Download PDF Something Like Summer Volume 1 Jay Bell Andreas Bell Books
Download PDF Something Like Summer Volume 1 Jay Bell Andreas Bell Books
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Something Like Summer Volume 1 Jay Bell Andreas Bell Books Reviews
- As soon as I started reading Something Like Summer, I was immediately sucked into the story of Benjamin Bentley. He is such a well-developed character that I’m not convinced he isn’t real. He is witty, passionate, quick to act in ways that seem brave but are actually rooted in lack of restraint, self-aware, and determined to be happy one way or another.
Benjamin has been openly gay since he was 14 at a time when this was a rarity (mid 1990s). The book begins in the summer before Ben’s Junior year in high school. He encounters a new guy in his neighborhood who takes daily runs through the park. Ben makes a point of secretly watching (stalking) him. But when school begins, it becomes evident that Tim Wyman is not gay and he is quickly becoming friends with the people who bully Ben. Most boys would give up, but Ben is tenacious and willing to take risks which might pay off in the long run (or might get him into a world of hurt).
The only problem is that Tim Wyman isn’t as willing to take risks, perhaps because his family isn’t nearly as loving as Ben’s. Tim has been raised very differently, the consequences of which neither boy at age 16 can fully appreciate. They each push the other to change in ways that would make it easier on themselves, not the other. The result is disastrous but completely understandable given their circumstances.
As a reader, I wanted things to work out for the two of them. I wanted it to be obvious and easy because that’s what we all want when it comes to love. But nothing about this story was obvious or easy. But it still kept me reading, not necessarily because of the love story, but because I wanted to know what would happen to Ben.
The Something Like… series is written more like a collection of biographies than a collection of love stories. Yes, romance happens, sex happens, break ups and patch ups happen. But Jay Bell writes about the lives of very distinct, realistic characters, which span a decade or more. Each book in the series is about a character which has already been introduced in the other books.
In Something Like Summer, I wasn’t sure if I really liked Tim Wyman or if I believed him. Early on in the book, Tim mentions leaving Kansas after a girl falsely accuses him of raping her. As a woman, I tend to doubt men who make this claim and see them as potential rapists. I wanted something to come out in Something Like Summer to reassure me that Tim wasn’t capable of doing such a thing. But, instead, Tim is revealed to have moments of aggression. I just never was sure, even by the ending.
So, after finishing Something Like Summer, I picked up Something Like Winter which is the story of Tim Wyman’s life as he comes to terms with his sexuality. Something Like Winter begins in Kansas and directly addresses the rape accusation, which is revealed to be a completely false accusation made by a very manipulative girl. I was relieved because that meant I could trust Tim a little more. But generally speaking, I don’t like it when authors portray rape accusations as lies because the real world already places so much doubt on legitimate claims of rape. But, my activism aside, I realize that this *can* actually happen in real life and perhaps is more likely to happen to someone like Tim with the kinds of people who find their way into his circles. Tim has a big problem when it comes to figuring out who deserves his friendship and attention and who does not.
Jay Bell writes in a very fast-paced, candid, and affectionate way about growing up gay and finding love. I enjoy his stories while I read them and cannot stop thinking about the characters when I’m done, even when I'm not sure if I like them. I've read the first two books in this series and planned to (at least) read the third. - 2.5 of 5 –
I enjoy YA\NA and M/M romances, and as such this hit the spot. Yet at times it was a bit too fantastical that made it too convenient for even these tropes.
Jay Bell had an easy-to-read and at times humorous style that drew me in with a fairly good (if somewhat tilted) reflection of a teenage crush and the complications in the 90s of it being between two boys. Although I was uncomfortable with it being a bit obsessive (rather like the popular "Endless Love" from 1979), it still had its good emotional moments and had me rooting for, even sometimes frustrated with, the MC. I liked that it didn't stay just in the HS years and showed how things developed from there, including an interesting push-and-pull of having conflicting loves. So as a romance, it worked. But ...
The romance trope also made it a bit too unbelievable in places. Some events were a bit too convenient, others too predictable, choices made a bit too unrealistic, and the depth not what I would have liked. I was looking forward to its settings of Houston, Chicago and Austin, but they were described so generically without any of the culture being brought out that it really could have been set anywhere. I didn’t care about all the characters, but I was moved enough to be brought to tears. But even in that, I felt a bit set up and emotionally manipulated by some of the events ***spoiler***(rather like another early reference, "Terms of Endearment")***end spoiler***. IMO, the ending would have been better left as it was in the last chapter, without the epilogue adding a (to me) disappointing twist.
I'm guessing that some of the depth I was missing will be in subsequent sequels. I like the idea of getting the perspective of other key characters as they become the MC. I just wish I had seen more of their character development here to help me with some of the whys and wherefores in this story. Even so, the romance was enjoyable and served up a decent start to the series. - I finished this book a couple days ago and I’ve been thinking about it since. In some ways I really liked this book, in other ways I wanted to throw my kindle across the room the characters annoyed me so much.
There are really two stories in this book, a story of teenage romance between an openly gay 16yo and a closeted 17yo. Then there is the story of a college student, a flight attendant and an adult relationship.
The book opens with a story between Ben and Tim – two high school students in a wealthy Houston suburb. One had distant, disinterested parents and the other had exceptionally permissive parents. They went to a school where apparently few teachers cared if they attended class and they pretty much did as they pleased. Their story was fun and cute and it somewhat reminded me of how new, shiny and wonderful love was as a teenager.
Ben behaved occasionally like a dumb kid but sometimes he became this super kid who hold the world exactly how things were going to be and how people were going to behave – and the world did as instructed. Tim as a typical jock stuck between wanting to conform and wanting Ben. And, it ended like most of our high school loves ended. With anger, hurt, and shame.
The second story is the story of Ben and Jase. Ben is now 20 and in College when he meets Jase, a 26yo flight attendant. They fall in love, they fight, they make-up. They do all the things a young couple do when starting their life out together. All goes well for years until Tim comes back in Ben’s life ….
I didn't always get Jase and Ben as a couple but they worked. I didn't always believe them as a couple – some of the years went by pretty fast – but still it seemed to work.
In the end, I enjoyed the book. It didn't end the way I hoped and I didn't end the way I feared. Like I mentioned, I've been thinking about it for a couple days now.
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