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harasnicole's review
2.0
Disclaimer: I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I feel like I should start this review off by saying that I was hoping I would like this book. I was hoping to love it, even, and it hurts my heart a bit that I didn't.
The premise of this book is great, it was just executed very poorly. Besides the bland characters, the lack of backstories, and the random gay racist, the story just happened TOO FAST. I feel like the plot, or lack thereof, wasn't fully fleshed out like it could have been. So many characters, and not one of them I connected with, not even the narrator.
Adam is a 17-year-old boy who wants to be a graphic novelist and is understandably struggling with his sexuality, for fear of his parents finding out. The story opens with him in the mall with a high school friend who's flamboyantly gay, and they get "found out" by some nosy Christian neighbor and her daughter who act like they caught the two boys humping among the racks in The Gap when they were only looking at clothes (because apparently two boys can't go shopping together and remain straight). Adam's nightmare about his parents comes to life, and they send him off to this camp for teen sinners (homosexuality, premarital sex, and more).
For me, it's at this "camp" where this story begins to fall apart. I didn't feel the chemistry between Paul and Adam; I don't know why there's an attraction there besides both think that the other is good looking. There's a definite insta-love to the perceived "happy couple" (who can't even date because of where they are) that I disliked, too. I don't know why one character had to be not only gay but a blatant racist, as well. I'm pretty sure I understand what the author was trying to accomplish with this tale, but it came off as a bash toward Christianity and religion instead of the open dialogue that this could have been. Now, maybe that's being optimistic, but this book fell flat in its execution.
I feel like I should start this review off by saying that I was hoping I would like this book. I was hoping to love it, even, and it hurts my heart a bit that I didn't.
The premise of this book is great, it was just executed very poorly. Besides the bland characters, the lack of backstories, and the random gay racist, the story just happened TOO FAST. I feel like the plot, or lack thereof, wasn't fully fleshed out like it could have been. So many characters, and not one of them I connected with, not even the narrator.
Adam is a 17-year-old boy who wants to be a graphic novelist and is understandably struggling with his sexuality, for fear of his parents finding out. The story opens with him in the mall with a high school friend who's flamboyantly gay, and they get "found out" by some nosy Christian neighbor and her daughter who act like they caught the two boys humping among the racks in The Gap when they were only looking at clothes (because apparently two boys can't go shopping together and remain straight). Adam's nightmare about his parents comes to life, and they send him off to this camp for teen sinners (homosexuality, premarital sex, and more).
For me, it's at this "camp" where this story begins to fall apart. I didn't feel the chemistry between Paul and Adam; I don't know why there's an attraction there besides both think that the other is good looking. There's a definite insta-love to the perceived "happy couple" (who can't even date because of where they are) that I disliked, too. I don't know why one character had to be not only gay but a blatant racist, as well. I'm pretty sure I understand what the author was trying to accomplish with this tale, but it came off as a bash toward Christianity and religion instead of the open dialogue that this could have been. Now, maybe that's being optimistic, but this book fell flat in its execution.
jugglingpup's review against another edition
5.0
To see more reviews check out MI Book Reviews.
I got an ARC in return for an honest review on NetGalley.
At first I thought this was going to be a piece similar to The God Box (not a bad thing at all). I was glad that it went a bit beyond that book. It allowed different views on religion to sprout and expand. There was a focus on not just the issue that many religious people have with being gay, but also the issues with premarital sex and hypocrisy. This was a fantastic first look at major issues with organized religion (not religion itself as loving God and having a relationship with Him or other gods and goddess is not inherently bad). This book will save lives.
The pace is very quick. I read the book in two or three hours. I would have read it in one sitting, but I took my lunch at about half way through the book. It did not dwell on any issues for a long period of time, which was both good and bad. I felt there should have been more discussion on one of the major events towards the end of the book or at least some resources for teens going through the issues that the book raises. This book covers a lot of hard ground, I think adding the resources would help.
I am having a hard time describing how much I love this book without spoiling major points. The book is very much needed. It focused on spirituality and different ways of viewing Christianity. It also allowed by the end two gay characters to have a relationship that fit into those religious views (no sex before marriage, which is drastically not the norm when it comes to books about relationships especially about gay men).
