A.M. Leibowitz

queer slice-of-life stories

fiction

Book Review: The Real World by Kathleen Jowitt

Books, Featured, Reviews

About the Book

Title: The Real World (Stancester #2)

Author: Kathleen Jowitt

Publication Date: 2 Nov., 2020

Length: 350 pages

Category: Literary fiction

Goodreads

Purchase Links

Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Synopsis

Colette is trying to finish her PhD and trying not to think about what happens next. Her girlfriend wants to get married – but she also wants to become a vicar, and she can’t do both. Her ex-girlfriend never wanted to get married, but apparently she does now. Her supervisor is more interested in his TV career than in what Colette’s up to, and, of her two best friends, one’s two hundred miles away, and the other one’s dead.

Welcome to…

The Real World.

Review

I’ve been excited to read this because I absolutely loved the first book in the series, Speak Its Name. When an author can work spirituality into a book with skill and grace, and without feeling heavy-handed or preachy, I’m right there. In that regard, The Real World delivers.

For a book in which religion and church politics play a big part, it has a surprisingly light touch. There’s definitely a healthy dose of criticism for how the church handles matters of human sexuality, including limitations on same-gender marriage for Church of England clergy. But it never thumps readers on the head with dogma.

As the title suggests, this is about Colette and Lydia navigating the adult world and their relationship. It’s not a romance. Their couplehood is firmly established, though it’s tested through their struggles to finish their education and find their footing in life. They go through a lot in a short span of time, between family issues and challenges with their respective future careers.

What I love is how realistic it feels. There’s not a whole lot of unexplained or over-the-top drama, just ordinary situations any one of us could face along the way. Colette and Lydia wrestle with communication, but no more than any couple might, and it never feels forced for the sake of creating tension.

It was interesting to see Lydia through Colette’s eyes this time, as the last book was the reverse. I also appreciated having Colette’s perspective on a number of things, from her (warm and loving) family to her relationships with the same people we met in the previous story.

Naturally, I love that Colette is fiercely and unapologetically bisexual. There’s a scene where bisexuality is erased in a sadly common way. Much as I’d have loved to read about Colette giving the person a piece of her mind, I’ll admit I enjoyed what actually happened just as much (no spoilers).

I think the only drawback is that it’s quit slow-paced. This does make sense to a degree, as it’s not a “wild ride” kind of story. But I think I wanted a bit more of a hook, something that would spur me on to find out what was going to happen the way the last book played out. It’s not a deal-breaker for me; I enjoyed the story. It just wasn’t quite as compelling as the first one. I also don’t know that it would stand alone very well. A person who hadn’t read Speak Its Name would likely be a bit lost. Which is fair, given that it’s a sequel. I highly recommend reading them in order.

In any case, it’s a good story, and I very much liked catching back up with the characters. The ending was both surprising and yet somehow not, and I felt it fit perfectly with the rest of the book.

For meeting old friends again, examining social and spiritual issues with a critical eye, and a gentle narrative style, this gets 8/10 fountain pens.

About the Author

Kathleen Jowitt was born in Winchester and grew up deep in the Welsh Marches and, subsequently, on the Isle of Wight. After completing her undergraduate degree in English Literature at the University of Exeter she moved to Guildford and found herself working for a major trade union.

She now lives in Cambridge, works in London, and writes on the train. Her stories are about people who sort their own heads out and learn that they are, on the whole, not nearly such terrible human beings as they thought they were. Speak Its Name (2016) explores Christianity and sexual identity in the context of student life and politics, and was the first self-published novel ever shortlisted for the Betty Trask Prize. Her new book, A Spoke in the Wheel, was published in May 2018 and looks at physical capacity, the social model of disability, acceptance, redemption, and integrity.

