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One Man Guy #2
Hold My Hand
Alek Khederian thinks about his life B.E. and A.E.: Before Ethan and After Ethan. Before Ethan, Alek was just an average Armenian-American kid with a mess of curly dark hair, grades not nearly good enough for his parents, and no idea of who he was or what he wanted. After he got together with Ethan, Alek was a new man. Stylish. Confident. (And even if he wasn’t quite marching in LGBTQ parades), Gay and Out and Proud.
With their six-month anniversary coming up, Alek and Ethan want to do something special to celebrate. Like, really special. Like, the most special thing two people in love can do with one another. But Alek’s not sure he’s ready for that. And then he learns something about Ethan that may not just change their relationship, but end it.
Alek can't bear the thought of finding out who he'd be P.E.: Post-Ethan. But he also can't forgive or forget what Ethan did. Luckily, his best friend Becky and madcap Armenian family are there to help him figure out whether it’s time to just let Ethan go, or reach out and hold his hand.
Hold My Hand is a funny, smart, relatable take on the joy and challenges of teenage love, the boundaries of forgiveness, and what it really means to be honest.
With their six-month anniversary coming up, Alek and Ethan want to do something special to celebrate. Like, really special. Like, the most special thing two people in love can do with one another. But Alek’s not sure he’s ready for that. And then he learns something about Ethan that may not just change their relationship, but end it.
Alek can't bear the thought of finding out who he'd be P.E.: Post-Ethan. But he also can't forgive or forget what Ethan did. Luckily, his best friend Becky and madcap Armenian family are there to help him figure out whether it’s time to just let Ethan go, or reach out and hold his hand.
Hold My Hand is a funny, smart, relatable take on the joy and challenges of teenage love, the boundaries of forgiveness, and what it really means to be honest.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published May 21, 2019
About the author
Michael Barakiva
3 books363 followersMichael Barakiva is an Armenian-Israeli American theater director and writer who lives in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan with his husband, Rafael. He was born in Haifa, Israel and grew up in the suburbs of Central New Jersey, which were much scarier. He attended Vassar College, where he double majored in Drama and English, after which he attended the Juilliard School's Drama Division as an Andrew W. Mellon Fellow in Directing. He has been living in New York City since.
He is the Founding Artistic Director of the Upstart Creatures. a theatre company that creates community through theatre, food, and social justice. www.upstartcreatures.com
He is the Founding Artistic Director of the Upstart Creatures. a theatre company that creates community through theatre, food, and social justice. www.upstartcreatures.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 139 reviews
October 9, 2018
Yeah........
This was not good.
Like why? Who asked for this?
Listen, I absolutely loved One Man Guy. Five stars and all.
WHY, oh why, would you follow it up with this? By now, we all know that Alek and Ethan are the characters of this story, but who asked for this?
I might do a full, in-depth, review but it'll get super spoiler-y but what kind of BS sequel is this? I read the acknowledgement page where the inspiration came from someone telling Barakiva I want Alek and Ethan to break up and get back together and all you could think of what oh, yeah, the ONLY way for them to break up (and be entertaining, I gues??????) is to have cheating be the cause??
Bro, this book messed up One Man Guy for me, and my entire day. I was so hyped when I got the E-ARC of this but now I just want to burn it.
This was not good.
Like why? Who asked for this?
Listen, I absolutely loved One Man Guy. Five stars and all.
WHY, oh why, would you follow it up with this? By now, we all know that Alek and Ethan are the characters of this story, but who asked for this?
I might do a full, in-depth, review but it'll get super spoiler-y but what kind of BS sequel is this? I read the acknowledgement page where the inspiration came from someone telling Barakiva I want Alek and Ethan to break up and get back together and all you could think of what oh, yeah, the ONLY way for them to break up (and be entertaining, I gues??????) is to have cheating be the cause??
Bro, this book messed up One Man Guy for me, and my entire day. I was so hyped when I got the E-ARC of this but now I just want to burn it.
December 23, 2021
I want to thank everyone who wrote, tweeted, pinged, PMed or reached out to me in any other way to tell me about what One Man Guy meant to them. Although Hold My Hand is a stand-alone sequel, and it is meant to be enjoyed entirely on its own, it was the response of the readers of OMG that inspired me to write another book.
I have spent most of my life directing plays, and as much as I love that (and I do love it), getting to interact with the readers of OMG directly has helped me understand what kind of art I'd like to be making in my life, and the impact I hope it has.
HMH is a very personal book for me, as was OMG. It dives into the the heart of so many of the things that are important to me as someone who is queer, someone who is Armenian, and most of all, someone who loves food and making it and eating it.
And for the readers of OMG who are nervous about HMH, I hope you'll trust me enough to take the leap.
I have spent most of my life directing plays, and as much as I love that (and I do love it), getting to interact with the readers of OMG directly has helped me understand what kind of art I'd like to be making in my life, and the impact I hope it has.
