Choices [Library Edition] by Jamie Mayfield

Waiting for Forever #1

by Jamie Mayfield

A Harmony Ink Press Young Adult TitleWaiting for Book IPart The Throwaway BoyAs the country’s religious and secular leaders battle over equality in the abstract, Brian McAllister and Jamie Mayfield live in the crossfire. In their little town of Crayford, Alabama, loving another boy is the worst kind of sin. Best friends since childhood, they explore their love and each other in Jamie’s backyard tree house as they hide from the world. They happily plan for the future together—until their lives are rocked when their secret is exposed and Jamie’s family intervenes.When hatred turns to violence in their sleepy little town, Brian tries to cope with the loss of his best friend, who is stolen in the night. In desperation, he turns to Adam, a new friend with a shared pain. Can Adam fill the hole left by Jamie’s absence? The answer will change everything.Adapted from the award-winning Little Boy Lost series by J. P. Barnaby.

Genres: M M Romance, Young Adult, LGBT, Romance, Contemporary, Fiction, Gay

Mass Market Paperback

First published June 6, 2013

About the author

A survivor of the ex-gay residential institution The Sunshine Center, fictional author Jamie Mayfield went on to find his voice in novels. Always a great lover of books, Jamie found his passion as he began to pursue a liberal arts degree in creative writing. An avid reader, he’s a fan of gay romance, suspense, and horror—though not all in the same novel.

Jamie lives in San Diego with his fictional husband, Brian. He writes YA fiction as a way to let kids know that they have an entire LGBT family all around them. Above all, he wants them to know that they are not alone. It does get better.

Jamie Mayfield is a fictional character from the acclaimed Little Boy Lost series by female author J. P. Barnaby.

Website: http://www.JamieMayfield.com
Tumblr: http://JamieMayfieldYA.tumblr.com
Facebook: http://www.Facebook.com/JamieMayfieldYA
Twitter: http://www.Twitter.com/JamieMayfieldYA

Reviews

[Sun · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just a few details:

Jamie Mayfield is the fictional character in JP Barnaby's "Little Boy Lost" series. This character has now become a YA writer and is releasing his first book, "Choices". All proceeds from Jamie's books go towards the support of organizations who help homeless LGBT youth.

With that being said, I do want to be clear that "Choices" is not actually a new story. This I found out as I turned to page 1. It's actually an adaptation of Barnaby's Enlightened & Abandoned for YA readers. I had deja vu for a hot second and then realized what was going on. I actually couldn't even tell any difference at all. In any other circumstance, this would annoy me. But, because I feel strongly about the cause, I fully support this "repackaging".

In any case, I really liked this series...it made a huge impact on me and opened my eyes not only to the plight of kids being kicked out of homes because of being gay, but also for those being shuffled around in the foster care system, sometimes in truly dismal situations. The books themselves are decent reads (I rated them between 3 - 3.5 stars each the first time through) but the series as a whole is IMPORTANT and POWERFUL.

Also, I highly encourage you all to BUY this book (especially if you haven't yet read Little Boy Lost)...so that you can also support a great cause.

[T.M. Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brian and Jamie have been best friends since they were children. Brian is a foster child that has been in and out of several horrible foster homes until he was placed with the Schrieber’s when he was 11 years old. He and Jamie have been best friends since that day. Over time friendship has grown into stronger feelings of desire and love, but neither boy has told the other. Until one day in their shared tree house, Jamie throws caution to the wind and kisses Brian.

This isn’t an insta love relationship, these two young men now 17 years old have been falling in love for close to 6 years. Due to their strict religious families they haven’t shared their feelings for fear of rejection and hatred. When they finally open up and are honest with each other about how they feel, it is beautiful and touching. It’s what comes after that will break your fucking heart!

This was a hard book to read, I must warn you. The story of Brian and Jaime is beautiful, endearing, emotional and tragic. Mayfield wrote a prolific story of the reality that is growing up gay in a small town with narrow minded people. I mean, Brian isn’t even safe at school! I have to wonder how much of this book is reality since the author gave a main character his name.