I do have one note to the author: Thank you. This book is very important and I am beyond thankful for your work to provide it for teens (and adults) that need it. If I had this book as a teenager, I might have had an easier time with coming to terms with my religion and spirituality especially when I had issues based around faith when it came to my family. You have earned a very loud fan that will be promoting this book to people that can get this book into the hands of teens where it can be helpful.
I got an ARC in return for an honest review on NetGalley.
At first I thought this was going to be a piece similar to The God Box (not a bad thing at all). I was glad that it went a bit beyond that book. It allowed different views on religion to sprout and expand. There was a focus on not just the issue that many religious people have with being gay, but also the issues with premarital sex and hypocrisy. This was a fantastic first look at major issues with organized religion (not religion itself as loving God and having a relationship with Him or other gods and goddess is not inherently bad). This book will save lives.
The pace is very quick. I read the book in two or three hours. I would have read it in one sitting, but I took my lunch at about half way through the book. It did not dwell on any issues for a long period of time, which was both good and bad. I felt there should have been more discussion on one of the major events towards the end of the book or at least some resources for teens going through the issues that the book raises. This book covers a lot of hard ground, I think adding the resources would help.
I am having a hard time describing how much I love this book without spoiling major points. The book is very much needed. It focused on spirituality and different ways of viewing Christianity. It also allowed by the end two gay characters to have a relationship that fit into those religious views (no sex before marriage, which is drastically not the norm when it comes to books about relationships especially about gay men).
I do have one note to the author: Thank you. This book is very important and I am beyond thankful for your work to provide it for teens (and adults) that need it. If I had this book as a teenager, I might have had an easier time with coming to terms with my religion and spirituality especially when I had issues based around faith when it came to my family. You have earned a very loud fan that will be promoting this book to people that can get this book into the hands of teens where it can be helpful.
haylisreading's review against another edition
2.0
*Thanks to Netgalley for providing an arc for me! This does not have an impact on how I will be reviewing.*
2.25 stars
I was going to add a review in much earlier than right now but *shrugs* at least I'm doing it now.
There will be some minor spoilers below. Read with caution.
I want to start off by saying that I am not religious, so someone who is may have a different opinion of this book than I have. I went into this book apprehensive because it explicitly said in the synopsis that there were going to be religious aspects. I, of course, read the synopsis but decided to give it a go since there were LGBT characters. I have never read a book that wasn't nonfiction that was this much involved in religion (especially with an LGBT aspect to it).
Anyway.
These are just my thoughts.
I started out kind of skeptical, and I still kind of am, but I kind of liked it. There was a lot of potential for a book that handles the issues that it did, but it just didn't really do it for me. It felt like a very rough draft. Now, maybe the final edition is a little more rounded. But from what I read, I kind of doubt it.
Characters
Thinking back to the characters and how they all spoke and acted around each other makes me want to sigh. So I'll just start naming off some of the things I really had issues with character wise.
-The MC called a girl 'hussy' within the first page or two. And without a real reason?
-The MC's boyfriend(?), Mike, was labeled a 'flamboyant gay' very, very early on. It doesn't sit with me well that the author had to stereotype one of his characters as such rather than giving him a personality. Because, obviously, being a 'flamboyant gay' tells the reader all they need to know.
-Again, very early on, a girl that MC knows was JUST introduced and he calls her a 'bitch'. And that's all the reader needs to know about her, obviously. I quickly tire of the names that MC places on everyone without the reader even knowing who they are.
-MC's dad is sexist. Don't know if it was meant to make him seem more of a villain or???
-*Sigh* The casual use of the word 'slut'. Not necessary???
-I didn't care about any of the characters. There wasn't any real emotional connection.
-The MC's name is Adam. In case you were wondering. I just found it in my notes.
-One of Mc's bunk mates was so racist and generally awful. I'm wondering if the author intentionally tried to handle multiple issues in this one book. Sadly, it didn't work. Assuming that he had been. If not, I can't even begin to tell if this is all intentional or if it's just so MC would have a harder time at this camp.
-
-It got really tiring how MC's parents kept blaming him for being gay. Again, I understand that this is the point of the novel. But it was brought up again and again. We know. The readers haven't forgotten that he's done this 'ultimate sin'. But like I said, I am not religious so someone else can probably vouch for this book more than I have been.
-I liked some of the things that a character named Rhonda had said. "I'm tired of being taught to hate myself for who I am."