HMH is a very personal book for me, as was OMG. It dives into the the heart of so many of the things that are important to me as someone who is queer, someone who is Armenian, and most of all, someone who loves food and making it and eating it.
And for the readers of OMG who are nervous about HMH, I hope you'll trust me enough to take the leap.
September 23, 2019
I hate this book. Not only did it ruin one man guy, but as a stand-alone is terrible.
I hate the actions and words from everyone, specially Becky, I can’t stand her.
The only redeeming qualities are Nik because #characterdevelopment and learning about Amenian culture, but aside from that everything is terrible, because even the good things are so forced that become terrible.
Wouldn’t recommend to anyone, stay away from this book. I loved one man guy and I was excited about a sequel until I read the synopsis, I should have listened to my instinct and skipped this book.
I wanted to love it and that is what is making me hating it more.
*******spoiler********
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CHEATING IS NOT COOL
In my humble opinion they didn’t need to go back together. What Ethan did was trashy and I wouldn’t have gotten back with him.
I hate the actions and words from everyone, specially Becky, I can’t stand her.
The only redeeming qualities are Nik because #characterdevelopment and learning about Amenian culture, but aside from that everything is terrible, because even the good things are so forced that become terrible.
Wouldn’t recommend to anyone, stay away from this book. I loved one man guy and I was excited about a sequel until I read the synopsis, I should have listened to my instinct and skipped this book.
I wanted to love it and that is what is making me hating it more.
*******spoiler********
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*
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CHEATING IS NOT COOL
In my humble opinion they didn’t need to go back together. What Ethan did was trashy and I wouldn’t have gotten back with him.
July 5, 2019
I honestly don't feel comfortable writing negative reviews, but this time, since this series of books was a recommendation of one of my teenage students, I felt morally obligated to.
First of all, I enjoyed One Man Guy immensely. I really did. The pace was great, it was a lighthearted story with just the right amount of drama and Alek and Ethan have a normal, healthy relationship.
When I bought Hold My Hand I was really excited to see what was coming next, and never in a million years would I have predicted that
Obviously, there certainly are positive elements in this book, such as Alek's family, the whole church situation and the portrayal of Armenian culture, which I found enlightening and fascinating.
In conclusion, I would definitely recomment One Man Guy to my students, but this one I'd really have to pass.
First of all, I enjoyed One Man Guy immensely. I really did. The pace was great, it was a lighthearted story with just the right amount of drama and Alek and Ethan have a normal, healthy relationship.
When I bought Hold My Hand I was really excited to see what was coming next, and never in a million years would I have predicted that
Obviously, there certainly are positive elements in this book, such as Alek's family, the whole church situation and the portrayal of Armenian culture, which I found enlightening and fascinating.
In conclusion, I would definitely recomment One Man Guy to my students, but this one I'd really have to pass.
Want to Read
January 28, 2017One man guy is very likely going to be the best thing I'll read this year.
I WILL read absolutely everything written by Michael Barakiva, EXCEPT for anything centered on the main characters from One man guy. That book is a fragile, perfect little world. It needs nothing else.
I WILL read absolutely everything written by Michael Barakiva, EXCEPT for anything centered on the main characters from One man guy. That book is a fragile, perfect little world. It needs nothing else.
June 16, 2019
Why, though?
May 28, 2019
I received this book from the publisher/tour host in exchange of an honest review.
My excitement was through the roof when I found out about this book. A sequel to one of my favourite books? Yes, so much yes! Then came a tour invitation for this book and I was crossing my fingers to be selected for a review + spot on the tour. I was! Sadly, because my review is 3 stars (and wasn't 90-100% positive), I couldn't share my review. But here we are. There were still tons of things good about this book, but sadly I was also disappointed. Things that didn't add up, the whys this book was written and why it couldn't be another reason (a nicer reason), too much pushing against things, wanting to be accepted yet also make remarks to others when they are in love. However there were also things that I loved. Becky, Ethan x Alek, Alek's grandma, more Armenian culture, the pacing was just fab. So while I am disappointed I am also happy that I had the chance to read this book.
I will be writing a good/not so good review.
Good:
-Seeing Ethan and Alek again! They are such a sweet and cute couple and I love how much chemistry is between them. This time a bit more tension as Ethan wants a bit more, and I can imagine that Alek is questioning if he should do it or not. Later on in the story we find out why Alek was mostly hesitant about the whole sex thing (then again, even without that reason, he is still 14... sorry, but I just think that is a bit young to make this big step).
-The delightful scene in which Ethan explains gay sex. It was 2 am and I was laughing, or well, trying not to laugh too loud as my fiance was sleeping next to me. Welp, I can never look at those foods normally again. Thank you Ethan, thank you Alek.
-Becky! I just adore this girl and I was delighted to see her get a boyfriend, and that guy even. Totally unexpected, but definitely cute and sweet.
-The Armenian culture/parents/the church. I love reading about different cultures and it was tons of fun reading about how the church worked, the stories that were told, the songs that were sung, but also see the food and how the parents are (a bit overbearing, but I just adore how supportive they are of Ethan and Alek). I can say that I was very hungry after reading this one, so many delicious sounding food that I hope to try out one day.