Social Media

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon Author Page

Facebooktwitterpinteresttumblrmail

Review: Finding Amelia by Graham West

Books, Reviews

About the Book

Title: Finding Amelia

Author: Graham West

Published: September 3, 2017

ISBN: 9781786450982

Category: fiction

Genre: paranormal

Goodreads

Synopsis

Following the horrific death of his wife and child, Robert Adams struggles to rebuild a life with his seventeen-year-old daughter, Jenny. Their relationship is tested further when she expresses a desire to contact her mother through a spiritualist and he watches helplessly as they slowly drift apart.

But everything changes when Jenny begins to dream—dreams which take her into another world—a world inhabited by a young girl, imprisoned in a dark attic. A girl Jenny believes is an ancestor whose spirit is reaching out across the generations.

But who is she? What does she want? As Jenny’s behaviour becomes increasingly dangerous and unpredictable, Robert finds himself confiding in Sebastian Tint—an old professor who claims to possess a sixth sense. Together, they employ retired genealogist Jack Staple to trace the family tree, but it is a journey that takes Robert down a road of discovery that threatens to tear their world apart.

Purchase Links

Beaten Track [Paperback] | Beaten Track [eBook – various formats] | Smashwords [eBook – various formats] | Amazon [Kindle edition]

Review

What an intense story. It’s a psychological thriller that kept me turning pages (and hiding under the covers with my Kindle in the next room). I love a good ghost story, especially one so revealing about the human condition.

Rob is a likable narrator, easy to feel sympathetic toward for his losses and his struggles with his teenage daughter. Over time, we begin to see him as unreliable and hiding plenty of his own secrets. There’s a point at which one of the other characters accuses him of messing everything up, virtually with a single action years in the past. The truth is more complicated, but that stood out to me. How many of us have wondered what life would be like if not for one bad decision?

Rob’s saving grace is in the form of his genuine love for the people around him. He makes mistakes, and at times it feels as though he’s pleading with us to forgive him. He comes across as selfish, going beyond his grief and loneliness. At other moments we see the lengths he’s willing to go to for people he cares about. He easily doles out forgiveness in equal measures to what he expects for himself. This makes him far more interesting and well-rounded, but it also makes me wonder whether we ever fully uncover the truth.

There are a lot of heavy themes about forgiveness, reconciling the past, and making up for mistakes. The only people who are never forgiven are those who engage in intentional cruelty and violence. The story ends on a hopeful note, but as it’s part of a series, I have a feeling there’s a lot more to come.

At times, this can feel a little like a typical story of uncovering the past. There are plenty of clues scattered throughout. I was easily able to guess at some things, while others came as a surprise. What makes it effective isn’t the use of some fairly common plot devices. It’s in how they’re all woven together to form the whole picture and what deeper truths we can learn from them. This is an outstanding novel, and I’m eagerly anticipating the next book.

For an absorbing story, complex themes, and exactly the right amount of creepy thrills, this gets 10/10 fountain pens.

About the Author

Graham West studied art at Hugh Baird college in Bootle, Merseyside, before joining the display team at Blacklers Store in Liverpool city centre where he spent seven years in the art department before moving on in 1981 to become a sign writer. He lives in Maghull with his wife, Ann, and has a daughter, Lindsay, and two grandchildren, Sonny and Kasper. Graham also plays guitar at weddings, functions and restaurants. He took up writing in 2000 and has had a couple of factual articles published in magazines. Finding Amelia is his first novel.

Facebooktwitterpinteresttumblrmail

Review: Eelgrass by Tori Curtis

Books, Reviews

About the Book

Title: Eelgrass

Author: Tori Curtis

Length: 286 pages

Release Date: September 16, 2016

Language: English

ASIN: B01M05IL7I

Categories: Young Adult, Lesbian, Fantasy, Friendship

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32068163-eelgrass

Synopsis

In Irish folklore, a selkie is a seal who can take off her sealskin like a coat and become a woman, seducing fishermen anywhere she goes. If he steals her sealskin, she is bound to his home, marrying him and mothering his children – unless she can find it and escape, leaving her family on shore forever.

