Review: More than just a coming of age story
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 9, 2014
I just finished reading this book and I am so blown away! It's after 1am, and I have to be up for work tomorrow, but I was just had to finish. I am still reeling from the heights I've been lifted to, and the lows that I cried over. I know this is a story that will be with me for a long time. . .David and Ryan meet as freshman in highschool, in 1968. The story is told from David's point of view. I don't know much about being gay in this era, and Mr. Skinner does a great job of showing not only the conservatism and homophobia, but also the acceptance of the era of "free love". As David and Ryan grow as a couple, they find and surround themselves with an amazing group of friends and family. Their relationship has the inevitable periods of becoming closer as well as drifting apart, but they remain solidly in love with each other, and far more mature than the average teenager. They have the usual adolescent fears and hopes for the future, but because both of them are so real, such a fascinating mix of innocent and complex, I never felt there was anything ordinary about their story. As they plan their way around Ryan's father's bullying, working out a way to have a life together despite different interests and ambitions, you start to see the happy ever after, with only a little foreshadowing. . .And when tragedy strikes, it is complete. And all the hope and love in the world cannot change the facts.And then it is compounded by betrayal.But life goes on, and some happiness can never be regained. And the lesson is that one can only be happy to have experienced it, and that kind of love truly is a once in a lifetime gift. The last page of the book leaves you with a hope for recovery, but the author wisely leaves it at that, and the readers can only imagine how David's life plays out from there. I, for one, imagine happiness.It was not just the story and the wonderful characterization that drew me in, though. The descriptions of David and Ryan's love for each other, for their friends, for David's family, is so touching and real I can't even describe it. There is no explicit sex, but what descriptions there are, Wow. Their first time together (which occurs well after they declare their love):"It was a night of many firsts. Mutual learning and teaching Tentative explorations: curious experimentations. There's nothing quite like the experience of first knowledge. We quake under it, thrill to it, learn from it and get consumed by it. Unnumbered heartbeats and breaths collide with the flux of sensations and thoughts that delight, confuse, and surprise as two people open themselves to each other. There's nothing to compare it to, and it will forever be a standard of it's own"The rest of the writing is equally beautiful. I feel so inadequate even trying to describe it, but just want to say READ THIS BOOK! I would not call it YA, even though the characters are young, and the sex is off page. This is one of those books, like A Separate Peace which is referenced in here, that has lessons and challenges for adult readers as well. I will be reading again. And I am definitely going to look into other works by this author.