Fan Art by Sarah Tregay
This review is based on an ARC granted to me through the website Edelweiss, more about in exchange for an honest review. This is no way, more about shape or form had any impact on my actual review. This book is due to release in June of 2014.
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GoodReads Summary:
Senior year is almost over, viagra 40mg and Jamie Peterson has a big problem. Not college—that’s all set. Not prom—he’ll find a date somehow. No, it’s the worst problem of all: he’s fallen for his best friend.
As much as Jamie tries to keep it under wraps, everyone seems to know where his affections lie, and the giggling girls in art class are determined to help Jamie get together with Mason. But Jamie isn’t sure if that’s what he wants—because as much as Jamie would like to come clean to Mason, what if the truth ruins everything? What if there are no more road trips, taco dinners, or movie nights? Does he dare risk a childhood friendship for romance?
This book is about what happens when a picture reveals what we can’t say, when art is truer than life, and how falling in love is easy, except when it’s not. Fan Art explores the joys and pains of friendship, of pressing boundaries, and how facing our worst fears can sometimes lead us to what we want most.
My Review:
After the absolute mental and emotional breakdown that I went through while reading the first four of the Bloodlines novels, I needed a break, and I wanted something that would hopefully be quick, easy and fun. I checked out my Edelweiss and this one popped up, and it sounded good so I read it all last night. I actually stayed up fairly late to finish it.
The thing that jumped out at me about this book is that it follows Jamie, a young boy struggling with his sexuality in high school. He knows he is gay, and he’s come out to his family, but he’s afraid to come out to his friends, especially his best friend, Mason, who he is in love with. But despite that, its not a “gay” book, if you know what I mean. The story is so familiar. How many of us have had a crush on a friend, especially a best friend, and have been scared to say something in fear of losing the friendship? I know I have. That was my relationship with my boyfriend. I was terrified to tell him that I was crazy about him because we were so close and I thought it would ruin our friendship. So this part in the story was familiar. It was more than just a boy struggling with his sexuality, but a boy struggling with his feelings for his friend. Its very comfortable. It made that connection between heterosexual and homosexual relationships; they are the same!
But what I also love about it too, was that it had the ability to address LGBT themes without making it an overly emotional, dramatic novel. Its fun, light, it made me laugh and I was rooting for Jamie and Mason the entire book. It was a bit predictable in its endings but I enjoyed that. I like reading books that don’t end in tragedy or me sobbing into my pillow for the rest of the night. It was a light, quick read and it was just fun. It reminded me of my own high school experiences, like prom and graduation and senior skip day and all that. The crushes, and all that fun stuff. Sarah has a way of addressing LGBT themes into her novel, with Jamie coming to terms with his sexuality and fighting to keep a homosexual relationship comic into his literary magazine, but in a way that its relatable to everyone, and its a fun and quick read. Sometimes I forgot that Jamie and Mason were two guys, I just wanted them to get together. I wanted them to figure it out and have an epic make out scene.
I definitely recommend this book. It was a really quick and easy read, it was funny and genuine and the characters are easy to like. I think its a good book for those who want to read books with LGBT themes but are wary about jumping in. Its a sweet story, a bit predictable but still fun. This book comes out this summer, and is one to watch for!
My Rating:
4 out of 5 stars
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