Titanic Summer review

The below is a review from Goodreads which I will eventually post over on Amazon, but since Amazon doesn't seem to take advance reviews, here it is:

First and foremost, I did receive an ARC for an honest review. That said, let's move on to the review, which I will also cross-post to Amazon.

I think the fact that this grabbed my attention and led to a pretty non-stop, except for dinner, reading experience says something beyond what words I can spout.

Jake was initially a bit Holden Caulfield-esque, but that may have just been because of the opening paragraphs, because he certainly didn't continue to be quite so cynical.

I think the author does an admirable job of working with Jake's phobias and insecurities, and also shows how Jake both succumbs to and outgrows them, while not belittling their impact. I did really enjoy the constantly building, what comes next sort of feeling as Jake's teenage life comes apart at the seams. Jake's mom is a lovely surprise, and how Jake vacillates between what is proper and what is comfortable just seems beyond familiar to me. Overall, I think the book is a marvelous slice of life, and I wish I had such a "Grandma."

This was one of those fun books that tossed me a few curveballs, and I would suggest it for those who like LGBTQ coming of age tales.  As an aside, one of the other reasons I liked it is because the main character was honest about not understanding transgender, and while that is one of the plot devices, it is also something that is only a small part of the novel as a whole, so don't be put off if that isn't something automatically expected.

Happy New Year?

I guess tomorrow's meals will be made from the chicken in the crock pot.  Chicken, potatoes, onions, and garlic, with a bit of spices, so it should be tasty.  (If the Heinz Carolina BBQ sauce negatively impacts it, I will let you know.)

The guys I work with have been giving one of my colleagues a difficult time because of his fashion choices.  It seems he wore a onesie/jumpsuit (though more the pajama sort) during the holiday break, as I sit here and watch the "Concert for New York" I notice the John Cougar Mellencamp is wearing a jumpsuit.  Fifteen years later and it is finally making a fashion inroad.

Politically this year has been a mess.  I ordered, then cancelled a week later, the book "Fire and Fury" because while lining Jeff Bezos' pockets for no reason than to irritate Trump seemed like a bit of fun, when there was still no delivery date after the book was released early, I decided that I would just check tomorrow if the local place had it, as I currently have the Amazon Prime thing going, so if they don't I can always place the order again.