This novella was the best discovery I made this month. Perhaps it would be more accurate/less menacing to call this one The Boy (in the Photo) at the This novella was the best discovery I made this month. Perhaps it would be more accurate/less menacing to call this one The Boy (in the Photo) at the Bottom of the Fountain. The title and the book cover image are actually a bit misleading. Since it's revealed in the first ten minutes, it's not MUCH of a spoiler to admit this.
The book is basically angst-free and yet there is a dramatic storyline that builds gradually and benignantly from segment to segment. We encounter several likable and quirky characters whose stories intermingle in a way that author Jay Bell seems to have perfected. There's an amazing and surprising HFN ending with an absolutely unique build-up of a type that I've never encountered before in all my years of reading. It's romantic and perhaps the sweetest thing I've read this year, while at the same time being a bit of a surprise ending and eureka moment combined.
Bell spent some time in Kansas, went to college there, and met his future husband there. This book, like many of his best, is a reflection of that time and is based there. While the location is a minor aspect of this story, it adds yet another facet to the tale and was a fun discovery for this fan of his earlier work.
This is the first novel by Jay Bell that Charlie David narrates and he was a good choice for this. He does his usual yeoman-like job with the narration. And this time he did it without once invoking the "If he mispronounces that word one more time I'm gonna have to hunt him down and end him" reactions that I've had to some of his earlier voice narration efforts.
Saw the series and was curious about the book that started it all. "Book" may be the wrong term for this graphic novel, but it's a wonderfully sweet lSaw the series and was curious about the book that started it all. "Book" may be the wrong term for this graphic novel, but it's a wonderfully sweet look at two English school lads who fall for each other in an English school setting.
Charlie and Nick and to a large degree all of the characters are immediately accessible and the reader starts caring for these animated characters, very very quickly. The TV series fleshed out the book rather well and the first season covers more than just this one book. Strangely one of the more complex characters that's followed a lot in the series doesn't even exist in this first book while Charlie has a younger brother in the book that is insignificant in the first volume and completely disappears in the series.
Still, it's a fun read and I was FINALLY able to find an electronic copy through my local Florida Library. At least they haven't banned this one yet....more
Friday Night Lights meets American Horror Stories meets True Blood.
This is an odd tale of Joel Whitney, a young gay man who's left Texas and made gooFriday Night Lights meets American Horror Stories meets True Blood.
This is an odd tale of Joel Whitney, a young gay man who's left Texas and made good. But when he returns to rescue his younger brother Dylan from the life that his family and the town seem determined to have him follow things go weirdly wrong.
Dylan, the younger brother a local football hero disappears and while investigating his brother's disappearance Joel uncovers a much more ominous mystery.
This book centers on a gay man and there are other gay characters but there's also lot's of crazed rural Texan life and is unlike any other gay themed novel I've ever read. ...more
It Gets Better - But very seldom any better than this
Lately I've been reading a wide variety of things at once, so I'd forgotten what was said in the It Gets Better - But very seldom any better than this
Lately I've been reading a wide variety of things at once, so I'd forgotten what was said in the book blurb when I started listening to this. I was a bit surprised at the way this developed. From the moment we meet the Tinsdales, Skyler's second foster family, it felt a bit like boarding the Titanic. It seems very posh, but there are clues that this is going to end with him on the outside in the cold. Skyler's and Cam's sweet stumblings into a relationship were heartwarming, but I felt a continual sense of dread at what might happen if the boys were outed.
When that does happen, the novel quickly devolves into the struggle between the ultra-religious foster-mother Rachel Tinsdale and freshly outed Skylar. After dismissing the laughable attempts of the church's “prayer warriors” to convert him, Skyler is sent packing again. Finally, the tale switches to a hopeful one of recovery and growth. In his third placement Skyler is incredibly lucky.