-Nik. Surprise! In the beginning I wasn't a big fan of Alek's brother but as the story continued he got more interesting and at the end he did something amazing.
-The cover! The first cover was fabulous + yellow, and this one is fabulous + blue. Oh, how I wish I could have both books together so I could see how lovely the contrast is. Sadly, no under 4.5 starred books allowed.
-The pacing. I just flew through this book. It took me about 2 and a half hours to read this one, and even with the things I hated/disliked, I couldn't stop reading. Just like the first book, this one sucks you in.
-Alek's grandma. What a sweet lady, and I couldn't help but laugh at how much she already knows. :P
-Something that I also love how well Alek is written in regards with his age. At times he feels a bit older, but generally he is indeed a 14, going on 15, boy figuring out life and all that happens in it.
-I am also so happy that Alek and Ethan can be out and proud. Sure, it isn't always easy, but it made me feel warm and fuzzy inside that they could hold hands and be together with tons of dates.
-The dates. I just loved it when they went to the big city and Ethan had arranged a whole day for Alek with all his favourite things and tons of romantic events.
And now for the not so good/bad things.
-Alek. Dramaqueen extra-ordinary. There were several scenes in which I found him overreacting way too much. When he found out about I was nodding along, though I wish instead of running away he would have talked to Ethan. Then again, I know how However later on there were other instances that had me rolling my eyes to the heavens. It was like a little child having a tantrum because he doesn't get his favourite thing.
-Then there was the whole crusade (as I would call it) against the church and what they stand for. Specifically LGBT, woman rights, abortion, etc.. I am a bi girl myself + a Christian, but I just couldn't connect at all with all the stuff happening, it was just too much and felt way too pushy. Plus, it was just unrealistic. Did Alek really think that just having one conversation with the Reverend and holding a little essay would change the vision and way of people? It is not that easy, and as for the church, those views have been around for thousands of years, they aren't going to change with just the snap of a finger or a little heartfelt essay, it would take many more essays, more conversations, more discussions, and more other things to maybe set a step towards a brighter future. It is as the Reverend said, he wants to change, but it isn't easy to steer a big ship like this to another direction. It will take years.
-Ethan. What the fuck was up with Ethan?
Plus, I didn't like how pushy he was towards Alek regarding the sex thing and how he acted when Alek wasn't ready. He said he was OK with it, but how he reacted said a whole other thing, and I hate it when characters get pushy about something so important as this.
-Alek's parents. While supportive, they were also highly annoying with how overbearing and controlling they were. They constantly had a remark ready for every situation, and I am sorry, if it was my restaurant or my place and these people would come in and demand all sorts of silly things, I would ask them to leave.
-Becky. Or well, how convenient it was that Becky was always there when Alek needed her. Love advice? Becky is here. Anything else though... not so much. It was a shame. I would have loved to see the two of them do more without the need of love advice or other advice. Just them going out, having a fun time.
-The non-stop talk about hetero this and hetero that. I tried counting them, but it was just too late and I gave up. But I think it is a bit weird that a guy wants to be accepted for who he loves but then makes constant comments about heteros and heteronormative behaviour.
-How Alek was towards Becky's boyfriend. He was very aggressive, very angry, and he acted more like a dad rather than a best friend. It was kind of unnerving.
So yeah, good and bad points. Still 3 stars as I still had quite some fun while reading it + I am quite happy to see the characters again.
My excitement was through the roof when I found out about this book. A sequel to one of my favourite books? Yes, so much yes! Then came a tour invitation for this book and I was crossing my fingers to be selected for a review + spot on the tour. I was! Sadly, because my review is 3 stars (and wasn't 90-100% positive), I couldn't share my review. But here we are. There were still tons of things good about this book, but sadly I was also disappointed. Things that didn't add up, the whys this book was written and why it couldn't be another reason (a nicer reason), too much pushing against things, wanting to be accepted yet also make remarks to others when they are in love. However there were also things that I loved. Becky, Ethan x Alek, Alek's grandma, more Armenian culture, the pacing was just fab. So while I am disappointed I am also happy that I had the chance to read this book.
I will be writing a good/not so good review.
Good:
-Seeing Ethan and Alek again! They are such a sweet and cute couple and I love how much chemistry is between them. This time a bit more tension as Ethan wants a bit more, and I can imagine that Alek is questioning if he should do it or not. Later on in the story we find out why Alek was mostly hesitant about the whole sex thing (then again, even without that reason, he is still 14... sorry, but I just think that is a bit young to make this big step).
-The delightful scene in which Ethan explains gay sex. It was 2 am and I was laughing, or well, trying not to laugh too loud as my fiance was sleeping next to me. Welp, I can never look at those foods normally again. Thank you Ethan, thank you Alek.
-Becky! I just adore this girl and I was delighted to see her get a boyfriend, and that guy even. Totally unexpected, but definitely cute and sweet.
