Scan barcode
trash_tash's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
pam_h's review against another edition
4.0
As a romance reader: 3 stars
As the father-son story this is actually about: 5 stars
So I'm going to average that out since I could never feel right rating this excellent book 3 stars. This is the second YA book in this genre that I want to go around randomly handing out to anyone who's a parent.
It's hard to say much about it, since it's all about the difference between perception and reality, and how the only way to close that gap is COMMUNICATION. Words are a powerful thing, and Metzger lives up to that message with this story.
The MC is in an established romance that's very sweet and sexy. His boyfriend is a major part of his support system, along with the two girls who round out their friend group, and provides the light than counterbalances the angst at home, but it all feels very true to their ages (16/17).
It's fade to black, so I'm pretty sure it would count as non-explicit...but the conversations they have are interesting :) But I think it's one of those things where you either already know what they're talking about or some of it's going to go over your head.
As the father-son story this is actually about: 5 stars
So I'm going to average that out since I could never feel right rating this excellent book 3 stars. This is the second YA book in this genre that I want to go around randomly handing out to anyone who's a parent.
It's hard to say much about it, since it's all about the difference between perception and reality, and how the only way to close that gap is COMMUNICATION. Words are a powerful thing, and Metzger lives up to that message with this story.
The MC is in an established romance that's very sweet and sexy. His boyfriend is a major part of his support system, along with the two girls who round out their friend group, and provides the light than counterbalances the angst at home, but it all feels very true to their ages (16/17).
It's fade to black, so I'm pretty sure it would count as non-explicit...but the conversations they have are interesting :) But I think it's one of those things where you either already know what they're talking about or some of it's going to go over your head.
kaje_harper's review against another edition
5.0
This is a coming out story that gives the readers a sympathetic, believable, young MC and also a sideways view into the mind of the antagonist. As the book opens, 16-year-old Shane has never told his career-military dad that he's gay, or that he's dating a boy, or anything personal about his life that doesn't fit with his father's plans for sons to follow in his footsteps. Shane and his older brother have been raised by his dad as a single parent, and Shane doesn't ever want to lose family approval or risk their love. But when his hard-won secret life with school friends and boyfriend is about to be gone a hundred miles away with his dad's new posting, he has to make some hard choices. Shane is caught between losing the relationship he has with his father, or abandoning the ones that keep him sane as an out gay boy with his group of friends. There are no easy answers.
The author gives us some nicely-judged hints at what is going on with Shane's dad - his thoughts not as simple as Shane imagines, as the father looks forward to a move to a new location and a closer relationship with his own girlfriend. Almost everyone in this book is in for a surprise at some point, and events may not work out as expected. I really enjoyed the characters, the emotions, and the play of expectations and stereotypes that turned into real people. Well done.
The author gives us some nicely-judged hints at what is going on with Shane's dad - his thoughts not as simple as Shane imagines, as the father looks forward to a move to a new location and a closer relationship with his own girlfriend. Almost everyone in this book is in for a surprise at some point, and events may not work out as expected. I really enjoyed the characters, the emotions, and the play of expectations and stereotypes that turned into real people. Well done.
More...