In Eelgrass, a lesbian reimagining of tales about women and the sea, Efa is having too much fun to worry about stories. Too young to have earned respect in her village, she spends her days roving with her beautiful and vivacious best friend, Bettan — until the night Bettan disappears into a rainstorm, and Efa can’t shake the certainty that she’s been taken.

Desperate to rescue her friend, Efa seeks out the fishwives, half-human fish who dwell under the tides and kill sailors with their sharp teeth and alluring songs. She doesn’t expect to find Ninka, an outrageous young woman who makes her feel giddy and who might be the key to unlocking her own courage.

Review

I’m not usually a reader of fantasy, but the plot of this had my attention. It’s more folklore than genre fantasy, and this is a well-written novel with an unusual theme. I don’t believe I’ve ever read any lesbian selkie fiction before.

I will admit that I am not the target audience for this novel. I’m long past the age of the main characters, and it’s out of my range in terms of preference. However, the writing is so beautiful and the setting so captivating that it hardly mattered. Reading it took me back to a time when I was the age this book is intended for, and I would have treasured it then. I wish it had existed at the time it would have spoken most to me, and I hope that it gets into the hands of many young people who need to see themselves reflected in such a story.

There is an ebb and flow to the story that perfectly matches the seaside setting and the characters. One of the things I loved about this is the way in which Efa is changed by her experience. She comes away from her search for Bettan having found her courage, and her knowledge of the world has expanded (not always in a good way). But she is not fundamentally a different person. She remains true to who she is at her core.

My only reservation was the end. Without giving spoilers, I was unclear on what the message of the story was meant to be. I respect that we are seeing Efa’s perspective on the events, so this appears to be her assessment. However, it left me confused as to what readers were supposed to deduce from her viewpoint. There seems to be an underlying commentary on the real world through the lens of the imaginary one, and I’m not entirely sure what to make of it. There’s an element of cautionary tale here, but I couldn’t decide exactly what we’re being cautioned against.

Aside from that, this is a wonderful, well-written story. Although there’s a little romance, readers shouldn’t look for that to be the primary focus here. At its heart, this is a book about friendship and family and bravery.

For beautiful writing, an unusual bit of folklore, and a thought-provoking story, this gets 10/10 fountain pens.

Purchase Links

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

About the Author

Tori Curtis is a gay woman with an office job who views family, disability, and identity through classic speculative fiction tropes. She lives in upstate New York, with her steadfast fiancée and fewer dogs than said fiancée would like. Eelgrass is her first novel.

Social Media
Facebooktwitterpinteresttumblrmail

Review: The Otto Digmore Difference by Brent Hartinger

Books, Reviews

About the Book

Title: The Otto Digmore Difference (Otto Digmore #1)

Author: Brent Hartinger

Length: 230 pages

Publisher: BK Books

Release Date: February 21, 2017

Language: English

ISBN: 978-1370026920

ASIN: B01N1TARI3

Categories: New Adult, Gay Fiction, Friendship, Road Trip

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34227774-the-otto-digmore-difference

Synopsis

“Road trip!”

Otto Digmore is a 26-year-old gay guy with dreams of being a successful actor, and he’s finally getting some attention as a result of his supporting role on a struggling sitcom. But he’s also a burn survivor with scars on half his face, and all indications are that he’s just too different to ever find real Hollywood success.

Now he’s up for an amazing new role that could change everything. Problem is, he and his best friend Russel Middlebrook have to drive all the way across the country in order to get to the audition on time.

It’s hard to say which is worse: the fact that so many things go wrong, or that Russel, an aspiring screenwriter, keeps comparing their experiences to some kind of road trip movie.

There’s also the fact that Otto and Russel were once boyfriends, and Otto is starting to realize that he might still have romantic feelings for his best friend.

Just how far will Otto go to get the role, and maybe the guy, of his dreams?

Author Brent Hartinger first introduced the character of Otto Digmore in 2005, in his Lambda Award-winning books about Russel Middlebrook. Back then, Otto was something pretty unusual for YA literature: a disabled gay character.