His new family, the Kellys, are completely accepting. His new foster bother CK is overjoyed to finally have a sibling, and is incredibly supportive. Perhaps, it's a bit unbelievable just how supportive almost everyone in his new New York home is. ...Not to mention how gorgeous all the guys are. Skyler feels like it's “to good to be true” and is initially untrusting in his new environment. Given his history, that's completely understandable. Worrying about remaining closeted as long as he does, almost ruins some of his best possibilities, but once he truly realizes that he's safe, he really starts to blossom.
Skyler's first “real date” is about as romantic as any I've ever read. And his confrontation with the lone bully in his new environment is satisfying as well. Some critics have even panned this as being unrealistically positive. I'd like to believe that it does, in fact, get better and what we see here is just modeling some of that attitude.
Ben Palacios does a workman-like job as the narrator in what appears to be his first performance. This story is told in third person from the POV of Skyler. If we infer that the voices we hear are Skyler's renditions of the those voices, parts of this work better. As read, Ben Palacios's voice no way sounds like a 7 year old girl's, or her sanctimonious 30-something mother. But they're not that far from what they'd sound like as imitated by Skyler.
Overall, the narration works but it's not without flaws. Tracy, a particularly irrepressible character, calls for a voice actor to dial up the characterization to 10. Problem is here it's been dialed up to 15. It still works to a degree, and can be discounted for the most part. Some other characters are voiced pretty boisterously as well, but generally it makes the tale just that much more appealing.
A little overenthusiastic dialogue can really spice up a story. Unfortunately the Audible sample audio-clip uses an excerpt with Tracy at her most irrepressible. It nearly put me off selecting this book. 14 hours of dialogue at that level would NOT have been enjoyable at all. Cinnamon is a great spice, but one will never know that, if one first samples cinnamon by swallowing a tablespoon full of it.
There are some times in the narration where it's tough to tell what Skyler's thinking versus what he's saying aloud. There are also a few minor moments when the voice characterizations become inconsistent, or vary from what's described in the text. Also the voice of Liara didn't feel quiet natural to my ear. I felt that both Liara and Tracy would have sounded better as voiced in my head if I'd been reading the text than as I was hearing them. Conversely CK and Kalen both had moments in the audio-book that were better than what I would have imagined. For those that tend to be particularly demanding listeners, this might actually work better as text than as an audio-book.
Either way, if you like YA fiction, and are ready for really romantic tale; one that pulls no punches when depicting evangelical Christianity, and the damage than can be done by over zealousness, this might be the book for you. It's a bit preachy in spots but then so's the opposition.
Content warning: Some scenes of domestic abuse (to the point of summoning ambulances) are depicted in this tale.
***Note: I am voluntarily reviewing this after receiving a complimentary copy ***
Jay’s Gay Agenda is really Jay’s Nine Hour Monologue. This is a tale told in first person by a hormonal young gay boy transplanted from rural RivertonJay’s Gay Agenda is really Jay’s Nine Hour Monologue. This is a tale told in first person by a hormonal young gay boy transplanted from rural Riverton Washington to a high School in Seattle.
Main character Jay is a charming if somewhat confused guy. But Jay’s constant, frequently angsty, inner monologue made the early part of this something that might be best enjoyed a chapter or two at a sitting. Narrator Mark Sanderlin does the narration in a perfectly credible adolescent voice, but it gets to be a bit whiny when listened to in long stretches.
Jay starts as “the gay kid”at his school in rural Eastern Washington State, and while it was not as bad as in decades past, he was very much alone in his feelings. Relocating to Seattle is like he won the lottery, a big city with plenty of liberal people and even boys his age into other boys.
Jay quickly conceives of the titular Jay’s Gay Agenda. A gay-centric “to do list” of sorts detailing what Jay hopes to achieve. It ranges from the romantic, #1 Meet another gay kid, somewhere, anywhere, please. to the randy #8 Lose my Virginity. While this was a fast and mostly fun read, this agenda gets repeatedly revised and items are amended, added and checked off.