-The Armenian culture/parents/the church. I love reading about different cultures and it was tons of fun reading about how the church worked, the stories that were told, the songs that were sung, but also see the food and how the parents are (a bit overbearing, but I just adore how supportive they are of Ethan and Alek). I can say that I was very hungry after reading this one, so many delicious sounding food that I hope to try out one day.
-Nik. Surprise! In the beginning I wasn't a big fan of Alek's brother but as the story continued he got more interesting and at the end he did something amazing.
-The cover! The first cover was fabulous + yellow, and this one is fabulous + blue. Oh, how I wish I could have both books together so I could see how lovely the contrast is. Sadly, no under 4.5 starred books allowed.
-The pacing. I just flew through this book. It took me about 2 and a half hours to read this one, and even with the things I hated/disliked, I couldn't stop reading. Just like the first book, this one sucks you in.
-Alek's grandma. What a sweet lady, and I couldn't help but laugh at how much she already knows. :P
-Something that I also love how well Alek is written in regards with his age. At times he feels a bit older, but generally he is indeed a 14, going on 15, boy figuring out life and all that happens in it.
-I am also so happy that Alek and Ethan can be out and proud. Sure, it isn't always easy, but it made me feel warm and fuzzy inside that they could hold hands and be together with tons of dates.
-The dates. I just loved it when they went to the big city and Ethan had arranged a whole day for Alek with all his favourite things and tons of romantic events.
And now for the not so good/bad things.
-Alek. Dramaqueen extra-ordinary. There were several scenes in which I found him overreacting way too much. When he found out about I was nodding along, though I wish instead of running away he would have talked to Ethan. Then again, I know how However later on there were other instances that had me rolling my eyes to the heavens. It was like a little child having a tantrum because he doesn't get his favourite thing.
-Then there was the whole crusade (as I would call it) against the church and what they stand for. Specifically LGBT, woman rights, abortion, etc.. I am a bi girl myself + a Christian, but I just couldn't connect at all with all the stuff happening, it was just too much and felt way too pushy. Plus, it was just unrealistic. Did Alek really think that just having one conversation with the Reverend and holding a little essay would change the vision and way of people? It is not that easy, and as for the church, those views have been around for thousands of years, they aren't going to change with just the snap of a finger or a little heartfelt essay, it would take many more essays, more conversations, more discussions, and more other things to maybe set a step towards a brighter future. It is as the Reverend said, he wants to change, but it isn't easy to steer a big ship like this to another direction. It will take years.
-Ethan. What the fuck was up with Ethan?
Plus, I didn't like how pushy he was towards Alek regarding the sex thing and how he acted when Alek wasn't ready. He said he was OK with it, but how he reacted said a whole other thing, and I hate it when characters get pushy about something so important as this.
-Alek's parents. While supportive, they were also highly annoying with how overbearing and controlling they were. They constantly had a remark ready for every situation, and I am sorry, if it was my restaurant or my place and these people would come in and demand all sorts of silly things, I would ask them to leave.
-Becky. Or well, how convenient it was that Becky was always there when Alek needed her. Love advice? Becky is here. Anything else though... not so much. It was a shame. I would have loved to see the two of them do more without the need of love advice or other advice. Just them going out, having a fun time.
-The non-stop talk about hetero this and hetero that. I tried counting them, but it was just too late and I gave up. But I think it is a bit weird that a guy wants to be accepted for who he loves but then makes constant comments about heteros and heteronormative behaviour.
-How Alek was towards Becky's boyfriend. He was very aggressive, very angry, and he acted more like a dad rather than a best friend. It was kind of unnerving.
So yeah, good and bad points. Still 3 stars as I still had quite some fun while reading it + I am quite happy to see the characters again.
October 24, 2019
A cardinal sin was committed by one of the characters here. And not in the sense that it would derive smiting from the Lord above. I meant a cardinal sin against what I truly hold holy in my reading life: .
NOPE.
I am sad. One Man Guy was a favourite book of mine. And this sequel, ruined that for me. :(
NOPE.
I am sad. One Man Guy was a favourite book of mine. And this sequel, ruined that for me. :(
Read
May 25, 2019Graded By: Brian
Cover Story: Hands Where I Can See Them
Drinking Buddy: My First Drink
Testosterone Level: Health Class
Talky Talk: And That is Why You Fail
Bonus Factors: The Armenian Orthodox Church, My Best Friends Boyfriend
Bromance Status: College Ex
Read the full book report here.
Cover Story: Hands Where I Can See Them
Drinking Buddy: My First Drink
Testosterone Level: Health Class
Talky Talk: And That is Why You Fail
Bonus Factors: The Armenian Orthodox Church, My Best Friends Boyfriend
Bromance Status: College Ex
Read the full book report here.
