BOOK REVIEW - DON'T LET ME GO by J.H. TRUMBLE - MATURE YA CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE - M/M - KENSINGTON BOOKS

By: J.H Trumble

Published By: Kensington Books

Released : Available Now

Details: Paperback from library, 337 Pages

RATING: 4.25 TEENAGE LOVE IS HARD!

Blurb: Goodreads

Some people spend their whole lives looking for the right partner. Nate Schaper found his in high school. In the eight months since their cautious flirting became a real, honest, tell-the-parents relationship, Nate and Adam have been inseparable. Even when local kids take their homophobia to brutal levels, Nate is undaunted. He and Adam are rock solid. Two parts of a whole. Yin and yang.

But when Adam graduates and takes an Off-Broadway job in New York—at Nate’s insistence—that certainty begins to flicker. Nate starts a blog to vent his frustrations and becomes the center of a school controversy, drawing ire and support in equal amounts. But it is the attention of a new boy who is looking for more than guidance that forces him to confront who and what he really wants.

J.H. Trumble’s debut, DON’T LET ME GO, is a witty, beautifully written novel that is both a sweet story of love and long-distance relationships, and a timely discourse about bullying, bigotry, and hate in high schools.

BOOK REVIEW by Michelle:

I have been wanting to read this book for a couple years now, ever since I saw a YA author I totally dig had read it.

This is a mature YA read. 

We watch Nate and Adam through flashbacks and in the moment, and all the angst of their relationship and what it means to be gay in high school.

I am in two minds with Nate’s character.

I am in one and a half minds with Adam’s character.

There is a lot of teenage angst in this story and I am not a huge fan of too much angst, but taking into consideration they are eighteen year old boys and Nate has had a lot happen to him that shows a much more vulnerable side.

I really liked Nate more when he was being the older wiser one with Luke’s character. When he was with Adam, he seemed insecure and in need of some professional help due to a reason.

Adam for the most part was a really awesome character. A lot of misunderstanding caused a lot of maybe unnecessary angst, but hey, a lot of readers like a good angst filled read.

There was one thing about this story that I had a lot of trouble with and it was the flashbacks coming in out of chronological order. I had to keep checking where I was. It made the read slower for me. Some readers won’t have a problem with it, and I appreciate that. I personally was having trouble with ‘last August’, ‘last February’, ‘last November’.

Each to their own.

I get what J.H was doing, but it made it jumbled for me.

Sometimes I felt I wanted to bang Nate and Adam’s heads together and I had to keep reminding myself, being a teenager, hormonal, in love and lust with another guy comes with its insecurities, especially when an outsider is not helping. Especially when you are also coming out and what prejudices come with that.

I absolutely LOVE Danial. He is funny and caring. The more you get to know Danial, the more you will love him. He is a very strong guy.

I was curious to why he was so open about not caring about how Nate behaved around him and his natural approach as a straight guy to fulfilling anything Nate came up with. He is a rarity and I really love him for it. You have to read the story to know what I mean. I don’t mean because Nate is simply gay. Danial did a lot of things that a friend of a gay guy wouldn’t, at the risk to his own safety in a high school that is homophobic and is challenging for Nate to go to every day. Nobody seemed to care what Danial did for Nate, but they cared a whole lot about how Nate portrayed himself.

Interesting.

There are things I really liked about this story and some where I felt too much was thrown into this one book when it came to ticking the boxes about a gay teenager and what happens when you come out, or when you fight back, or when you push the envelope... and the list goes on.

The sexual side was told really well and the inner monologuing from Nate I did enjoy when he was wearing his t-shirts and being strong about who he was. One of my best male friends in high school was gay. He hid it from everybody while at school. I can understand from reading this book why you would. Teenagers are not as wise and understanding and safety is an issue.

I think the last couple chapters had me shaking my head a little as I didn’t understand why that had to happen. I put myself in a female/male relationship frame of mind and think to myself hard about what happened in those chapters and I have trouble understanding why it should be ok to do that in a male/male relationship. I’d be pretty pissed off too.

Yeah, just not sure why that wouldn’t effect somebody else...the whole time Nate was behaving the way he was and then he did that...I lost a lot of respect for Nate. I found it hard to understand his reasonings. 

I did really enjoy this book and am very glad I got around to finally reading it. I still rate it very highly and can see from reviews that some people felt my way and some had no problems and loved it all the way.

I will certainly read more from this author.

Michelle