Now, more than a decade later, Otto is grown up and finally stepping into the spotlight on his own. The Otto Digmore Difference, the first book in a new stand-alone series for adults, is about much more than the challenges of being “different.” It’s also about the unexpected nature of all of life’s journeys, and the heavy price that must be paid for Hollywood fame.

But more than anything, it’s a different kind of love story, about the frustrating and fantastic power of the love between two friends.

Review

This is the book I didn’t know I needed to read.

First, let’s get this out of the way: It is not a romance in any traditional sense of the word. If you’re looking for something in the vein of couplehood, this isn’t it. But it is about many kinds of love, primarily intimate friendship. It’s about a lot of other things, too. There’s a line where Otto says he wants to make magic. Well, Otto, you got your wish: Your story is pure magic.

This is a book with a Point. Several, in fact. Otto spells things out for us in the first couple of chapters. I won’t spoil it for readers because you really need to hear it in Otto’s voice. Having it laid out in no uncertain terms, some readers might be put off or maybe even find some aspects a bit preachy. You’ll have to trust me when I tell you to keep reading and look deeper. It’s what’s under the surface which makes this absolutely, perfectly brilliant.

I’ll admit that it took me a while to catch on. Once I did, though, I saw that the Point(s) being made are underscored in subtle ways everywhere. Even though this could easily have been (and at first blush is just a little) both a cliched road trip/buddy novel and a parody of one, it’s far more complicated than that.

Otto is a classic unreliable narrator, which is generally true in a first-person book. With Otto, it’s unusual in how difficult it is to tell right away because he’s such a likable character with a good deal of insight. What makes him so lovable is how he’s the best blend of highly self-aware and utterly clueless. His journey of discovery is messy, and as promised by the path of the narrative, there are no easy answers. Despite the familiar landscape and the Screaming Point staring us in the face, we’re not handed a happily-ever-after on a silver platter. Otto makes us work for it, and it’s worth the effort.

I’m not usually one to get personal in a review, but one of the things I appreciated was bringing up a specific aspect of being disabled which sometimes doesn’t get acknowledged. There are feelings many of us have about who we are as people, and I like that the author wasn’t afraid to go there, even at the risk of reaction from readers. It made Otto feel much more genuine to me. He is not a tragedy or a superhero or a perfect disability advocate. I can’t say more without spoilers, but Otto’s discovery of an aspect of how he sees himself rang so true to me that it was almost painful.

Now for what I meant when I said I needed to read this. I have never felt so much like a book was giving me life advice, most of which would be lost on anyone who hasn’t felt the pressures of a creative profession. The whole time, Otto, Russell, and even the cameo appearance characters point out all the ways in which we have to balance what we wish we could do with what we actually have to do. It is beautiful and poignant and hits every pitch just right. More than once, and not even at particularly emotional moments, I was both laughing and crying over what a relief it was to know someone else out there gets it. Obviously, I’m aware that this was not a message personally designed for me. But I can’t help thinking that anyone who has ever known the pain of working in a field which demands different-but-still-mainly-the-same should read this, probably more than once.

I’m glad Otto has more stories to tell us about his life because I still need advice. I can’t wait to see what misadventures he gets up to next. Whatever they are, we can be sure he’ll tell it in his own way, with just the right amount of difference.

For polished storytelling, brilliantly drawn characters, and finely crafted subtext, this gets 10/10 fountain pens.

Purchase Links

Amazon | iTunes | Barnes & Noble

Signed Paperback Edition

About the Author

BRENT HARTINGER is an author and screenwriter. His first novel, Geography Club, is also a successful stage play and a feature film co-starring Scott Bakula. He has since published twelve more novels, most from major publishers such as HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster. As a screenwriter, Brent has four film projects in development or pre-production, including Decked, the animated story behind a deck of playing cards, and The Starfish Scream, a teen drama. In 2005, Brent co-founded the entertainment website AfterElton.com, which was sold to MTV/Viacom in 2006. He currently co-hosts a podcast called Media Carnivores from his home in Seattle, where he lives with his husband, writer Michael Jensen. www.brenthartinger.com