July 5, 2019
I'm sorry that some readers and reviewers were bothered by the truths in this novel, a follow-up to the well-loved One Man Guy. But the fact of the matter is that even in the best of relationships, there is honesty, and often the members of a couple are tempted or fall into temptation and cheat. I'm not saying that's right or that it's even forgivable or expected, but it often does happen. While I hope that Alek Khederian, almost fifteen when the book begins, and Ethan will ride happily into the sunset together and that their love can stand the test of time, who knows what will happen? As they near their sixth month of togetherness, Alek isn't sure that he wants to take their relationship to the next physical level, and Ethan's dealing with insecurities of his own. After they've had a frank conversation about sex and Alek feels ready, he learns that Ethan has cheated on him, and freaks out. But the book is so much more than this. It's also a love story to family, acceptance, understanding, and standing up for what's right. As much as he loves his Armenian family and culture, Alek is wiser and more worldly than he was in the first book, and he finds it impossible to sit by silently now that he's become aware of his church's policies and practices toward others, especially women and gays. I'm sure many readers will open this book for the romance and the kissing between Alek and Ethan, but I hope they will continue to its end as they watch the characters grow, change, make mistakes, take risks, and find a way to forgive one another. The story itself is rich with Armenian culture, food, and stories and plenty of love, love, love. The author's depiction of the deep disappointments Alek experiences and his loss of innocence are pitch-perfect.
July 21, 2019
a star for nik and a star for señor huevo
April 12, 2019
“Hold My Hand” by Michael Barakiva
•
The sequel to the gay YA book “One Man Guy” continues the story of Alek and Ethan as they approach their six month anniversary. Between Thanksgiving and Armenian Christmas, the couple’s relationship becomes strained when some truths are revealed as they decide to take their relationship to the next level. Alek deals with his best friend starting a new relationship. An unknown individual wrote a gay slur in a friend’s notebook in Armenian Saturday school. And even worse, Ethan’s gorgeous Aussie ex, Remi, is back in town and invited himself to Alek’s birthday dinner. Friendships and relationships are tested over the holidays in this warm, sweet, fun novel.
•
There are many ways to rate a book. A young adult novel gets the highest marks when it makes me cry because I’m overwhelmed with emotion. This novel make me tear up and swell with emotion, and not in the part I expected. It’s a wonderfully sweet novel that stays true to the characters and story in “One Man Guy.” Like it’s predecessor this book is full of Armenian cultural references including some cooking tips (who knew that we’d get a lesson in peeling pearl onions in a YA novel?) This book explores some important themes like religion, culture, acceptance, and forgiveness. I would have liked to have seen more of a character arc or change from Alek, I thought he was a little unreasonable in the book. I really enjoyed it and devoured it in one sitting, flying to Hawaii. This was a great start to a vacation. I recommend this book for anyone who likes gay YA romance fiction. It will not disappoint you. This book is available in May so pre-order it or put it on your calendar. • eBook • Fiction - YA, LGBTQ • Provided by NetGalley. • ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️▪️
•
The sequel to the gay YA book “One Man Guy” continues the story of Alek and Ethan as they approach their six month anniversary. Between Thanksgiving and Armenian Christmas, the couple’s relationship becomes strained when some truths are revealed as they decide to take their relationship to the next level. Alek deals with his best friend starting a new relationship. An unknown individual wrote a gay slur in a friend’s notebook in Armenian Saturday school. And even worse, Ethan’s gorgeous Aussie ex, Remi, is back in town and invited himself to Alek’s birthday dinner. Friendships and relationships are tested over the holidays in this warm, sweet, fun novel.
•
There are many ways to rate a book. A young adult novel gets the highest marks when it makes me cry because I’m overwhelmed with emotion. This novel make me tear up and swell with emotion, and not in the part I expected. It’s a wonderfully sweet novel that stays true to the characters and story in “One Man Guy.” Like it’s predecessor this book is full of Armenian cultural references including some cooking tips (who knew that we’d get a lesson in peeling pearl onions in a YA novel?) This book explores some important themes like religion, culture, acceptance, and forgiveness. I would have liked to have seen more of a character arc or change from Alek, I thought he was a little unreasonable in the book. I really enjoyed it and devoured it in one sitting, flying to Hawaii. This was a great start to a vacation. I recommend this book for anyone who likes gay YA romance fiction. It will not disappoint you. This book is available in May so pre-order it or put it on your calendar. • eBook • Fiction - YA, LGBTQ • Provided by NetGalley. • ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️▪️
June 30, 2019
4/4 A+
Alek Khederian and Ethan Novick - are they a cutesy teenage couple, or perhaps the best love story in the history of literature?
Kissing Ethan.
Kissing Ethan rocked.
