A review by itsnotalakeitsanocean
Afterglow by Phil Stamper

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

3.0

Another feel-good, very optimistic book about a group of gay boys growing up in a rural American town. Do yourself a favour and read Golden Boys before diving into this one because it is a direct sequel.

I didn't like this book as much as the previous one. The biggest problem is that the four boys lack a distinctive voice and accidentally end up sounding like a hive mind. The previous book had shades of it too, but because each of the boys were in different parts of the world and doing different things, I think it wasn't as big a problem.

Also (this is arguably a more personal gripe because Stamper shouldn't feel pressured to writing about it) but I found it weird that in a book where
one of the characters decides to try out being a drag queen and book banning at the school library are major storylines, there were no transgender characters (or at least implied). This is especially weird to me on the heel of laws in real life where drag is banned for transphobic reasons (that is not to say all drag performers are inherently trans, but they do exist).
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