I liked it, I did, but... I did have a couple of issues that dropped a half star.

Firstly, I would have like a better sense of that time period. I was looking forward to comparing what I know of that time with details in the book. Unfortunately, these details were few and far between.

Secondly, I found Eddie's feeling for Johnny and his feelings for Jack transitioned much too quickly. One moment he's professing his love to Johnny and the next he's telling Jack the same thing. Yes, I realize several weeks have passed in Eddie's life but we, the reader, are only told that; we don't actually get to experience any of that passage of time.
( )

This story is a heart-warming romance, very moving, almost quiet in the way it sneaked up on me and captured my attention. The setting is simple and the characters are "just normal guys", the kind of people Andrew excels at writing about. What is unusual for this author is that this book is set in 1966, but the focus is very much on the characters' "shared revelations" much more than the nevertheless very accurate picture of what life in Green Bay, Wisconsin was like back then. As for the epilogue? That was absolute perfection!

Eddie graduated from high school and is now working at a local paper mill. He doesn't like his job, but he never expected to. He has never even thought about having a life different to that of his parents, or any of the other boys he went to school with. What is very different is the crush he has on one of the football players, and when Johnny starts paying him attention, he thinks he has found love. His best friend Jack is worried, but Eddie ignores his warnings – until it is too late.

Jack is hearing impaired, and is slowly losing the remainder of his ability to hear. He admires and respects Eddie, who has never made fun of him and stood by him since seventh grade. Jack sees what is going on with Johnny and attempts to talk about it with Eddie, but can’t get through to him until it is already too late and Eddie is hurt. Being the friend he is, he still confronts Eddie, wanting to help. What develops from there surpasses both their imaginations.

If you like stories about the average guy set in the not-too-distant past, if you enjoy romances that surprise and delight you as you read, and if you want to read about characters who have a deep friendship before they realize it may be so much more, then you will probably like this book as much as I did.




NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews. ( )