That’s the introduction of this book. The sequel to One Man Guy where I recently did an updated review, Alek and Ethan have now been dating for almost six months. We later learn that’s the longest any other couple at their high school have stayed together. And their six-month anniversary is fast approaching, and not only that, but since summer school ended, something different has happened between the two. In the past, they clearly made each other happy and enjoyed each other’s company massively, but here it’s much bigger. They now feel their relationship could be very serious. Have they said the “l” word yet? Not yet. Have they had sex yet? They’ve spent a lot of time in bed and, most likely in their underwear, but no, not yet. I suspect after they nearly broke up in the first book right before they were about to, the fact they got back together was more important. Well, it’s almost Christmas, and for Armenians like him, their holidays are a bit wonky, not just because 30 different relatives are coming for the family dinner this week, nor that Alek is turning 15, but the calendar and way of celebration itself are different. There’s also something happening in Saturday School, a parody of Sunday School Alek and his older brother Nik are a part of. And as Ethan’s desire to be more up front and personal with his boyfriend steadily increases, Alek also begins trembling when Ethan’s ex, Remi, arrives back like a computer virus, all picture perfect and irresistible and celebrity-esque.
The reason I don’t read a lot of romance novels, and have not even ever picked up a book with two real-life characters kissing or embracing on the cover, is because I’ve felt because I have stories of my own, reading an entire book on someone else’s love story without much else seemingly going for it wouldn’t be very enticing. But Hold My Hand proved me wrong and now I might be against what I used to believe. I read this book in one sitting over two weeks ago, and what happens between Alek and Ethan and what they do about it still feels like I just put it down and am still processing the words on the page. Barakiva apparently wrote this book with a bit of pain, because he had to think back to the feelings of betrayal and loss, and he delivered with so much heartache and honest emotion I could practically see the tears on their faces.
Barakiva also sticks to the trials and tribulations of an Armenian household. There was an episode of The Big Bang Theory where Penny was forced to have lunch with a “lovely” Armenian family, where it was eight courses of lamb. He lets a few things go, and I admittedly did not like the dismissal of one character from the last book, and I was a little concerned at first about getting rid of Ethan’s nickname for Alek, but then again, this last thing allows us to think about the progression of their relationship, going from best kissing buds to inseparable (perhaps) soulmates. Six months in a teenage relationship, especially one with almost two years of age difference, is about five times that long for any adult relationship. You can feel the similarities of the personalities of the characters from the last book, and differences for how they’ve grown a little and have new interests to tackle.
Something that either broke or healed my heart was something Ethan says. Well, actually, there are about a dozen things he says that I either laughed out loud at or I had to stop reading because I was worried I was going to drop a tear on the page. But there’s one in particular near the ending about how he feels about himself where I can’t imagine a single reader not relating. It solidifies the idea that one of the many reasons this is a romance novel that stupendously works is the both of them love being with each other and don’t end up dismissive when something goes wrong.
The new and old characters are all delightful. Arno is another Armenian from Alek’s church who’s going through a relateably devastating incident. Alek ends up stretching this incident to a length no one else is really comfortable with, and making it one of the top priorities was at first questioning, but what Alek said about why he was doing it was honest and sweet, thinking about the precedent it would set for others. Reverend Father is multi-dimensional as well, with him and Alek having a very deep conversation about the church that highlights arguments both simply and menacingly. Dustin is an extremely relatable new addition, not always sure of the best way to start a conversation but surprises us with a thoughtful two-sided way to end a rough argument. Becky, with her new taste in candy, is as frightening and hilarious and peppy as ever, and the inability of satisfaction from Alek’s parents brings us the same feel of relatability as the last book for how our parents’ condescension can sometimes be ridiculous. A character we’d only heard about in the last book is as instantly unlikeable as Barakiva wants us to feel about him, yet even he’s worth exploring.
There are various sensitive topics here, but the one that applies the biggest to the plot is the idea of cheating and being forgiven. Obviously, there are loads of situations in the world that shouldn’t be forgiven, and if they are leads to double the pain for the forgiver. Barakiva was aware of this book’s responsibility, and he wrote some of this based on heartbreak he personally went through. That’s exactly how to write, inking something that made him feel worthless and channeling all his emotion into it.
A nice extra touch was a sense of stargazing. We may not get another one of these books, and there are notices where the characters ask themselves what they’re going to do when they grow up and what they want to accomplish. It leaves a lingering impression on what will probably happen over time, allowing reader fans like me to sit back and imagine.
My advice: Read One Man Guy first, whatever means necessary. Then read Hold My Hand, maybe waiting a little while before to let yourself think about it further. These two books are masterful works of art that look deep into the human heart whenever it isn’t making us giggle with its sly humour or making us envious of the touching lips of the protagonists.
Alek Khederian and Ethan Novick - are they a cutesy teenage couple, or perhaps the best love story in the history of literature?
Kissing Ethan.
Kissing Ethan rocked.
That’s the introduction of this book. The sequel to One Man Guy where I recently did an updated review, Alek and Ethan have now been dating for almost six months. We later learn that’s the longest any other couple at their high school have stayed together. And their six-month anniversary is fast approaching, and not only that, but since summer school ended, something different has happened between the two. In the past, they clearly made each other happy and enjoyed each other’s company massively, but here it’s much bigger. They now feel their relationship could be very serious. Have they said the “l” word yet? Not yet. Have they had sex yet? They’ve spent a lot of time in bed and, most likely in their underwear, but no, not yet. I suspect after they nearly broke up in the first book right before they were about to, the fact they got back together was more important. Well, it’s almost Christmas, and for Armenians like him, their holidays are a bit wonky, not just because 30 different relatives are coming for the family dinner this week, nor that Alek is turning 15, but the calendar and way of celebration itself are different. There’s also something happening in Saturday School, a parody of Sunday School Alek and his older brother Nik are a part of. And as Ethan’s desire to be more up front and personal with his boyfriend steadily increases, Alek also begins trembling when Ethan’s ex, Remi, arrives back like a computer virus, all picture perfect and irresistible and celebrity-esque.