But… and this is a big but, this started life as a text based book. Jay is a list maker (and reviser) While I’m sure the continually revised list works well in the print edition, it gets incredibly repetitive in the audio-book version. (There had to be a better way of presenting this) I swore that, by the end, if I had to listen to one more revision to Jay’s Gay Agenda list, I’d have to hunt down the lad & strangle him.
Also it was a bit odd that we finally have a gay teen where everything is going so well for him only to have his character concerned with the girl he left behind whose life is falling apart. It’s odd having the gay teen’s biggest dilemma being how to be himself and still be a good friend to a now distant BFF. This is only part of the morale dilemma at the heart of this great coming of age story. And while I’m sure that the way that “girl back home” problem is resolved is very “feminist friendly,” to me it felt like a bit of a cop out.
Other than what’s already been covered, I could tell you about Digi-hips, adorkable dates, and football player fashionistas but it’s better you read about that yourselves. There as also some really enjoyable secondary characters. There’s Max, an out gay boy that sees himself as gay but loves wearing women’s fashions. There’s Albert the cute gay dork that is Jay’s first encounter with another gay guy. There’s Reese who initially seems seems to be the gay Mr. Freeze. And on and on. After reading about the “group hang” at Pike Place my guess was that Reese might become Jay’s main squeeze… Boy was I wrong.
As a bit of a stats geek myself, I immediately recognized that Jay’s understanding of what Regression Analysis was a bit wrong; but then, he’s young and much of what Jay thinks he understands is wrong as well. But he has a disarming charm and his not recognizing Proud Mary choreography, can be forgiven as easily as when a partly trained puppy has an over-excitement accident. Unfortunately some of the mistakes he makes later are tougher to forgive. And some parts bring a whole new meaning to the term half-assed.
Overall this is a great, romantic YA novel (though there is some sex involved) As a first person account, it should really work well in audio, and apart from the repetitive list aspect, it does. I’m torn between recommending the text version or the audio version. Both have their merits but that re-reading of lists gaff is an almost unforgivable misjudgment....more
Ever hear the song Mr. Tanner by Harry Chapin? It’s a song about a man who runs a dry cleaning business but who enjoys classical singing. Encouraged bEver hear the song Mr. Tanner by Harry Chapin? It’s a song about a man who runs a dry cleaning business but who enjoys classical singing. Encouraged by his friends and neighbors, he arranges for a hall in NYC and performs – only to have his dreams shattered by a newspaper critic so badly that he never openly sings again, except, late at night in his basement when pressing clothes. ...more
Sam is the “heart on his sleeve” gay son of an accepting mother who remarried when Sam was still in high school. His straight, slightly older, stepbroSam is the “heart on his sleeve” gay son of an accepting mother who remarried when Sam was still in high school. His straight, slightly older, stepbrother Fox, always seemed too serious and too “cool” for young Sam when they were in school.
Now they’re older. Sam works as a bartender in a gay bar, always falling for the wrong guy. Meanwhile Fox is still the too-serious straight arrow, all about business, well past his schoolboy “millionaire by thirty” goal, and is a workaholic, who’s never really fallen for anybody. Of course the two step-brothers never got along as kids, but now, forced together on a family vacation after years of being apart, both brothers are beginning to understand each other better.
This story is set against the backdrop of a journey which brings the boys’ metaphorical journey into better contrast. Both boys realize along the way that just following their own approaches hasn’t led to happiness, but maybe compromise, and combining their strengths, just might. And when Fox realizes that maybe he’s not as straight as he always thought…
This is a great vacation read. Not only is it an step-enemies to lovers tale, it’s a family pleasure trip and you can go along for the ride. Both main characters and the rest of their fellow travelers all seem like people you wouldn’t mind spending time with. This is a fast, fun read, low on the angst and moderately spicy without being overly graphic. Though clearly part of an on-going series, this can easily be read as a standalone. I’ve not read any of the precursors but I’m now curious enough that I’ll be going back and checking them out.
I was curious when this came up as a book available for review. I’d really enjoyed Anna and the French Kiss and thought a M/M variation on that theme I was curious when this came up as a book available for review. I’d really enjoyed Anna and the French Kiss and thought a M/M variation on that theme might be a lot of fun.