Writing
The low rating has to do with both the writing style and how the author chose to execute some of the plot.
-There were a loooooooooot of these huge blocks of dialog. Which, I don't think is necessarily a bad thing. Except there were no "he said" or "she said" or actions in between. It got pretty tiring to read and hard to keep track who was speaking. Maybe this was fixed in the final publication. I don't know. I only read the arc some months ago.
-There were a lot of homophobic slurs. Like. A lot. I get that that's the whole point of this book but it made me uncomfortable after a certain point.
-Everything started to escalate very quickly in the beginning. You went from reading MC at the mall with his kind-of-boyfriend to him being shipped off very quickly. I didn't see the need for how quickly everything sped through. But I feel that way about a lot of books. So maybe the pacing didn't mind some other readers of this book.
-I didn't really feel like this book was entirely necessary. Okay, that sounds really mean. Considering how much work the author probably put into this book. It just feels so outdated how his parents are freaking out and their pastor helps them decide to send him to, basically, "camp sinner". I guess it could be kind of realistic too? I have a friend who has parents that are very, very religious and don't approve of her orientation. In 2017. Anyway, maybe if this was published in earlier part of the 2000s that it could be labeled 'revolutionary'. We've come far in the LGBT rights as of now to publish something like this. That's just my opinion though.
-The writing reads like something like that of a fanfiction. Just kind of oddly paced and sloppy. Poor character development. The pacing is really jumpy and doesn't flow nicely.
-Sometimes the dialogue was really ridiculous and could have gone without.
-There weren't a lot of descriptors. Like, when they sang karaoke. It was basically "we sang, Rhonda booed, the song ended". And not much in between. It was just kind of disappointing.
-I didn't care about the romance. It was tiring to follow.
-There wasn't really a plot. Just a kind stuck at a church camp told he can't be gay
Overall
While I somewhat liked this book, I had a lot of problems with how the majority of the characters were portrayed and how they spoke to each other. I also felt that there were large blocks of dialog and not very much describing in between the dialog, which made it feel rushed. This is the first fiction book that I've read with much religion in it, and as someone who is not religious, it was kind of strange. I think it would be interesting to hear what someone who is religious would have to say about this book. Overall, after I got into the writing style, I enjoyed the story. And when it ended.
2.25 stars
I was going to add a review in much earlier than right now but *shrugs* at least I'm doing it now.
There will be some minor spoilers below. Read with caution.
I want to start off by saying that I am not religious, so someone who is may have a different opinion of this book than I have. I went into this book apprehensive because it explicitly said in the synopsis that there were going to be religious aspects. I, of course, read the synopsis but decided to give it a go since there were LGBT characters. I have never read a book that wasn't nonfiction that was this much involved in religion (especially with an LGBT aspect to it).
Anyway.
These are just my thoughts.
I started out kind of skeptical, and I still kind of am, but I kind of liked it. There was a lot of potential for a book that handles the issues that it did, but it just didn't really do it for me. It felt like a very rough draft. Now, maybe the final edition is a little more rounded. But from what I read, I kind of doubt it.
Characters
Thinking back to the characters and how they all spoke and acted around each other makes me want to sigh. So I'll just start naming off some of the things I really had issues with character wise.
-The MC called a girl 'hussy' within the first page or two. And without a real reason?
-The MC's boyfriend(?), Mike, was labeled a 'flamboyant gay' very, very early on. It doesn't sit with me well that the author had to stereotype one of his characters as such rather than giving him a personality. Because, obviously, being a 'flamboyant gay' tells the reader all they need to know.
-Again, very early on, a girl that MC knows was JUST introduced and he calls her a 'bitch'. And that's all the reader needs to know about her, obviously. I quickly tire of the names that MC places on everyone without the reader even knowing who they are.
-MC's dad is sexist. Don't know if it was meant to make him seem more of a villain or???
-*Sigh* The casual use of the word 'slut'. Not necessary???
-I didn't care about any of the characters. There wasn't any real emotional connection.
Spoiler
The only character I actually felt for was Martin.-The MC's name is Adam. In case you were wondering. I just found it in my notes.
-One of Mc's bunk mates was so racist and generally awful.