Social Media

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Tumblr

Facebooktwitterpinteresttumblrmail

Some housekeeping and a writing project

Writing

I know, I know.  I promised I would get back to blogging.  But I’ve been wrapped up in another project, which I’ll share with you.  For the last few months, I’ve been working diligently on . . . a novel.  In case you didn’t know, I keep a second blog where I post mostly fiction with an occasional book review or post about writing.  For about a month, I’ve been participating in WIPpet Wednesdays (WIP = work in progress) with a wonderful group of writers from all over.  The link-up is closed for this week, but if you’re interested, you can join in next week.  I always post the link in my WIPpet posts, but I’ll post it here, too.

Now for some links for you:

Here are this week’s WIPpets (link-up is closed, but do go and read them–they are wonderful!)

This is the writer who hosts WIPpet, K. L. Schwengel.  The link is on the right side of the blog.  Just in case I’m silly (like I was this week) and forget to link to it.

Here’s a link to all of my WIPpets since I started.  They list newest first, so I recommend scrolling down to the first one and reading them in order.  It doesn’t really matter, but they are chronological to the story.

This is the series I posted this week for my fiction blog, inspired by one of David Hayward’s cartoons (linked in the posts).

Happy reading!  I’ll be around occasionally.  I’m hoping to finish a good chunk of editing on my novel and on a secondary project this weekend so I can get back to snarking about Fifty Shades next Monday.  I’m rethinking how I want to do that–I may stick with finding the worst lines per chapter and mocking them because that was far more fun than going through the whole damn thing and trying to summarize it.

Have a great rest of the week.  Catch you all later!  (Er, “laters, baby”?)

Facebooktwitterpinteresttumblrmail

Notable News: Week of August 10-16, 2013

Blogs, Cool Stuff, Links, Writing

It’s been hard staying in a rhythm over the summer, with both kids and my husband home.  I’ve also had twice as many editing/proofreading projects as last summer, so that’s left me little time to keep up on my blog.  Along with that, we’ve had several unexpected things happen, including sending my faithful Nissan Altima to the Great Body Shop in the Sky.  I’m now the proud owner of an SUV.  I never thought I would say that–it really does make me feel like such a suburban mom.  Anyway, I may not have been writing much, but I’ve definitely been reading.  This week’s list is a bit short, due to my own limited time, but here are some of the things I really liked this week.

1. Penal Substitution

Anyone who’s been reading my stuff for a while probably knows (or has at least guessed) that I’m no fan of the penal substitution view of salvation.  This Naked Pastor cartoon nearly made me snort my coffee out my nose.

2. Too many to list separately

Registered Runaway is my go-to blogger when I feel like I’m just done being harsh and frustrated.  I have a pretty forceful personality, and that’s not going to change, but the gentle people in this world are a good balance and keep me from toppling over the edge into cyclical rage.  I couldn’t pick just one of his posts this week, so I’m just linking the blog and you can read them all.

3. Well, all righty then.

Simon Chan wrote this.  It made me wish I’d had time this week to write something scathing and witty in response, but buying a new car broke my sarcasm function.  Fortunately, there are other good writers on the Internet.  Check out these excellent responses: Women Are People, Too: A Conservative Baptist Take On Inclusive Language and Why We Call God Father: a response to Simon Chan.

4. Today’s short story

I just posted this on my fiction blog.  Haven’t put anything up there in a long time, so it feels good to add a new story.

I’m not sure how the next week will go.  I’m volunteering every morning at a summer camp, so it will be sporadic.  I’ll do my best to keep up, though.  Have a great weekend, everyone!

Facebooktwitterpinteresttumblrmail

More Content

Let's Be Friends

Facebooktwitterpinterestrssinstagram

Sharing

Facebooktwitterpinteresttumblrmail

Tip Jar

Shopping Cart

Your Shopping Cart

Your cart is empty

Supposed Crimes Publishing

Beaten Track Publishing