I also sometimes enjoy young adult romances that are presented from a single character POV. It’s a bit like listening to a complaining young friend, and helps one maintain the perspective of a world where pretty much everything revolves around you. It’s sometimes fun to see the foibles that the narrator misses in himself, and in some way it makes them more endearing.
It’s also relatively low angst… sure the youngster will be “inconsolably crushed” if the “crush de jour” doesn’t work out but it’s no surprise to us “sadder but wiser” folks, that young hearts heal quickly.
That said, the single character POV can be hard to maintain. If that single character is as myopic as 16 year old clueless Zak here is… double that. It actually made the book a bit frustrating toward the middle. Even the most amenable reader eventually runs out of patience.
Several other early reviewers have criticized this book as being a bit long. While I never found it to be boring, it was a bit frustrating at spots. This is the second book in a series and I wondered (more than once) if the parts that dragged weren’t at least in part due to my not having read the first part. I also speculated as to whether it might have improved the book to have known what the other characters were thinking (and in some cases doing.) Seeing parts of this story unfold from Eric’s POV might have made this more interesting but would have made the whole “it’s finally dawning on the dope” epiphany part less satisfying. Even seeing parts from Alberto’s or even Arthur’s POV might have been fun. As it is, Zac was a bit of an odd choice for the narrator as he’s not the most interesting and certainly the least insightful.
Still the book features a number of characters that you’ll enjoy spending time with. Though there are also a few you’d just like grab by the shoulders and shake a bit.
Over the years I’ve seen a good number of French films. This book had the pacing and feel of some of my favorites of those. This title evokes a bit of the magic found in the book Call Me By Your Name with a bit of the whimsy of the film Côte d’Azur (2005) Adding to this “continental feel” is that the author’s native language is not English. While her British English sometimes confused this mid-western raised “Yank”, it also added to the atmosphere.
This might be the perfect book to read on a trip or a beach weekend. It has that relaxed pace, and the characters are certainly worth spending a “weekend in the country” with. However, given that the protagonist is barely legal don’t expect anything too steamy.
Have you ever had one of those 14 oz containers of Häagen-Dazs turn into a “single serving” size? I started this book just after breakfast and figuredHave you ever had one of those 14 oz containers of Häagen-Dazs turn into a “single serving” size? I started this book just after breakfast and figured it would be great read over the next couple of days. Now as the sun is setting I wonder what about it was so riveting that I couldn’t stop listening? The first two book in this series were also of the “YA” action movie ilk and I enjoyed them but this one had some extra addictive properties.
Partly it was that this one brings Theo to New York City, one of my favorite cities in the world. More so it was due to a plot development partway through the book that not only make this one an “edge of your seats” adventure but also something of a cliff-hanger. Now I need to get the final installment of this epic tale. Partly just out of a compulsion to see what happens next and partly to see if my theories are correct.
Those familiar with the first two book in this series will not be surprised that Theo has an almost too good to be true boyfriend nor that he he never gets to spend the kind of quality time he wants with him because of his “sideline” as a security operative for spy organization. When Theo’s parents pull him out of Boston on a “family trip” to NYC to help a college buddy of his dad’s, Theo’s upset at what that means for his end of summer plans with Eddie. But imagine his surprise when Eddie shows up in NYC to surprise him. Will Theo be able to do the kind of high tech hacking he needs to do and still have time for Eddie without putting Eddie in danger?
As you’d expect with teen-aged main characters, there is no graphic sex depicted here. Theo’s kept so busy that he gets even less time with Eddie than in previous books.
Kirt Graves does the audiobook narration and his youthful voice is perfect for the first person narration as seen by Theo. His other character’s dialogue voices are spot on as well. Now I need to arrange to get hold of Book 4, the finale to the series.
***Note: While I received a free copy of this title, this is an honest and impartial review ***
Trigger warning: brief references to parental abuse and suicide.
