#CBR9 Review #02: Something Like Summer by Jay Bell
I had high hopes for this book, given the
positive reviews I’d seen for it and the fact that, despite being a part of the
LGBT+ “genre” the first line is “this is not a coming out story.” Now, I know
I’ve talked about this subject before, and I know that these types of stories
are important and can be very powerful, especially when speaking of
individual’s real struggles and experiences, but man am I tired. Especially
with the LGBT+ genre of movies: I’m drawn to these stories and they resonate
with me because I myself identify as LGBT+, but 90% of this genre absolutely
sucks (also why can’t LGBT+ romances be considered a part of the “regular”
genres anyways? What, if a main character is gay or trans and deals with some
of these issues but the book/film is simply filed under “romance” or “action” this
is somehow misleading to the average audience? Nah). It’s all just struggles
and pain and unhappiness and hyper sexuality, and I’m tired tired tired. I don't want to just accept what I'm given anymore. There has to be more. Being
told that this was the first novel in a series that covers an “epic romance” I
thought, maybe it will touch on some LGBT+ issues, but inevitably be like any
other romance story, but unique to these two characters. Alas, I was very very
disappointed, both with the story, how certain aspects are presented, and also
the writing itself left a lot to be desired.
Something
Like Summer is the first novel in Jay Bell’s
“Something Like” series, which apparently is a collection of adjacent stories
to this one, but from the perspectives of different characters (for example,
the next novel covers most of the same timeframe as Something Like Summer, but
from the position of the character Tim, who I will describe shortly, and later
it focuses on a character named Jace, whose story begins before this one but
then overlaps into the same timeline with the characters). The main character
of focus is a teenager named Ben, who is openly gay in Texas in the late 90s.
So of course, right off the bat, things are a little different, but not too too
far removed in some senses. In any case, Ben forms a fascination with a new boy
at school, named Tim. Tim is a popular, jock type, and after a seeming
meet-cute, the two end up spending a lot of time together. And, well,
eventually become an item. Kind of. It starts off mostly as sex, but ultimately
they consider themselves boyfriends even though Tim refuses to admit that he is
gay despite Ben pushing him to do so (he does reluctantly concede to the term
bisexual), and Tim is still incredibly closeted with everyone around him. Hey,
the teenage years are hard and they have issues, which ultimately lead to a
breakup. We catch up with Ben a few years later, now in college and with a new
boyfriend, Jace, who ends up being long-term. Of course, Tim somehow comes back
in the picture, and we continue on over the years as Ben and Jace traverse
their relationship, with Tim coming in and out at certain points. I won’t
divulge too much, but there are obviously lingering feelings between Ben and
Tim, and I know it’s hard to get over people if you don’t have full closure
but… I don’t know. This didn’t seem as natural to me as it could have been. You
know how love-triangles go, where somehow something happens so that the person
in the middle doesn’t have to “choose” or somehow things work out in a way that
just seems a little too laid out? In any case, who do you think Ben ends up
with in the end?
1)
The characters suck. I mean
this to say that while some of the secondary characters were likable, they were
not well-rounded at all and honestly seemed like one-note the whole time. As
for the main characters, the only likeable one was JAce, but really, he seemed
almost too perfect. Too kind, understanding, and forgiving. He was a bit older
than Tim and Ben, therefore maybe making him more “wise” and “mature”, but it
got to be a bit much at times. There wasn’t too much depth there. Ben and Tim,
on the other hand: super unlikable and manipulative. Yet we are supposed to
connect with them and feel for them somehow? There are ways to write unlikable
characters that are still interesting or charismatic enough that you still kind
of root for them, but this isn’t it. Ben, way too pushy and expecting too much
of everyone; not understanding at all and also super fickle. He has a friend
named Allison, and honestly never really seems to be there for her or to truly
be her friend. She just shows herself when it’s convenient for Ben or the
story. And then we have Tim, who I never understood what Ben saw in him besides
a physical attraction. Ben tries to explain it later but there’s nothing there.
Tim seems to take advantage of Ben’s giving nature and is also super pushy and
crosses lines when he knows Ben is in a committed relationship. “But there’s
another side to him”. Really? Is there? He paints and that means he’s
artistique™ and deep? It’s not
skeezy that when he’s in his 20s we see him dating a teenager? Nope, not
feeling any of them.
2)
The writing was inconsistent,
skipping over what should have been important conversations in dialogue (“and
then we discussed this and this is how it went and how things ended up”. Um…
what?), and also skipping ahead in time in order to cover ground in a way that
didn’t seem entirely natural or like the previous section had really had it’s
closure. There wasn’t enough for me to grab onto. Not even any quotes that I
remember that stood out or resonated with me. It all seemed too matter-of-fact
despite trying to take on more emotional and human topics such as love and
identity. Something was lacking.
3)
Something that bothers me in a
lot of LGBT+ literature and films is a preoccupation with sex. A lot of the
time, it almost seems hyper-sexualized and/or fetishistic. This is a problem
for me because it then often makes LGBT+ lives seem inherently NSFW or not
appropriate for children, but hey guys, you know that there are LGBT+ kids,
right? While sex is definitely a part of our lives as humans, that isn’t all
there is. And in Something Like Summer,
strong emotional connections are trying to be established, but it’s glossed
over for more of a focus on the sexual interactions taking place, or that seems
to the the main emphasis of the relationships in some ways (especially with Ben
and Tim when they meet again later in life, during their college years). I
don’t know, y’all, the whole thing seemed to put too much stock into the sexual
relationships being the basis of something more. And this occurred even after
both Tim and Ben described doing sexual things with other straight boys during
their younger years, as though it was just what gay boys did, a part of their
job to get people off. I don’t know, but everything together just left a bad
taste in my mouth.
Ultimately, I did not like Something Like Summer. At all. As it
began, I gave it the benefit of the doubt and kept going until the end. But I
was supremely underwhelmed by everything, particularly how the ending played
out. I mean, it was worth a shot to see if it could be a new series I might
want to get into, but at the end of the day, I just can’t see myself sitting
through any more. Especially not if I have to focus on Tim and his perspective
in the next novel, considering how much I disliked his character and never
understood what the big deal about him was. “But Lisa, maybe seeing things from
his point of view will make you understand or like him more?” Mmm, I’m going to
pass. There are so many more other books and series I would much rather try
out. It didn’t take long to get through, though, so that’s a plus. Buuuut, that’s
about it.
(Also I have been informed that the first
book of this series is going to be made into a film, and upon finding images of
the initial posters for his as I was looking for a photo of the book cover to
add here, I must say it looks cheap and atrocious. The photo-shopping and
editing is so bad that it looks almost like a porno. Or kind of like how Chuck
Tingle’s book covers look! I know y’all know what I mean.)
[Be sure to visit the Cannonball Read main site!]
Comments
Post a Comment