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rainbowbrarian's Reviews (1.85k)
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After being disowned by his family for being gay Alexei is trying to work out what it means to live without his family and how to reconcile his personal faith with a church that no longer welcomes him.
Ben is on the trail trying to get his life together. He’s been falling for all the wrong guys and struggling to decide what he wants out of life other than trying to help other people keep it together. He’s determined to swear off guys and learn more about himself first. Easier said than done when he meets Alexei and the attraction is immediate.
They strike up a deal to hike part of the trail together and we get to watch as they begin to bring out the best in each other and find out how they fit together and how they don’t. I really appreciated Ben’s patience with Alexei’s quiet moments as he processed the situations. I’ve never been a church person, but it was so good to see Alexei reflecting over his faith and making choices that respected himself as he processed his trauma and decided that the god he knew was not what he’d always been taught.
I do wish we’d gotten to see Ben’s internal world a little bit more too, I think there could have been some good growth I wanted to see more of.
Loved the ending with the scene on the bridge :) Made me really happy.
Ben is on the trail trying to get his life together. He’s been falling for all the wrong guys and struggling to decide what he wants out of life other than trying to help other people keep it together. He’s determined to swear off guys and learn more about himself first. Easier said than done when he meets Alexei and the attraction is immediate.
They strike up a deal to hike part of the trail together and we get to watch as they begin to bring out the best in each other and find out how they fit together and how they don’t. I really appreciated Ben’s patience with Alexei’s quiet moments as he processed the situations. I’ve never been a church person, but it was so good to see Alexei reflecting over his faith and making choices that respected himself as he processed his trauma and decided that the god he knew was not what he’d always been taught.
I do wish we’d gotten to see Ben’s internal world a little bit more too, I think there could have been some good growth I wanted to see more of.
Loved the ending with the scene on the bridge :) Made me really happy.
Despite being an amazing cook, Yutaka has struggled to eat with other people because of the way he was treated as an adopted child. This has caused him to be a social outcast with his peers. While eating alone in a park he runs into a little boy, Tane, who asks him to share his onigiri. Tane’s brother Minoru apologizes for the rudeness and it turns out Minoru can’t cook. Their mother passed away and the family has been living on poor cooking ever since then.
Yutaka agrees to show them the secret of his onigiri and discovers a little family that wholeheartedly accepts him and somehow he just fits.
This is a sweet friendship to lovers story about learning that you are worthy of love. The dynamic between all the characters is really cute. I liked the little thread of romance through a family focused story. And it is BEYOND adorable how Tane calls him Yukata instead of Yutaka XD.
Yutaka agrees to show them the secret of his onigiri and discovers a little family that wholeheartedly accepts him and somehow he just fits.
This is a sweet friendship to lovers story about learning that you are worthy of love. The dynamic between all the characters is really cute. I liked the little thread of romance through a family focused story. And it is BEYOND adorable how Tane calls him Yukata instead of Yutaka XD.
Wow, this book was not what I expected and I mean that in the VERY best way! I was happily surprised that the story doesn't take place when a teen gets sent to a conversion camp. Instead this is an aftermath, queers get justice, kind of story.
Content warnings: religious and physical abuse of children and teens, family rejection, religious bigotry, demons, insects, vomiting, and some body horror.
Spoilers follow: This was such an original idea. It would take a lot to make the setting of a conversion therapy concentration camp more horror than it already is. If you didn't know, the 'treatments' given at many of those camps are legit torture methods. It isn't that far a stretch to imagine a real camp deciding to try demonic possession to 'cure' the gays.
It was a creative and entirely believable thought, the ultra religious deciding to use demons because "they would use all means possible to save your souls". Shudder.
I was worried that reading this book would be traumatic for me (being a queer person, myself), and I am not going to say that it's safe for all queer folks to read, but It felt GOOD to see a little family of queer folks tearing down the camp that tried to destroy them.
Content warnings: religious and physical abuse of children and teens, family rejection, religious bigotry, demons, insects, vomiting, and some body horror.
Spoilers follow: This was such an original idea. It would take a lot to make the setting of a conversion therapy concentration camp more horror than it already is. If you didn't know, the 'treatments' given at many of those camps are legit torture methods. It isn't that far a stretch to imagine a real camp deciding to try demonic possession to 'cure' the gays.
It was a creative and entirely believable thought, the ultra religious deciding to use demons because "they would use all means possible to save your souls". Shudder.
I was worried that reading this book would be traumatic for me (being a queer person, myself), and I am not going to say that it's safe for all queer folks to read, but It felt GOOD to see a little family of queer folks tearing down the camp that tried to destroy them.