For a debut novel Wendi Dennison has crafted a compelling story. It quickly enamors usTrigger warning: brief references to parental abuse and suicide.
For a debut novel Wendi Dennison has crafted a compelling story. It quickly enamors us of her main characters and engages us in her story-line. I’m a sucker for coming-home stories and this started as one of those. I’m a sucker for underdogs and bullies getting their comeuppances and this story has those elements as well. I’m a sucker for waifs and strays, and siblings uniting against a sometimes uncaring world and it’s one of those. Finally, this is the story of a smart but somewhat clueless straight-boy finding out, much to his chagrin, that maybe, just maybe, he’s not all that straight.
That said… Wendi could clearly use the services of a good copy-editor to tighten up her prose. She really needs to rethink her sometimes goofy word choices, and to finally learn the difference between lie and lay, but the bones of a great story are clearly in evidence. The last time I read a book that hooked me this completely but had me reaching so often for the blue pencils in my mind involved sparkly vampires and native American wolf-boys.
I’d advise anyone who enjoys a sweet m/m romance by a new author to take a look at this one. But anyone who’s also an English teacher (or an “Authoritarian Grammarian”) should probably have a couple of glasses of wine first.
This is the final installment in the Codename Winger series and I’m sad to see it end. This is NOT the typical YA LGBTQ book. It’s a techno-thriller wThis is the final installment in the Codename Winger series and I’m sad to see it end. This is NOT the typical YA LGBTQ book. It’s a techno-thriller with a main character that just happens to be a young openly gay man.
In prior books we’ve seen a savant-like computer security nerd with a preternatural level of maturity face challenges that many gay teens face. e.g. Trying to balance his secret life with his hockey and school commitments while keeping his boyfriend happy. Of course in Theo’s case he’s in the closet about being a spy, not that he’s gay. We’ve seen him face a kidnapping attempt, deal with coaching fellow computer geeks, while being hunted by a terrorist, suffer musical mental manipulation, and finally, actually have a major boyfriend crisis.
Of course THAT creates a bit of a cliff-hanger of sorts that needs to get resolved in this, the final book.
In this the final book, the challenges are greater, and the danger even more close to home. While in some ways, we see Theo become stronger in each book, we also see him open up more in each book, and let himself feel what other folks his age are feeling. That vulnerability only increases the empathy that the reader feels for this brave young man. The scenes in this book include more crying than what’s common among your typical “action hero”/James Bond types. However, if you’re like me, you’ll find that they just help make our hero more human, more relatable and more lovable. One warning though: Be sure and lay in a stack of tissues as there may well be some collateral crying fall-out.
Now that the series is ending, I’ll miss young Theo, but perhaps, someday soon we’ll hear about a new couple. I think that Max and Rodney (a couple we meet late in the book) sound like a couple I’d care to hear more about. I wonder if Iowa born Max is anywhere near as good at hockey as Theo seemed to be in these books.
Given our teen-aged main characters, there is still no graphic sex depicted here. Though toward the end we do get intimations that our MCs future will contain, as John Green puts it… “plenty of skoodelypooping.”
Kirt Graves does the audiobook narration and his youthful voice is perfect for the first person narration as seen by Theo. There is not as much scope here for his other character’s dialogue voices as in previous books, but those that are here are spot on.
Miss-spelled words, weird terms, (baseball arena, baseball court?) The idea of swimmers running laps? A swimming coach carrying a massive bag of ream Miss-spelled words, weird terms, (baseball arena, baseball court?) The idea of swimmers running laps? A swimming coach carrying a massive bag of ream equipment in from the parking lot? I couldn't get past the dissonance.
I may have to try this one again... perhaps after drinking a lot....more
15 year old Leo and his deaf little sister Lila are in the foster care system following the murder of their mother by their abusive father. That he wi15 year old Leo and his deaf little sister Lila are in the foster care system following the murder of their mother by their abusive father. That he witnessed it, unable to do anything while protecting his little sister is just one source of his PTSD and his inability to trust any adult males. Added to the burns that he's still recovering from, and his night terrors, Leo is having a tough time of it.
