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You are here: Home > Forum > A Place of Safety > Literary Merit > The Girl for Me
icon6.gif The Girl for Me  [message #67479] Sun, 24 February 2013 18:17 Go to next message
timmy

Has no life at all
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13739



This is one of the more unusual stories that we've brought you. The Girl for Me goes to places no other tales here have gone. And, just when you think you know where it's headed, it steps neatly aside.



Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
Re: The Girl for Me  [message #67480 is a reply to message #67479] Mon, 25 February 2013 09:22 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Nick Deverill is currently offline  Nick Deverill

Toe is in the water

Registered: November 2012
Messages: 78



I've read the first chapter and I can't wait for more! Good characterisation and deals with an issue that is very much under discussed. And introduces it well.
Re: The Girl for Me  [message #67481 is a reply to message #67479] Mon, 25 February 2013 10:06 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Kitzyma is currently offline  Kitzyma

Likes it here

Registered: March 2012
Messages: 215



It's different, and I like different.
It's original, and I like original.
It's unpredictable, and I like unpredictable.
It's drawn me in.

I'm looking forward to it all being posted. Is the 17 chapters definite or just 'so far probably 17'?

Re: The Girl for Me  [message #67487 is a reply to message #67481] Mon, 25 February 2013 19:41 Go to previous messageGo to next message
timmy

Has no life at all
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13739



It's very unusual if we state a chapter total and are not right, but we've been wrong with another tale. I know this is a complete work, not an estimate, and I know we have all the chapters, because the ending is rather interesting.

I adore this story. It grabbed me and dragged me in, screaming with joy.

[Updated on: Mon, 25 February 2013 19:41]




Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
3 chapters in now  [message #67527 is a reply to message #67479] Sat, 02 March 2013 17:06 Go to previous messageGo to next message
timmy

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Location: UK, in Devon
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I am going to suggest that no-one could have predicted that turn of events! I said it would do a neat sidestep. Smile



Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
Re: 6 chapters in now  [message #67544 is a reply to message #67527] Sun, 10 March 2013 21:53 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Nick Deverill is currently offline  Nick Deverill

Toe is in the water

Registered: November 2012
Messages: 78



Captivating! Can't wait for the next instalment.

Probably needs a health warning when complete. Not the usual sort thing, just that if you are a fast reader, slow down cos you might miss something!
Re: 6 chapters in now  [message #67545 is a reply to message #67544] Sun, 10 March 2013 22:53 Go to previous messageGo to next message
timmy

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Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13739



The great part is that nothing's predictable. Every time you're certain of the outcome, that certainty is dashed from your hands. It's made me revisit my thoughts on a number of topics, real life serious topics.

[Updated on: Sun, 10 March 2013 22:53]




Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
Now chapter 8 Re: 6 chapters in now  [message #67551 is a reply to message #67545] Sat, 16 March 2013 00:10 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Rodney is currently offline  Rodney

Getting started
Location: Indiana
Registered: February 2013
Messages: 9




Timmy I relate to this story causing one to look at things in a new way. "The Girl for Me" opens up new thought process for me. For the first time this story has me really thinking - I mean really thinking - about how love is so much more about the PERSON than about sexual orientation. That's a new concept for me. Also it is really neat to read a story about hope coming into the life of a person who, even as wonderful and talented as he/she is, has been alone and doubtful about where he/she might fit in; and, in realizing that hope, becoming at the same time the most wonderful and perfect part of another person's life who also needed rescue even though he would have appeared to have everything.

Awesome the way that is progressing. I hope I am not spoiling the story by saying too much. I do really like it.



Rod Morrison
Re: Now chapter 8 Re: 6 chapters in now  [message #67552 is a reply to message #67551] Sat, 16 March 2013 09:01 Go to previous messageGo to next message
timmy

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Location: UK, in Devon
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Messages: 13739



I find the way this tale unfolds to be quite amazing. There is an odd parallel in Cy-kun's Radio story, though not at all obvious until one thinks about it.

The more I read The Girl For Me the more I see the huge parallels between homosexual and heterosexual teenage dating and romance.



Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
Re: The Girl for Me  [message #67647 is a reply to message #67479] Tue, 09 April 2013 11:38 Go to previous messageGo to next message
solsticeman is currently offline  solsticeman

Likes it here

Registered: November 2012
Messages: 109



I second Timmy's comment.... nice novel theme, it worked for me.
Re: The Girl for Me  [message #67649 is a reply to message #67479] Fri, 12 April 2013 06:13 Go to previous messageGo to next message
dgt224 is currently offline  dgt224

Toe is in the water
Location: USA
Registered: May 2011
Messages: 81



I don't usually like to post "Me, too!" comments, but I have to agree with timmy, et al. I had my doubts during the first two or three chapters - at first glance, Daniel isn't the sort of character I would find particularly engaging. But the characters and their situations and interactions are fascinating, and now I almost wish I had read more slowly, so that there would still be a few chapters ahead of me.
Re: The Girl for Me  [message #67650 is a reply to message #67649] Fri, 12 April 2013 07:05 Go to previous messageGo to next message
timmy

Has no life at all
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13739



It's an unusual story in that I could not identify with either main character, and yet I loved the tale.



Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
Re: The Girl for Me  [message #67659 is a reply to message #67650] Sat, 13 April 2013 01:48 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Smokr is currently offline  Smokr

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Location: the burning former USofA
Registered: July 2010
Messages: 399



I think it's pretty interesting. Different, which is nice, and easy to follow.
I enjoyed what I've read so far and am looking forward to more of it.



raysstories.com
Re: The Girl for Me  [message #67660 is a reply to message #67479] Sat, 13 April 2013 10:55 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Kitzyma is currently offline  Kitzyma

Likes it here

Registered: March 2012
Messages: 215





The story is original, well written, and the interaction between the two main characters, especially the dialogue, is very well done. There are some story twists that I didn't expect, though in retrospect I might have expected them if I'd thought about it in advance.

The whole thing flows well and, as Smokr said, it's easy to read.

I enjoyed it and recommend it.




**** POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT *****


For my personal taste, however, I thought such an original story deserved a more believable ending. The end was too fantastical for me to be able to suspend disbelief. Maybe if the story had been set further into the future I might have accepted it as being not too far in the realm of fantasy.

That's just my personal opinion, however, and I'm sure others will disagree.



Re: The Girl for Me  [message #67661 is a reply to message #67660] Sat, 13 April 2013 11:29 Go to previous messageGo to next message
timmy

Has no life at all
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13739



I think the ending does the story justice, though. It is not so far in the future as to be unbelievable, but it is in a nation where it is less believable but its current characteristics.

Isn't it had to write these comments without spoiling the plot!

What I can say very clearly is that the story did something unusual. It made me think hard.



Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
Re: The Girl for Me  [message #67662 is a reply to message #67661] Sat, 13 April 2013 12:32 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Kitzyma is currently offline  Kitzyma

Likes it here

Registered: March 2012
Messages: 215



"timmy wrote on Sat, 13 April 2013 11:29"
but it is in a nation where it is less believable but its current characteristics.

--

Yes, if it had been set in Europe, maybe a Scandinavian country or The Netherlands, I probably wouldn't have had that quibble about the ending. However, I doubt that many of today's readers will live long enough to see something like that in the USA.

As an aside...
Sometimes, to really discuss a good story, it helps to mention events in the plot. Is the 'spoiler alert' mechanism the best way to do that? If so, would there be a recommended layout, e.g. number of blank lines before possible spoiler text?

Re: The Girl for Me  [message #67663 is a reply to message #67662] Sat, 13 April 2013 14:19 Go to previous messageGo to next message
timmy

Has no life at all
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13739



There is no easy way to handle spoilers in this format



Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
Re: The Girl for Me  [message #67665 is a reply to message #67663] Sun, 14 April 2013 09:48 Go to previous messageGo to next message
solsticeman is currently offline  solsticeman

Likes it here

Registered: November 2012
Messages: 109



"No easy way"... agreed! But those of us who write in to comment, or even more so those of us who write reviews for compilation sites should really think about the spoiler aspect of what we post. I was extraordinarily lucky with "The Girl for Me" and even more so Alan Dwight's "Unfinished Symphony". I managed to come to both without having read a spoiler or review and the impacts of both were so much greater.

There are a few reviewers that do such a thorough job that the review is a precis of the whole plot, and that spoils it for me.
Re: The Girl for Me  [message #67747 is a reply to message #67665] Sun, 12 May 2013 06:21 Go to previous messageGo to next message
saben is currently offline  saben

On fire!

Registered: May 2003
Messages: 1537



I really liked this story, it did a great job of breaking down social norms regarding certain things.

I personally found the ending believable but for my tastes a little abrupt. There wasn't enough development of the process that might lead to the epilogue. It's like the climax happened and then BAM STORY OVER. I wish it would have been a bit of a longer story.
Re: The Girl for Me  [message #67749 is a reply to message #67747] Sun, 12 May 2013 08:48 Go to previous message
timmy

Has no life at all
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13739



The thing is, and without giving stuff away, what could possibly have happened in the intervening period that was not mundane? Not one iota of this tale is mundane, though it appears as if it is heading that way until it bites you in the rump in every chapter.

I think what you are saying in reality is "I would like to know them even better." But you do. We know them.

[Updated on: Sun, 12 May 2013 08:48]




Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
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