Review: Awkward. Very, Very Awkward
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 11 11, 2012
Look in a dictionary. You'll see pictures of Shane, Trey and June.  Shane is June's brother. June has been dating June for a long time. Trey and Shane are now college roommates. And Shane came out only a few weeks before. Do the math. It's not always pretty. But it makes for a really amazing read.Ms. Sunday has the knack for grabbing your attention from the very first page of each of her books and holding you until the words "The End" (literally) appear. The plot, the characters, the dialogue - everything works incredibly well in this series. This is a genre that I was very unfamiliar with (since I haven't lived this "life") but I'm pretty sure she portrays it pretty accurately (How do women know this in such detail, btw?).Someone mentioned that Paul and Karl, the 7-year olds, appear to be the same Paul and Karl, the twenty-eight year olds, in "Stuffed", and that the books take place at the same time. I think the author did this as a way to tie the two books into the series (S & T is Book One, Stuffed is Book 2). Since I read the second book first (like making a right on Left Street, eh?), I thought it was a nifty little idea. Someone also mentioned that they didn't like that they didn't like that they couldn't tell where the book takes place. After reading all four books in the series, I'm about 100% sure it takes place in the States and not New Zealand. Ms. Sunday uses much less British English (though some, because after all, she is from New Zealand) here, she doesn't use any place names, store names, etc. from NZ as she does in the books that take place there, Will left Karl behind to go to the other end of the world (you know this from the books that this takes place in the same city), and Shane and Ryan flew on a plane for a short camping trip to Canada - you definitely do not take a 24-hour plane ride for a weekend getaway (well, I once did but the flight was only supposed to be 4 hours). I should be a detective!I must make an observation: When I went to college in the ancient of days (the 80's), I knew of two students that were gay. There were a few we all speculated about (turned out years later we were mostly correct). There was a Gay Student Union with its office in the student life building. But I never saw anyone walk into or out of it - and it was kind of hidden under a staircase - making it, to me, a very mysterious place). From these books, I get the feeling that many colleges are much more laid back and open now. At least I hope so. Because that's a good thing. It's better to be able to start living your life as who you are as early as possible so that you don't miss out on any living. Enuf said.Anyway, read this book. My Kindle edition has a bonus short story about Benny and James, who were minor characters in "William" so that was extra awesome. And Ms. Sunday - since I hope you do read your reviews - I also hope you are almost done with Book 5, because I really need another story in this series. If I were a betting man? Syd and Luke have great book potential.