Review: A Poignant Read
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 15, 2014
This story is not an easy genre fit, starting, as it does, in the realms of YA but finishing the coming of age at a point where we like to imagine most lives have long had it together.  In the end this is a very adult story of Solomon, a teacher, a mentor, a sexual guru, who wafts through his life unscathed due to charm, good looks and luck.  Eve is a young girl on the brink who, when she is finally driven from this deeply erotic but tainted and unsuitable relationship, spends the rest of her adult life willing him to rescue her.  We are often nostalgic about our first loves but this is so much more than that. The Yearning is a story of heroic love, misguided passions, erotic teaching, breaking cycles and repressed memories.  It would have been easy to simply dwell on Eve's emotional journey but the dance and development of both Solomon and Max is equally, if not more compelling.  Kate Belle has the unique gift of making you care for all of the characters in spite of their flaws, even Eve's somewhat cold and standoffish parents, proving that, in life, there is never truly black and white.  I have friends who have traveled Eve's footsteps.  I have known a Max or two, some who have turned around and others who have been doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past. I have seen Judes, who holds back their own secrets while wanting something better for their children.  I know of a Solomon (perhaps more than one and not in the biblical sense), who I have watched and waited to see if they would finally find that their charmed lives needed something more.  We shall see... These characters are very real to me and I think they will resonate with many readers.