Spoiler
And another character suffered from a mental illness.-
Spoiler
So, MC had this original boyfriend which was the reason he was sent to this camp. What ever happened to him??? His only purpose was to send him to camp.-It got really tiring how MC's parents kept blaming him for being gay. Again, I understand that this is the point of the novel. But it was brought up again and again. We know. The readers haven't forgotten that he's done this 'ultimate sin'. But like I said, I am not religious so someone else can probably vouch for this book more than I have been.
-I liked some of the things that a character named Rhonda had said. "I'm tired of being taught to hate myself for who I am."
Writing
The low rating has to do with both the writing style and how the author chose to execute some of the plot.
-There were a loooooooooot of these huge blocks of dialog. Which, I don't think is necessarily a bad thing. Except there were no "he said" or "she said" or actions in between. It got pretty tiring to read and hard to keep track who was speaking. Maybe this was fixed in the final publication. I don't know. I only read the arc some months ago.
-There were a lot of homophobic slurs. Like. A lot. I get that that's the whole point of this book but it made me uncomfortable after a certain point.
-Everything started to escalate very quickly in the beginning. You went from reading MC at the mall with his kind-of-boyfriend to him being shipped off very quickly. I didn't see the need for how quickly everything sped through. But I feel that way about a lot of books. So maybe the pacing didn't mind some other readers of this book.
-I didn't really feel like this book was entirely necessary. Okay, that sounds really mean. Considering how much work the author probably put into this book. It just feels so outdated how his parents are freaking out and their pastor helps them decide to send him to, basically, "camp sinner". I guess it could be kind of realistic too? I have a friend who has parents that are very, very religious and don't approve of her orientation. In 2017. Anyway, maybe if this was published in earlier part of the 2000s that it could be labeled 'revolutionary'. We've come far in the LGBT rights as of now to publish something like this. That's just my opinion though.
-The writing reads like something like that of a fanfiction. Just kind of oddly paced and sloppy. Poor character development. The pacing is really jumpy and doesn't flow nicely.
-Sometimes the dialogue was really ridiculous and could have gone without.
-There weren't a lot of descriptors. Like, when they sang karaoke. It was basically "we sang, Rhonda booed, the song ended". And not much in between. It was just kind of disappointing.
-I didn't care about the romance. It was tiring to follow.
-There wasn't really a plot. Just a kind stuck at a church camp told he can't be gay
Overall
While I somewhat liked this book, I had a lot of problems with how the majority of the characters were portrayed and how they spoke to each other. I also felt that there were large blocks of dialog and not very much describing in between the dialog, which made it feel rushed. This is the first fiction book that I've read with much religion in it, and as someone who is not religious, it was kind of strange. I think it would be interesting to hear what someone who is religious would have to say about this book. Overall, after I got into the writing style, I enjoyed the story. And when it ended.
chelsealaurenauthor's review against another edition
2.0
I was provided a free copy via Netgalley.
Same Love is a book with a massive storyline that could have so much potential if implemented properly. As an author myself, I know how much work goes into writing a novel and getting it published. It's no easy feat and it breaks my heart to rate this at two stars.
This book is about a guy named Adam who is gay, but he comes from a highly religious family. After coming out to his parents, he gets sent to a Christian summer camp. As someone who already doesn't believe in organized religion, this didn't give a good argument for it, even though I felt like I should have ended the book with seeing both sides.
We have a book that deals with homosexuality, religion, and attempted suicide. Highly controversial topics that I didn't think were taken as seriously as they should have been. They were danced over. Every time something massive would happen, all of a sudden the subject changed or the scene changed.
It's a dialogue heavy book, which isn't the worst thing, if executed properly. There was a lot of telling me how I should feel about the character's and very little showing.
Adam falls for a boy named Paul at this summer camp and while you are supposed to be rooting for them together, the relationship falls short. You have character's telling you as a reader how wonderful Adam and Paul are together, yet haven't seen proof of this at all. I wanted to love Adam and Paul together. I wanted a heart-wrenching story about religion and homosexuality. The lesson the character's learn in it is a momental one that could have broken barriers.
I wanted this book to be a blatantly honest, shove-in-your-face, novel. A novel that stood on it's own, made the readers question their own beliefs, and came out with the same moral story. But it wasn't, unfortunately.
Same Love is a book with a massive storyline that could have so much potential if implemented properly. As an author myself, I know how much work goes into writing a novel and getting it published. It's no easy feat and it breaks my heart to rate this at two stars.
