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A review by adaminmelrose
Sometime After Midnight by L. Philips
3.0
So imagine if in 1967, after Capitol Records killed Smile, Brian Wilson jumped off a roof, leaving behind his nine year-old kid. Fast-forward about ten years, and Brian Wilson's kid—let's call him William Bryson—is just as good as music as ol' Bri was, but lives in a lower-middle class house with his stepmom and works at the Dairy Queen.
Imagine also if the guy in charge of Capitol Records was still in charge ten years later, and his own kid is a Richie Rich type who's famous for being famous. He can really sing well, though, and doesn't know how to make Daddy at Capitol happy.
Now Richie Rich and William Bryson meet. And fight for a hot second cause William's mad that Richie's dad was a part of Brian's death. But they get over it cause it turns out they both work really well together as songwriting partners and also they totally wanna smooch all the time.
That's the book. That's the whole book right there. It's a what-if scenario around a Brian Wilson-esque musical talent whose schizophrenia pushed him to take his life and the people who were left behind. Only it's not even that complex cause nobody has more than one and a half dimensions. Characters who serve only as caricatures for 90% of the book suddenly gain a heart when asked a question more than twice. There's no real conflict between the two main characters, only fake conflict that could—wait for it—be resolved by talking.
Also, and I read the audiobook edition of this, one of the narrators did an excellent job...but not at portraying the character he was depicting. I'm sorry, but I don't buy that someone described as wearing suspenders with shorts over a t-shirt with Sharpied Chucks sounding like an 80s rock star off stage.
What I will say for this book, as I've said on other queer YA novels I've read, is that I would have adored this book if I'd been the right age when I read it. I could have really benefitted from a book like this when I was the characters' age, something that normalized queer relationships. That didn't exist at the time, or at least I didn't know to go look for it. So I give credit for this book's very existence, even as I criticize it on flaws that my mid-30s mind finds easily.
Imagine also if the guy in charge of Capitol Records was still in charge ten years later, and his own kid is a Richie Rich type who's famous for being famous. He can really sing well, though, and doesn't know how to make Daddy at Capitol happy.
Now Richie Rich and William Bryson meet. And fight for a hot second cause William's mad that Richie's dad was a part of Brian's death. But they get over it cause it turns out they both work really well together as songwriting partners and also they totally wanna smooch all the time.
That's the book. That's the whole book right there. It's a what-if scenario around a Brian Wilson-esque musical talent whose schizophrenia pushed him to take his life and the people who were left behind. Only it's not even that complex cause nobody has more than one and a half dimensions. Characters who serve only as caricatures for 90% of the book suddenly gain a heart when asked a question more than twice. There's no real conflict between the two main characters, only fake conflict that could—wait for it—be resolved by talking.
Also, and I read the audiobook edition of this, one of the narrators did an excellent job...but not at portraying the character he was depicting. I'm sorry, but I don't buy that someone described as wearing suspenders with shorts over a t-shirt with Sharpied Chucks sounding like an 80s rock star off stage.
What I will say for this book, as I've said on other queer YA novels I've read, is that I would have adored this book if I'd been the right age when I read it. I could have really benefitted from a book like this when I was the characters' age, something that normalized queer relationships. That didn't exist at the time, or at least I didn't know to go look for it. So I give credit for this book's very existence, even as I criticize it on flaws that my mid-30s mind finds easily.