is nothing to do with trees, but as you read you soon come to realise that the title is really a very appropriate synonym for the life of Woodward "Woody" Fields. Woody knows he is gay and keeps that part of his life a guarded secret, being a teenager he is subject to the same wants and desires of any teenager but secretly being gay makes it harder than it is for most other teenagers. We all make mistakes and Woody is no exception, but his mistake has some very serious consequences that he has to deal with. I'll not give anything more away, you need to read the story to find out more, you won't regret reading but you may become as absorbed by his story as I did. This ranks as being among the best of the stories on GA so stop wasting time and read, I recommend it.

There were times in this story when I wanted to yell at Woody, 'Don't do that!' What starts out as a teenage boy having some fun inevitably goes horribly wrong. The tension ramps up with every chapter as Woody learns some difficult lessons along the way. A story that will stay with you long after you have finished reading it.

This is not an easy story to read – by that I mean it is an emotional Ferris wheel  Ronyx, the author, wrings a lot of emotion out of a year in the life of a gay boy and his coming out, his friends support, his father's neglect and the crimes perpetrated by a gay teacher, on him and many others. Ronyx is a master of expressing emotions and involving the reader in the emotions of his characters. Not an easy read, but a meaningful one.

Very intense and triggering story. Super infuriating and beautifully well written. Take precautions proceeding with this story if you were abused as a kid. 

This was a satisfying and profound story - "It's Not Easy Being a Tree" represents the very best of GA content.  

What a well written portrayal of the dangers of online sex for a youth - the story had so much excitement, tension & fear and ultimately took us to that scary place we suspected it was heading towards from the beginning.  The journey had many twists and was a worthwhile tale on many levels.   To me, this is one of the most socially relevant and meaningful stories on GA.  It shows @Ronyx  at the peak of writing talent as an author.

As a pediatrician who handled many abuse cases (and was on a special review board for them), I was utterly amazed at how aggressive and impervious any moral boundary the worst sexual predators can be.  Mr. Dewberrys don't come along that often, but I would say that @Ronyx did in fact portray him quite realistically.  I've also seen teen (and child) lives ruined by the public fallout from sex assault cases, with permanent changes to family dynamics as well.    On the other hand, I've also seen young partners where the older boy gets unjustly portrayed as a predator and enjoys their own personal destruction at the hands of the full weight of the legal system (like Connor could have been). 

I wish something like this story could be published by Scholastic Press and distributed at school libraries.   God knows it would do some good.

A fantastic story from @Ronyx. We learn about the dangers of the internet, as Woody tries to discover who is gay. We learn a lot of things from this wonderful piece of writing. Highly recommend as a read.