Scan barcode
A review by netslummer
Out Of Touch by Michael Sarais
5.0
Teddy Clarke is sick of being stood up by his boyfriend. He came back to Italy to see if they could make the relationship work, after all. After his year abroad in Italy and he returned to Australia, Teddy postponed his life to come back and now the jerk is standing him up. In a rage-filled Facebook moment (that only could happen in 2008) Teddy decides to send a friend request to a random guy who popped up in his "people you may know" section. Enter Vincent Stewart.
Vincent is suffering through his year abroad; his host mother is rude and constantly belittling him. If it wasn't for his best friends Hazel and Daniel, Vincent would risk changing families and having to move elsewhere in Sweden. After some scathing remarks from his host mother, as usual, Vincent runs off to his bedroom and has a good cry...and notices a random friend request from an Australian in Italy named Teddy Clarke. Taking a chance he sends Teddy a message and starts a decade-long connection that will change their lives.
In three parts, starting in 2008 and moving to 2014 and then 2020, Out of Touch tells the story of a deep connection between Teddy and Vincent and how their lives change, they lose touch, and come back together over and over like magnets. If you've read anything by Sarais before it won't come as a surprise that this book is a lot deeper and heavier than you'd expect from the blurb (be sure to check trigger warnings). Sarais made me immediately care deeply about both of the boys and I ended up devouring this in literally one day. I loved watching them grow even if they had to go through some rough times. Hazel and Laura (Teddy's host-sister in Italy) are wonderful and I love that they maintained such a deep connection with the boys long after their time studying abroad. I was a bit bummed that Daniel didn't have a larger part to play in the whole book as he was just as charming a side-character as the two girls. All-in-all I really had a good time with this book and was sad when I realized I was on the last chapter. I would've loved even more of these two circling each other.
Thank you to the author Michael Sarais for providing me with an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Vincent is suffering through his year abroad; his host mother is rude and constantly belittling him. If it wasn't for his best friends Hazel and Daniel, Vincent would risk changing families and having to move elsewhere in Sweden. After some scathing remarks from his host mother, as usual, Vincent runs off to his bedroom and has a good cry...and notices a random friend request from an Australian in Italy named Teddy Clarke. Taking a chance he sends Teddy a message and starts a decade-long connection that will change their lives.
In three parts, starting in 2008 and moving to 2014 and then 2020, Out of Touch tells the story of a deep connection between Teddy and Vincent and how their lives change, they lose touch, and come back together over and over like magnets. If you've read anything by Sarais before it won't come as a surprise that this book is a lot deeper and heavier than you'd expect from the blurb (be sure to check trigger warnings). Sarais made me immediately care deeply about both of the boys and I ended up devouring this in literally one day. I loved watching them grow even if they had to go through some rough times. Hazel and Laura (Teddy's host-sister in Italy) are wonderful and I love that they maintained such a deep connection with the boys long after their time studying abroad. I was a bit bummed that Daniel didn't have a larger part to play in the whole book as he was just as charming a side-character as the two girls. All-in-all I really had a good time with this book and was sad when I realized I was on the last chapter. I would've loved even more of these two circling each other.
Thank you to the author Michael Sarais for providing me with an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.