The reason I don’t read a lot of romance novels, and have not even ever picked up a book with two real-life characters kissing or embracing on the cover, is because I’ve felt because I have stories of my own, reading an entire book on someone else’s love story without much else seemingly going for it wouldn’t be very enticing. But Hold My Hand proved me wrong and now I might be against what I used to believe. I read this book in one sitting over two weeks ago, and what happens between Alek and Ethan and what they do about it still feels like I just put it down and am still processing the words on the page. Barakiva apparently wrote this book with a bit of pain, because he had to think back to the feelings of betrayal and loss, and he delivered with so much heartache and honest emotion I could practically see the tears on their faces.
Barakiva also sticks to the trials and tribulations of an Armenian household. There was an episode of The Big Bang Theory where Penny was forced to have lunch with a “lovely” Armenian family, where it was eight courses of lamb. He lets a few things go, and I admittedly did not like the dismissal of one character from the last book, and I was a little concerned at first about getting rid of Ethan’s nickname for Alek, but then again, this last thing allows us to think about the progression of their relationship, going from best kissing buds to inseparable (perhaps) soulmates. Six months in a teenage relationship, especially one with almost two years of age difference, is about five times that long for any adult relationship. You can feel the similarities of the personalities of the characters from the last book, and differences for how they’ve grown a little and have new interests to tackle.
Something that either broke or healed my heart was something Ethan says. Well, actually, there are about a dozen things he says that I either laughed out loud at or I had to stop reading because I was worried I was going to drop a tear on the page. But there’s one in particular near the ending about how he feels about himself where I can’t imagine a single reader not relating. It solidifies the idea that one of the many reasons this is a romance novel that stupendously works is the both of them love being with each other and don’t end up dismissive when something goes wrong.
The new and old characters are all delightful. Arno is another Armenian from Alek’s church who’s going through a relateably devastating incident. Alek ends up stretching this incident to a length no one else is really comfortable with, and making it one of the top priorities was at first questioning, but what Alek said about why he was doing it was honest and sweet, thinking about the precedent it would set for others. Reverend Father is multi-dimensional as well, with him and Alek having a very deep conversation about the church that highlights arguments both simply and menacingly. Dustin is an extremely relatable new addition, not always sure of the best way to start a conversation but surprises us with a thoughtful two-sided way to end a rough argument. Becky, with her new taste in candy, is as frightening and hilarious and peppy as ever, and the inability of satisfaction from Alek’s parents brings us the same feel of relatability as the last book for how our parents’ condescension can sometimes be ridiculous. A character we’d only heard about in the last book is as instantly unlikeable as Barakiva wants us to feel about him, yet even he’s worth exploring.
There are various sensitive topics here, but the one that applies the biggest to the plot is the idea of cheating and being forgiven. Obviously, there are loads of situations in the world that shouldn’t be forgiven, and if they are leads to double the pain for the forgiver. Barakiva was aware of this book’s responsibility, and he wrote some of this based on heartbreak he personally went through. That’s exactly how to write, inking something that made him feel worthless and channeling all his emotion into it.
A nice extra touch was a sense of stargazing. We may not get another one of these books, and there are notices where the characters ask themselves what they’re going to do when they grow up and what they want to accomplish. It leaves a lingering impression on what will probably happen over time, allowing reader fans like me to sit back and imagine.
My advice: Read One Man Guy first, whatever means necessary. Then read Hold My Hand, maybe waiting a little while before to let yourself think about it further. These two books are masterful works of art that look deep into the human heart whenever it isn’t making us giggle with its sly humour or making us envious of the touching lips of the protagonists.
July 2, 2020
Read by the author Michael Barakiva, Hold My Hand is a charming sequel to One Man Guy, and should be read in sequence.
The polemics, particularly about the Armenian genocide and the Church's inability to reflect our 21st century society, are heavier in this second novel, but they never rise to the level of becoming so off-putting we forget we're reading a novel. The characters, especially the precocious Alek, his wise-beyond-her-height best friend Becky, and his cheating yet irresistible boyfriend Ethan all come alive in this well-written study, which begins with a rocking kiss and ends with one. Alek's parents also and delightfully play major roles both as guides to the culture and foils to their son.
Alek and Ethan's relationship pivots on the meme of holding hands, and the author tracks it smoothly into the plot with the song Hold My Hand by country singer Brandy Clark. Fans of Rufus Wainwright will also welcome his contributions to the background score. And pausing the reading to cue up these cuts from your favorite music service only enhances the pleasure of a book that celebrates character, individualism, friendship, tradition, first love, family, and oh yeah, F o o d!