This really is a powerful read that shows what some young gay men have to endure for being who they are. Brian is ostracized for being gay, and not only is he bullied and ultimately critically injured at school by his peers, but the adults gang up on him. I was floored by the reaction and treatment this young man received at the hands of the very people who are supposed to protect him. His foster parents, local martial arts teacher and a fellow gay teacher are his only allies. When Jamie’s parents find out the truth behind the relationship between them they force Jamie out of Brian’s life and eventually place him in one of those “we cure the gay” programs that I think should all be blown off the map!

There is a positive in this story as well thankfully. Watching Jamie and Brian grow closer in the beginning and ultimately loving each other completely was my favorite part. Mayfield captured the true pain and pleasure of their first sexual encounter flawlessly. After Brian was hurt he was very bitter and withdrawn, rightfully so, but he came through it and learned how to protect himself in the end. I loved the addition of Adam and how he feels the same way about Brian that Brian feels about Jamie. I can’t wait for the next book to see how the trifecta that is Brian, Jamie and Adam plays out.

If you are looking for a fluffy young love story, pass on this one. If you are looking for a reality based love story where your hero’s have to fight not only to be together, but to be true to themselves, grab it NOW! As hard as it was to read at times, I still loved this book overall and highly recommend.

[Heather K (dentist in my spare time)]

Quick quick quick! 20 minute tweetaway until 2:20 EST 8/14/13!

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/stor...

[Luke · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought Choices was pretty good.

It was about first love, about coming out, about coming of age.

Despite how I liked the writing style, I thought the structure of the book was a little—how do I put it?—clunky. It seems more like it has two books within it. (As it turns out, it is the YA version of two previously published books: Enlightened and Abandoned by J.P. Barnaby.)

Of course I managed to look past this, and what I saw was the blossoming love between two best friends, Brian McAllister and Jamie Mayfield, who face hardship because of the religious little town they live in.

It broke my heart throughout it all. But I wasn't desperate for the next one, I have to admit. At some point, I'll get there. Maybe I'll even read the Little Boy Lost by J.P. Barnaby.

[Mtsnow13 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Need to go into this realizing that you will want to read all of the series. It is the YA version of the Little Boy Lost Enlightened series, and becomes a very angsty read. The stories have a great message and %100 of proceeds are donated. Http://www.arecafe.com/cafe-news/jami...

[A · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars. http://joyfullyjay.com/2013/07/review...

The Waiting for Forever YA series is adapted from the Little Boy Lost series by J.P. Barnaby and released as though written by one of the characters from the books, Jamie Mayfield. Basically, Harmony Ink Press took Barnaby’s beloved books and edited them for a young adult audience. If you’ve read and loved the Little Boy Lost series, like almost everyone I know, you may not want to read this series as the books are very similar. Luckily, I had never gotten around to reading the first Little Boy Lost book even though, because of the great word of mouth reviews, it had been sitting on my kindle for months. So I jumped at the chance to be able to read and review this YA version of the series.

This first book, Choices, introduces us to two best friends, Jamie Mayfield and Brian McAllister. They live in a small, extremely close-minded town called Crayford, Alabama. They’ve been friends all of their lives, until Brian realizes he has feelings that go beyond friendship. Terrified, he starts to push Jamie away. Brian’s not stupid. He can’t imagine that anyone in his life would be able to see his feelings for another boy as acceptable, including Jamie himself. But when Brian realizes that he may not have to suffer from unrequited love after all, things really start to get difficult.

In order to keep the attention off of their relationship, Jamie and Brian try to keep things as normal as possible, with Jamie even seriously dating a girl named Emma just to keep people from guessing the boys’ secret. Life is not smooth sailing for these boys, and love doesn’t always seem to be enough. When their summer treehouse nights together are discovered, it leads to the worst kind of consequences, which, in turn, spirals into even more and more difficulties for poor Brian.

