Best Gay Debut Novel: Don't Let Me Go by J.H. Trumble
I was a little scared to read this book, there was that “when local kids take their homophobia to brutal levels” that was like a Damocles’ sword pending above us, even more when I realized the author was using flashback, and sooner or later the moment I dreaded had to come. But at least I knew that wasn’t the end for Nate and Adam, when the novel starts, present time, they are together, and apparently Nate is managing to have a life after the tragedy, he is not beaten down and unable to fight back. Nate’s biggest trouble is that Adam’s job is taking him far from him, far from the Texan small town they met and fell in love to the big city, New York, with all the temptations and possibilities and no Nate.
That is probably where we really realize we are reading about teenager and not adult; at that age it’s not enough to tell I love you, it’s not enough to see you on a screen, or to have phone sex. You need you boyfriend near you, otherwise anything, or everyone, is able to put in question your security, that little safe nest you built, maybe to be able to cope what happened, because forgetting is not an option. And while Nate clearly needs reassurance, Adam has probably underestimated the problem, while on the other hand, being actually the one who never once questioned their love.
It’s not easy to say who was wrong and who was right because, actually, they both did wrongs and rights. Those are teenagers to you, ladies and sirs.
If I have to be sincere, I had a disappointment upon finishing this novel, the feeling that this was a trilogy of which I just read the central book. I do have the strong wish to read how Nate and Adam met and how their love evolved and how they came out to their families: some of these tidbits we have in the current novel, but they are just flashes, while I would like to read the whole story. But above all, I think I would love to read of Adam and Nate after this novel, of their adult selves, their life as a committed, long-term couple, the challenges but also the rewards. In this current novel, Nate is mostly the main character, Adam is afar, distant; we don’t really see his point of view if not in the end, when he basically rebels and snaps out; in a following story I think we could have the chance to know him better, and basically to read the story from his point of view.
Amazon: Don't Let Me Go
Amazon Kindle: Don't Let Me Go
Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Kensington (January 1, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0758269277
ISBN-13: 978-0758269270
Reading List: http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle
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