This book is about a guy named Adam who is gay, but he comes from a highly religious family. After coming out to his parents, he gets sent to a Christian summer camp. As someone who already doesn't believe in organized religion, this didn't give a good argument for it, even though I felt like I should have ended the book with seeing both sides.
We have a book that deals with homosexuality, religion, and attempted suicide. Highly controversial topics that I didn't think were taken as seriously as they should have been. They were danced over. Every time something massive would happen, all of a sudden the subject changed or the scene changed.
It's a dialogue heavy book, which isn't the worst thing, if executed properly. There was a lot of telling me how I should feel about the character's and very little showing.
Adam falls for a boy named Paul at this summer camp and while you are supposed to be rooting for them together, the relationship falls short. You have character's telling you as a reader how wonderful Adam and Paul are together, yet haven't seen proof of this at all. I wanted to love Adam and Paul together. I wanted a heart-wrenching story about religion and homosexuality. The lesson the character's learn in it is a momental one that could have broken barriers.
I wanted this book to be a blatantly honest, shove-in-your-face, novel. A novel that stood on it's own, made the readers question their own beliefs, and came out with the same moral story. But it wasn't, unfortunately.
sandylovesbooks's review against another edition
2.0
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.
I thought reading some lgbt+ books during pride month would be great. Not that I don't read any during the rest of the year. I do and most of these stories are so good and I love this genre. Anyway, it seems like I picked some bad ones. At least, this book was short. I read it in an afternoon. I liked the main characters Adam and Paul and I absolutely loved Rhonda. She is a badass girl and I loved her attitude about everything. Everyone else is just a giant stereotypical bad Christian. All the people at the camp, Adam's mom and dad, the "friends" of his mom, and especially, Randall, he is the biggest jerk but at the end you find out why but it doesn't change him being a jerk.
Some notes I wrote while reading this:
-Early on in the book Adam's mom's friend and her daughter see Adam with his friend shopping for clothes. They immediately think they are gay and are boyfriends. Why is it bad and a sin for two boys to shop together. I didn't realize shopping was a gateway event to sinful things.
-"God helps those who help themselves". First that is not in the Bible and, imo, it seems like God is always about coming to Him for help because we are weak and He is strong.
-Adam is talking to the head of the camp and he, Bishop something or other, says that masturbation is a sin. ? Do people really believe that still?
-Later on in the book, Rhonda runs away and is brought back to the camp. The Bishop decides that she should be, wait a minute let me quote this right, "Bishop wants to send a message to Rhonda that we care for her." And how do they do that? By shaming her? Everyone is told to not look at her and not talk to her. Wow, very Christian of them.
And this is the problem with this book. I think the author is trying to show how bad some people can be as racists, gay-shaming, and any thing that goes against what they believe haters, that he goes overboard. I'm sure there are people who have to deal with people like this and that's so terrible and wrong. I just wanted this story to be believable. This book is only 184 pages and the development of characters and story are just bad. I finished it so I could see if it improved but it didn't. So depressing it might make some suicidal but, wait, that was in here too.
I thought reading some lgbt+ books during pride month would be great. Not that I don't read any during the rest of the year. I do and most of these stories are so good and I love this genre. Anyway, it seems like I picked some bad ones. At least, this book was short. I read it in an afternoon. I liked the main characters Adam and Paul and I absolutely loved Rhonda. She is a badass girl and I loved her attitude about everything. Everyone else is just a giant stereotypical bad Christian. All the people at the camp, Adam's mom and dad, the "friends" of his mom, and especially, Randall, he is the biggest jerk but at the end you find out why but it doesn't change him being a jerk.
Some notes I wrote while reading this:
-Early on in the book Adam's mom's friend and her daughter see Adam with his friend shopping for clothes. They immediately think they are gay and are boyfriends. Why is it bad and a sin for two boys to shop together. I didn't realize shopping was a gateway event to sinful things.
-"God helps those who help themselves". First that is not in the Bible and, imo, it seems like God is always about coming to Him for help because we are weak and He is strong.
-Adam is talking to the head of the camp and he, Bishop something or other, says that masturbation is a sin. ? Do people really believe that still?
-Later on in the book, Rhonda runs away and is brought back to the camp. The Bishop decides that she should be, wait a minute let me quote this right, "Bishop wants to send a message to Rhonda that we care for her." And how do they do that? By shaming her? Everyone is told to not look at her and not talk to her. Wow, very Christian of them.
