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A review by jeffrossbooks
When You Get the Chance by Robin Stevenson, Tom Ryan
5.0
(Disclosure - Robin and Tom are friends of mine).
I'm friends with the authors which got me to read the book. But the fact that it is so much fun, so well done, and just a great story kept me reading.
The ideas here, of defining one's self, of having others define you of trying to be the person you want to be, of the difficulties and near impossibility of ever really knowing who you want to be, and yet, in the end, understanding that we're all changing all the time.... it's all here.
The characters are great because they are real. They are not always people you'd want to hang out with, but even they understand that. They do things which they shouldn't, and they know it. They're selfish sometimes as well. They are REAL. I love this because they are not the perfect stand-ins for 'all teens' or 'gay teens, queer teens, &c'. They are simply the people they are trying to figure things out.
The secondary characters feel real as well. And Paige.... Gold.
In the end, this is a book many people should read. I know it will become a favorite in the LGBTQIA world, but I would love to see it in the hands of those who are very much outside of that community. Those kids I hear saying, 'I don't get this whole (queer, trans, gay, &c.) thing.' This book says, 'We're all searching, we're all trying to figure this out. Here's a little of how I feel.' Maybe with more books like this we'd all understand one another a little more. And be better for it.
I'm friends with the authors which got me to read the book. But the fact that it is so much fun, so well done, and just a great story kept me reading.
The ideas here, of defining one's self, of having others define you of trying to be the person you want to be, of the difficulties and near impossibility of ever really knowing who you want to be, and yet, in the end, understanding that we're all changing all the time.... it's all here.
The characters are great because they are real. They are not always people you'd want to hang out with, but even they understand that. They do things which they shouldn't, and they know it. They're selfish sometimes as well. They are REAL. I love this because they are not the perfect stand-ins for 'all teens' or 'gay teens, queer teens, &c'. They are simply the people they are trying to figure things out.
The secondary characters feel real as well. And Paige.... Gold.
In the end, this is a book many people should read. I know it will become a favorite in the LGBTQIA world, but I would love to see it in the hands of those who are very much outside of that community. Those kids I hear saying, 'I don't get this whole (queer, trans, gay, &c.) thing.' This book says, 'We're all searching, we're all trying to figure this out. Here's a little of how I feel.' Maybe with more books like this we'd all understand one another a little more. And be better for it.