Brian finds solace in surprisingly supportive parents, a teacher willing to put his neck on the line to help him, and a new friend, Adam, who is there for Brian when he really needs someone. Brian has some choices to make when he graduates from high school. One path will lead him to college in Alabama with his friend, Adam. The other will lead him, if he’s lucky, back to his beloved Jamie. After everything he’s been through, it’s difficult for Brian to think of giving up on his one true love, but he knows Jamie would want him to be happy, with or without him.

I enjoyed this book about Brian and Jamie. It’s clear from the beginning that these two boys deserve to be together and there’s little else better than two best friends finding love. It’s sweet and heart-breaking and more than a little bit makes one angry at the world that the process of being together for these beautiful, innocent boys is so difficult.

While there’s quite a few beautiful moments, including those involving two of the most amazing foster parents in the history of parenting, there is also a lot of close-mindedness and tragedy. My heart broke more than a few times over the course of this novel, and the cliff-hanger left me wanting to pick up the next installment immediately to continue the journey with Jamie and Brian.

On the one hand, I think the move to turn this series into a YA read was a good one. Essentially, this is a coming of age story, and there are many young adults who would no doubt benefit from and find themselves in the story about these two boys. I did not miss anything that was removed to make it appropriate for a YA audience. There were plenty of romantic moments between the two boys and, while we maybe didn’t get a detailed account of the time they spent in the treehouse, the feelings and chemistry they had is still very apparent.

I do think the biggest problem I had with this story, though, may stem in large part from the adaptation of this book. I’m not sure making Jamie Mayfield the fictional author of this book was the best move. First of all, this story is largely told from the point of view of Brian, and Jamie is gone for a good portion of it. Secondly, the voice felt all wrong to me. Barnaby tends to be quite loquacious. Everything is described in quite vivid detail — all things that are said and done fill up pages upon pages. It is, in fact, tipping 300 pages, which is quite long for one installment of an ongoing YA series.

Mostly, though, it didn’t seem authentic to the voices of the young men. It was quite wordy and also sounded very adult in that wording. There was a lot of introspection that seems to only come from wisdom and experience. And what happened to the carefree nature of youth? I know these poor boys were going through a lot, but the angst and the drama shut down any of that joy that one would feel at such a critical age. I’m not trying to downplay the importance of the unimaginable things that happen to victims of bigots and close-mindedness, but the voice did not match Jamie Mayfield, and that is why I can say I recommend, but do not strongly recommend, this book.

Especially if you have a YA reader in your house, I’d pick this one up. I already said before, I’m looking forward to the next installment and hope for some happiness for this couple. They truly deserve it.

[Deezy · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
Just a warning: I bought the ebook years ago and had it on my kindle. I can’t find the sequels to buy anywhere. Oh well…

[Jamie Deacon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Based on the award-winning Little Boy Lost series by J.P. Barnaby and adapted for a young adult audience, Choices tells the ill-fated love story of two high school seniors. Yet, this is far more than a romance novel. That isn’t to say the central relationship is secondary or trivial. Rather, the author touches upon so many issues besides the love between the heroes, from bullying and homophobia, to religion and family, resulting in a book that is both complex and thought-provoking.

Brian McAllister and Jamie Mayfield have been inseparable since early childhood, and so the transition from friends to lovers should be the simplest thing in the world. However, growing up in the sleepy backwater of Crayford, Alabama, where the majority of residents hold a zero tolerance attitude towards homosexuality, their journey is far from easy. Rather than risk censure, the boys explore their burgeoning relationship in the seclusion of Jamie’s backyard tree house, discovering the pleasures of one another’s bodies, and planning for the time when they can leave home and display their love openly.

Then their luck runs out, and long before either is prepared for it, their secret is exposed. Jamie’s parents take their son and move away without a hint as to their destination, leaving Brian’s life in tatters. Now that his sexuality is common knowledge, there is no avoiding the prejudice and bullying that comes at him from all directions, and confronting the hatred without Jamie by his side requires a courage Brian never knew he possessed. All through the challenging, often dark days of his final year of high school, only one thing keeps him going—the determination to track down his lover so that he and Jamie can be together again.

