|
American_Alex
|
 |
Toe is in the water |
Location: New York, upstate
Registered: October 2017
Messages: 98
|
|
|
In the YA/gay book genre, there are a ton of Kindle books available, many for $5 or less. Some are great, some are crap, but regardless, every one of them has glowing reviews on Amazon, most of which are probably sockpuppet reviews. So, I thought this might be a good place for people to share the gems and the clinkers they have found there. I'll start out with a couple books I've recently read:
The Climb, by Damien Benoit-Ledoux:
Rating: 9/10
For a YA/gay novel, this series is probably the best of the year. It deals with a young man who is a ward of the state (a common scenario in the genre lately, it seems), with strong , believable characters, drama, plot twists, and real romance. This book doesn't shy away from difficult issues either, like alcoholism, homophobia, psychological trauma and heartbreak.Skyler, the main character, is an orphan who has already had a lot of hardship in his life, and when his sexuality is publicly revealed his entire world is destroyed, yet he perseveres and starts all over again in a new town with a new family. The book follows his personal growth through extremely difficult circumstances, while never becoming saccharine or predictable. And as for the romance scenes, well, this is as good as I've ever seen in young gay literature. This book is destined to become a classic. As far as sex in the book, I'd rate it "PG", nothing explicit, really only inferred. I wouldn't hesitate giving this book to any young gay male, or even their parents.
The only real criticisms I have on this book are minor; he goes from bitter reality to near-paradise in one move, which I think strains credulity just a bit. Also, it seems that all of his issues clear up over a single summer, which seems just a bit extreme. He goes from being a closeted fundamentalist to being a proud, out teen with a boyfriend and a crew of out-and-proud teen friends in only 90 days...well, I guess it's a nice fantasy.
This seems to be just the first book in a series which the author is still producing. I would've liked a bit more development of some of the characters in the first part of the book (which we never hear from again), but being that this is a series, they may show up again in future volumes.
"Able was I ere I saw Elba"
|
] 
A Place of Safety
Search
Help
Register
Login
Home