And this is the problem with this book. I think the author is trying to show how bad some people can be as racists, gay-shaming, and any thing that goes against what they believe haters, that he goes overboard. I'm sure there are people who have to deal with people like this and that's so terrible and wrong. I just wanted this story to be believable. This book is only 184 pages and the development of characters and story are just bad. I finished it so I could see if it improved but it didn't. So depressing it might make some suicidal but, wait, that was in here too.
elliottjunkyard's review against another edition
1.0
A copy was provided by the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This book was like if someone took Saved! and But I'm A Cheerleader!, took out all the comedy and satire, and just kept all the toxic parts. The only thing I liked about it was the character of Paul, but honestly he deserved a better book.
Adam is a gay teen, in the closet because of his hyper religious Christian parents. He gets sent to a Christian camp after the church gossip catches him and his best friend Mike -- aka the most flamboyant kid in school -- hanging out at the mall. Mike is every flamboyant gay stereotype. He calls Adam, "girl" and says things like, "My parents weren't thrilled to have Beyoncé for a son." The flamboyantly gay character works better when we have more than three pages to get to know them and know that they're more than just a tired stereotype. (Tiny Cooper, anyone?) But we don't get that development with Mike.
At first I thought that the camp was meant to be a "pray the gay away" or similar reprogramming camp. Adam's first interaction with a girl on the bus to camp involves a conversation about what they did to get sent there. Rhonda got caught having sex with her boyfriend. She makes sure to point out that her boyfriend is Muslim, and it's unclear if the sex or his religion were worse in her parents eyes.
But when we meet Adam's cabin mates, Martin, Randall and Paul, it gets a little fuzzy. Martin is an alcoholic diabetic Native American who lives with his grandmother on a reservation. (And wow, way to play into Native American stereotypes.) The camp counselor points out that Randall is here for the second year in a row. Adam's future love interest, Paul, chose to come so he could work on his relationship with God. The only other things that we find out about the camp is that 1) it costs a pretty penny and 2) Adam's parents dipped into his college savings fund because they weren't going to waste their own money fixing their defective kid. Parents of the year, they are definitely not.
There are a lot of really difficult scenes involving group therapy which I am assuming are meant to show how terrible the camp is and how bad their ideology is, but honestly it just seemed like a lot of misery porn to me. As the book progresses it's clear that Martin was using alcohol to deal with depression over his mother walking out on him. Martin seeks support from the group because he doesn't feel like his prayers are being answered. In response the counselor basically tells him that he should just pray harder and if he doubts God, he's unworthy of His love. At this point, I literally put my Kindle down and said, "This kid is going to try to kill himself if this keeps up." Guess what happens a chapter later?
Further highlights include the counselors telling campers to "shun" certain kids for their bad behavior, Randall being a racists for no apparent reason (an actual quote directed at Martin "...poor Indian kid with diabetes. The world treats you like a second-class citizen...boo hoo") and the Pastor telling Adam that he too is "a straight man trapped in a gay body" but since he underwent conversation therapy he's SO HAPPY and Adam can be too.
Adam and Paul share some very sweet moments together, but they're drowned out by a lot of Christian guilt and the Fear of Getting Caught. In the end Adam leaves before the summer is up, rescued by Mike and his mom and goes to live with them. His disastrous relationship with his parents is up in the air.
This book was like if someone took Saved! and But I'm A Cheerleader!, took out all the comedy and satire, and just kept all the toxic parts. The only thing I liked about it was the character of Paul, but honestly he deserved a better book.
Adam is a gay teen, in the closet because of his hyper religious Christian parents. He gets sent to a Christian camp after the church gossip catches him and his best friend Mike -- aka the most flamboyant kid in school -- hanging out at the mall. Mike is every flamboyant gay stereotype. He calls Adam, "girl" and says things like, "My parents weren't thrilled to have Beyoncé for a son." The flamboyantly gay character works better when we have more than three pages to get to know them and know that they're more than just a tired stereotype. (Tiny Cooper, anyone?) But we don't get that development with Mike.
