Reviews tagging 'Outing'

When You Call My Name by Tucker Shaw

3 reviews

betweentheshelves's review against another edition

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emotional sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Such an important story, capturing the AIDS crisis of the 80s and 90s. I think teens who are interested in learning more about that particular time period will appreciate this story because Shaw includes a lot of details to make that aspect of the book authentic.

That being said, Shaw also includes a lot of details about the 90s in general, so much so that it sometimes overtakes the rest of the story. Both Ben and Adam didn't have disntinct enough voices for me, so their narratives often blurred together and I forgot who was who.

All in all, know this is a pretty heavy book going in, but still such an important story to tell. 
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shamelesslyash's review

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emotional informative sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I wanted to say this was a love letter to New York in the 90s, but it's not. It's something more, something deeper in meaning. We have two boys, Adam and Ben, experiencing a different world; a world many of us don't know today. 90s New York, the LGBTQIA community, was in the middle of a plague. People were dying every minute of every day from AIDS. There was nothing they could do but hope for the best. Adam's story is finding a partner, someone you love, who dies from AIDS. While Ben's story is about finding himself in the city and who he is. Their stories only overlap a handful of times in the book, but both are stories we need.

So many young queer people these days don't know their history. There is a whole generation gone that can't help them navigate the LGBTQIA world. Queer Elders are few and far between. We needed this book now, more then ever.
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thesawyerbean's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

All flowers do is die, Adam thinks. You buy them because they are beautiful, but as soon as you bring them home, you realise that they have already begun to die. Swiftly, or slowly, it doesn’t matter. They only die, and all you can do is watch.


When You Call My Name is a story of two teenage boys, coming of age in New York City in 1990. It’s a story of angst, tragedy, sickness, violence, loss; but also one of hope, community, adventure, love. The two protagonists, Ben & Adam, fates elegantly intertwined, navigate coming to terms with their sexualities, relationships and futures in a disapproving society plagued by the shadow of HIV/AIDS. It is an ugly portrait of the withering reality of the disease and the grief it wrought, while displaying the strength and bravery of the queer communities that came together in solidarity and love in spite of it.

Both heartbreaking and heartwarming, this novel is a delight to read and carries an important piece of history within it. The author’s note at the end really wrapped it up in such a beautiful way, providing personal experiences from Shaw himself that allow you to see his point of view.


If you wait, if you stand still, if you watch and maybe listen, too, then you start to see all the layers and textures and movements and messages. You see all these colours start to emerge from the grayness. Vibrant, alive, just waiting to be seen.
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