What I enjoyed most about this novel, even more than the love story itself, was its portrayal of two such opposing views of Christianity towards homosexuality. On the one hand there’s Jamie’s family, to whom being gay is the ultimate sin against God, and who are prepared to go to any lengths to “save” their son. Then we have Brian’s foster parents, whose faith is every bit as strong as the Mayfields’, but who embrace Brian’s sexuality with love and support.

For me, the religious element added a deeper layer to the plot, and made it interesting enough that I was mostly able to look beyond the author’s tendency to over describe. Alternately hard-hitting and tender, this is a solid opening to the Waiting for Forever series.

Written for Rainbow Book Reviews and Boys on the Brink

[Clare O'Beara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brian is fostered and Jamie's middle class, but they're good friends. Aged seventeen however Brian fears that the Baptist preacher is correct, and everyone will hate him, and he will be damned. It's not his fault that he fancies Jamie, and he's terrified of ruining their friendship. One teacher is a gay man but school is not a supportive place.

Jamie has similar feelings for Brian and is also confused. Neither of them wants to be gay, but hidden in a tree-house, at least they can talk. The less well-off Brian isn't popular with girls. The boys in school come out with lazy, negative comments regarding gay guys. Then there's Brian's foster parents to consider.

Jamie Mayfield's deceptively easy to read, getting us into the mind of young Brian. Forget worrying about being popular; he's worried about losing the guy he loves and being beaten up or driven out of town. I thought one of the better characters was Richard, Brian's foster father, who as an emergency room doctor treats the lad like any person should be treated, and is strongly supportive of him.

'Sticks And Stones' a recent factual book about bullying includes case studies of young adults who were bullied at school because they were gay. One sued his school for discriminating against him while others organised an LGBT support group.

[Curtis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brian McAllister knows that he's unlikely to find acceptance for his sexuality living in a small community in Alabama. He's heard the comments people make at school. He's sat through the sermons in church. So he's never told anyone--the last thing he would need would be to lose his best friend or to have his foster parents send him away. So when his best friend, Jamie Mayfield, confronts him when he's acting strange and said confrontation ends in a kiss, Brian thinks it's all over. To his surprise, however, Jamie lets Brian know he feels the same way. The two embark on a clandestine relationship, but in a small town secrets can only stay hidden for so long. And once they're found out, it's hard to make them ever go away.

For being one of those "growing up gay in a conservative town of bigot stories," this one was actually on the easy end of the reading scale. The angst level isn't through the roof, and the supportive characters are written in a believable and understanding way. I tackled this one fairly quickly because it kept my attention and I never ended up putting it down until I was done.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This rating is based off of having read the Little Boy Lost series and not from this book. Having said that, this book is essentially identical (if not completely identical) to the series so I feel confident that my 5 star rating of all the books in the Little Boy Lost series stands for this one as well. I do own this book and I do support the re-release because it is for a good cause but even though I do own this book, I will likely not read it. This is well worth reading. I loved the series so much. So if you are considering reading the Little Boy Lost series, please consider buying this book because it is for a good cause and you will be reading the same book as is in the series, just in a different package.

[Bob · Rating 1 out of 5]

First of all, this is a very good story. So why did I rate it only one star? Because I do not like being deceived.

Yes, it does state that this is "adapted from" a JP Barnaby story, but what it actually is is an exact copy of Barnaby's little boy lost book 1. Since I had previously purchased the little boy lost series, I compared this book side-by-side with the Barnaby title and they are the same word for word.

That said, if you have not read either of these books do yourself a favor and download it because it is an excellent story.

[The Blog of Sid Love]

4 Stars

Please read review at The Blog of Sid Love

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have recommended this book to all my friends who enjoy a great love story....