When he meets his new “brother,” 15 year-old Charlie, the attraction is immediate and the boys quickly become aware that they interest each other in ways that girls never interested them.
Charlie, has been with the Poultons for a while now and seems well-adjusted, though he has the capacity to be a bratty teen at times. His confidence and feelings of being accepted, despite his unsettling feelings for Leo, is a great contrast to Leo’s panicked and 'wounded animal” lashing out. The connection between these two teenagers is not insta-love but more an organic understanding that they have a mutual concern in, and for, each other.
Told from the POVs of these two 15 year-olds, this is a tale of a young lad in crisis. It's heartbreaking and endearing from chapter 1. The wholesome goodness of the adoptive Poultons family is a balm to all the drama that Leo brings to the situation and all of the members of the Poulton household are well-drawn three dimensional, believable and distinct characters. I would have liked more of the back-stories on all of them, but this is really Leo's and Charlie's tale.
The upbeat ending to this tale is an affirmation that no matter how insurmountable the difficulties seem, we can get through them if we do it together.
Given that the boys are both under-age, this tale is pretty tame as to bedroom action but both boys are hormonal teen-agers and there are some very well written snogging scenes.
Narrator Dan Calley does a great job with the basic narration and with creating realistic accents and voices for the characters in this book. In some ways he “felt” the most at home in the voice of the foster father Reg. The quite competence of the man and the competence of the narrator seemed an ideal match.
I'm a sucker for “broken-winged bird” stories and this is clearly one of those, but it's also a bit more than that as well. Seeing the journey from maudlin to mended made this a heartwarming tale to listen to. I recommend it.
My quest for a free-read for the weekend did NOT start well. The first two books I started were abysmal and I dropped them before getting more than a My quest for a free-read for the weekend did NOT start well. The first two books I started were abysmal and I dropped them before getting more than a few chapters in. Authors who write about things they don’t know and/or tell disjointed stories that spoil perfectly good book ideas with lousy storytelling aren’t worth the time and frustration, even when their work is free. Just what is a “baseball court” anyway?
This one was already better by the end of chapter one; I’d laughed several times, I could tell that the author knew a bit about writing, and I was pretty sure I was gonna like the characters.
This is about a snarky-smart, if somewhat dorky boy, and the popular athletic boy he falls for when they both work the same summer job. It’s about as sweet as puppy videos on you-tube but it’s also laugh out loud funny in more than a few spots. It’s been said that the first person you have to come out to is yourself, and both boys here are still on the cusp of that, but their interplay makes them both adorable. Add to that the number of laughs I had during Neil’s parental coming out scene made this the perfect antidote to some of the truly painful comings out, that I’ve read lately.
It was also fun to read something relatively current with snarky references to One Direction, 13 Reasons Why, and people in a restaurant photographing their food before eating it. I could probably spoil the funniest chortle-bait moment in the book by disclosing Carter’s aunt’s job and Neil’s misunderstanding about her nationality but I’ll leave that for you to discover on your own. This one is NOT to be missed.
Not only is this a free read on Amazon, but if you join the author’s mailing list books 2 & 3 are downloadable for free as well.
This tale is very much a coming-out story for the modern day. While most enlightened people are understanding, this novel highlights the difficulties This tale is very much a coming-out story for the modern day. While most enlightened people are understanding, this novel highlights the difficulties (real and perceived) in the mind of a young man faced with the situation.
The main character is closeted, gay, and bi-racial. He's also shy and incredibly introspective with an almost continual inner monologue highlighting his hopes and fears. While I'm sure that the novel will save lives and can play an important part for some youths, this story has been told before and may seem repetitive to others.
I listened to this rather than reading it, and that may not be the best form for this particular work. The main character is relentless in his inspection, self-doubts, and inner monologues. Despite a skilled narration by Vikas Adam it was sometimes difficult to discern what was narration, what was inner monologue, and what was actual dialogue. ...more
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