Spoiler
By the time Adam gets home, the church gossip has already ratted Adam out to his parents. Adam's dad admonishes him immediately for hanging out with a "f*ggot." Apparently straight boys don't go to the mall with their friends? Next up they pull out Adam's sketchbook of dudes kissing and after half a dozen more f-slurs, it's off to Christian camp for Adam.At first I thought that the camp was meant to be a "pray the gay away" or similar reprogramming camp. Adam's first interaction with a girl on the bus to camp involves a conversation about what they did to get sent there. Rhonda got caught having sex with her boyfriend. She makes sure to point out that her boyfriend is Muslim, and it's unclear if the sex or his religion were worse in her parents eyes.
But when we meet Adam's cabin mates, Martin, Randall and Paul, it gets a little fuzzy. Martin is an alcoholic diabetic Native American who lives with his grandmother on a reservation. (And wow, way to play into Native American stereotypes.) The camp counselor points out that Randall is here for the second year in a row. Adam's future love interest, Paul, chose to come so he could work on his relationship with God. The only other things that we find out about the camp is that 1) it costs a pretty penny and 2) Adam's parents dipped into his college savings fund because they weren't going to waste their own money fixing their defective kid. Parents of the year, they are definitely not.
There are a lot of really difficult scenes involving group therapy which I am assuming are meant to show how terrible the camp is and how bad their ideology is, but honestly it just seemed like a lot of misery porn to me. As the book progresses it's clear that Martin was using alcohol to deal with depression over his mother walking out on him. Martin seeks support from the group because he doesn't feel like his prayers are being answered. In response the counselor basically tells him that he should just pray harder and if he doubts God, he's unworthy of His love. At this point, I literally put my Kindle down and said, "This kid is going to try to kill himself if this keeps up." Guess what happens a chapter later?
Further highlights include the counselors telling campers to "shun" certain kids for their bad behavior, Randall being a racists for no apparent reason (an actual quote directed at Martin "...poor Indian kid with diabetes. The world treats you like a second-class citizen...boo hoo") and the Pastor telling Adam that he too is "a straight man trapped in a gay body" but since he underwent conversation therapy he's SO HAPPY and Adam can be too.
Adam and Paul share some very sweet moments together, but they're drowned out by a lot of Christian guilt and the Fear of Getting Caught. In the end Adam leaves before the summer is up, rescued by Mike and his mom and goes to live with them. His disastrous relationship with his parents is up in the air.
sammah's review against another edition
2.0
Note: I was provided an eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The basis of this book has a lot of potential. However, the idea wasn't executed as well as it might have been. Especially not with this particular genre starting to grow and expand at a pretty fast pace.
The author has good ideas and the characters, even the ones in the background, are all interesting and worth reading about. There was just so much missing, and the story itself wasn't fleshed out well enough. Especially not the beginning of the book, where we get very little about the main characters past. I felt like I didn't truly know anything about Adam, except for the facts that were the basis of the story: 1) that he's gay and 2) that he's from a super religious family.
It would have been nice to learn a bit ore about Adam, about his parents, and about how he was raised. Instead we are thrown headlong into the story, where we immediately meet his friend Mike who also has no real background besides also being gay. Things just escalated far too quickly from there, and the pacing really threw me off. So much so that I didn't anticipate liking this book much just based on the first couple of chapters.
It definitely got better from there, and it has so much potential. The author could really do a lot with this, it just needs to be molded and expanded on a bit more. It also felt incredibly short, which isn't always a bad thing, but in this case really might be not so great. I finished it in an hour and twenty minutes at work, and that was with interruptions from people coming in and out. I just really think that if it were fleshed out more, that it could be really good instead of just okay.
The basis of this book has a lot of potential. However, the idea wasn't executed as well as it might have been. Especially not with this particular genre starting to grow and expand at a pretty fast pace.
The author has good ideas and the characters, even the ones in the background, are all interesting and worth reading about. There was just so much missing, and the story itself wasn't fleshed out well enough. Especially not the beginning of the book, where we get very little about the main characters past. I felt like I didn't truly know anything about Adam, except for the facts that were the basis of the story: 1) that he's gay and 2) that he's from a super religious family.
It would have been nice to learn a bit ore about Adam, about his parents, and about how he was raised. Instead we are thrown headlong into the story, where we immediately meet his friend Mike who also has no real background besides also being gay. Things just escalated far too quickly from there, and the pacing really threw me off. So much so that I didn't anticipate liking this book much just based on the first couple of chapters.
It definitely got better from there, and it has so much potential. The author could really do a lot with this, it just needs to be molded and expanded on a bit more. It also felt incredibly short, which isn't always a bad thing, but in this case really might be not so great. I finished it in an hour and twenty minutes at work, and that was with interruptions from people coming in and out. I just really think that if it were fleshed out more, that it could be really good instead of just okay.
brittmariasbooks's review against another edition
2.0
I always feel that with shorter stories that there is a lack of character development. I know that only some much is possible within 89 pages but I want more from my stories.
andrea_f's review against another edition
1.0
I feel like the idea behind this book was good but it was poorly executed.
It does follow a plot that has been done before: the whole conversion therapy camp where queer kids come together. It has been seen before but it could have worked a little different because this book actually has more diversity than the regular books.
It is also a short book, so there are many issues that are not developed enough. Martin is one of the characters that suffers the most with this. He is Native American, he has depression and. He is also recovering from alcoholism. All those things are just mentioned in passing and I feel like they could have been explained a bit more. I especially say this because alcoholism is a pretty serious topic, particularly when it involves teenagers, and it is just mentioned without any kind of explanation. One of the things that I found to be more apalling is that no one actually tries to help him at any moment, he is just left there on his own.
I have to mention that there are a couple of times when the main character makes misogyinistic comments, especially towards his mother, that do not sit well with me.
Regarding the writing style, it was really simple, with short sentences and a majority of dialogue.
To sum up, this could have been my type of book but it sadly wasn't.
I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
It does follow a plot that has been done before: the whole conversion therapy camp where queer kids come together. It has been seen before but it could have worked a little different because this book actually has more diversity than the regular books.
It is also a short book, so there are many issues that are not developed enough. Martin is one of the characters that suffers the most with this. He is Native American, he has depression and
Spoiler
he tries to commit suicideI have to mention that there are a couple of times when the main character makes misogyinistic comments, especially towards his mother, that do not sit well with me.
Regarding the writing style, it was really simple, with short sentences and a majority of dialogue.
To sum up, this could have been my type of book but it sadly wasn't.
I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
acanuckreader's review against another edition
3.0
Received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book was well written, but in all honesty it made me feel quite tense through my reading of it. Perhaps because I knew a few people who would use their religion as a way to punish others whilst I was growing up.
There is an honesty to this book I didn't expect, considering it is aimed toward a YA audience. Adam is a character who despite the adversity he faces sticks close to his ideals and who he is as a human, something that is truly hard to do at the age of seventeen especially.
The other characters, such as Paul were interesting as well but I did find myself wishing this book was just a touch longer, with more information about the other secondary characters such as Rhonda, Paul and Martin.
The racism and sexism inherent in this novel also served to rile me and make me feel uncomfortable, which I know was partially the point. It was realistic in its casual nature, as most people who believe in such things don't even realize there is something wrong with being that way. It was nice to have a voice point out how wrong it is to treat women and minorities the way they were treated within this novel and are often treated in the real world.
Also whilst I can understand some people would be bothered by the "Stereotype" of Adam's friend Mike I embrace his presence within this novel, as ignoring that gay people like that exist is an erasure in its own right.
Overall I would recommend this book to others, who are interested in different point of views on what it is like to be Christian members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
This book was well written, but in all honesty it made me feel quite tense through my reading of it. Perhaps because I knew a few people who would use their religion as a way to punish others whilst I was growing up.
There is an honesty to this book I didn't expect, considering it is aimed toward a YA audience. Adam is a character who despite the adversity he faces sticks close to his ideals and who he is as a human, something that is truly hard to do at the age of seventeen especially.
The other characters, such as Paul were interesting as well but I did find myself wishing this book was just a touch longer, with more information about the other secondary characters such as Rhonda, Paul and Martin.
The racism and sexism inherent in this novel also served to rile me and make me feel uncomfortable, which I know was partially the point. It was realistic in its casual nature, as most people who believe in such things don't even realize there is something wrong with being that way. It was nice to have a voice point out how wrong it is to treat women and minorities the way they were treated within this novel and are often treated in the real world.
Also whilst I can understand some people would be bothered by the "Stereotype" of Adam's friend Mike I embrace his presence within this novel, as ignoring that gay people like that exist is an erasure in its own right.
Overall I would recommend this book to others, who are interested in different point of views on what it is like to be Christian members of the LGBTQIA+ community.