The polemics, particularly about the Armenian genocide and the Church's inability to reflect our 21st century society, are heavier in this second novel, but they never rise to the level of becoming so off-putting we forget we're reading a novel. The characters, especially the precocious Alek, his wise-beyond-her-height best friend Becky, and his cheating yet irresistible boyfriend Ethan all come alive in this well-written study, which begins with a rocking kiss and ends with one. Alek's parents also and delightfully play major roles both as guides to the culture and foils to their son.
Alek and Ethan's relationship pivots on the meme of holding hands, and the author tracks it smoothly into the plot with the song Hold My Hand by country singer Brandy Clark. Fans of Rufus Wainwright will also welcome his contributions to the background score. And pausing the reading to cue up these cuts from your favorite music service only enhances the pleasure of a book that celebrates character, individualism, friendship, tradition, first love, family, and oh yeah, F o o d!
May 1, 2021
It was like One Man Guy, just less sunny. Which is good, because the world isn’t perfect, but it’s just not in the same level as a perfect little love story. The writing wasn’t as great, in my opinion— especially the cohesiveness. A lot of the characters actions were seemingly out of character, unexplained, and unexplained. To some degree at least. Nevertheless, I again loved the complexity and intersectionality of Alek, and it was cool to actually see him becoming more mature. The humor was great, although I think One Man Guy still did better. Overall, great book, not disappointed! ...Although I do miss the lightheartedness of One Man Guy...
June 14, 2019
Michael Barakiva is an amazing writer who greatly inspires me. Some people may not like what comes after the happy ending, but we all know how real life plays out, and sometimes things are a lot more complicated than forgive/don't forgive, especially when it comes to love. The subject matter may be painful--especially if you've ever been in a similar situation--and because of that it may be a bit of a tough read, but Barakiva handles this story with all the heart and tenderness he did in One Man Guy.
December 13, 2019
A most excellent and up-to-date teen novel about a gay teenager navigating the perils of love and sex and his traditional Armenian family.
Read
July 7, 2020Meditation on forgiveness and if it has limits -- and what people deserve to have after a mistake.
April 29, 2026
It’s the kind-of sequel we got... and didn’t particularly need, but it’s the thought that counts, right?
(Boy, I hate writing reviews for books whose authors I’ve met. It feels kind of mean, but... if you’re on here, then you’ve opened the box and that’s your fault. Sorry, not sorry.)
Anyway, here’s the main Thing that really grinds my buttons about the... I don’t know what this series is called... these books, One Man Guy and Hold My Hand: it’s Ethan.
Three reads with Ethan and I still don’t know what his capital-D Deal is. I Don’t Get Him. It’s not that Ethan is necessarily flat or one-dimensional, it’s that he just has one note and he plays that one note Constantly and Really Hard. His dialogue still Sucks, so much so that I literally feel like my Life Points get drained with every line. It’s Ethan who wants to have sex, but when it comes down to really discussing it, it’s suddenly “hard to talk about” and he resorts to food metaphors to explain anal sex like a hard-pressed middle-class Christian white dad from Arizona. It took me ages to get through that fucking scene because I literally felt the secondhand embarrassment beat me up harder with every mention of hot dog and kebab than every minute of That Scene From Spider-Man 3 (you know what I’m talking about). The sex food metaphors were probably meant to be cute, but no... it wasn’t. And, I don’t know, isn’t fifteen a little too young to have sex? Maybe it’s just me and my personal (and lack of) experience when I was a Complete Dumbass at fifteen, but Ethan’s vibe makes him feel so much older than his seventeen years that I feel... I hate to say it, predatorial? (Or maybe that’s just me because I was a Depressed Hoe at seventeen.)
Ethan’s development was minimal but promising at the end of One Man Guy, but his brain cell count seems to have not increased beyond one (1) this whole time. (Spoilers ahead, but unless you’re blind, the cover is pretty obvious.) In One Man Guy, Ethan was the one who wanted to be monogamous after his devastating relationship with Remi. However, in a stroke of writing genius, despite almost two years of hindsight, Ethan completely goes against his own values and cheats on Alek with Remi, who’s suddenly back in the States.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I know there is a possibility for reconciliation after a partner cheats. I’ve seen Esther Perel’s “Rethinking Infidelity” TED Talk. When it comes to something like this, I personally think it’s Alek alone who needs to make the decision. The thing with this book, however, is that there’s so much manipulative dialogue that Alek is subject to after the act is revealed, it ends up feeling so cheap and fake when they basically do get back together in the end. Even Jesus is a manipulative presence when Alek has a “I should be a good Christian and forgive” moment in church. EVEN REMI COMES BY TO TELL ALEK TO GET BACK TOGETHER WITH ETHAN. Alek’s “choice” to reconcile with Ethan didn’t come from within himself, it was just the result of various outside forces pushing him to make that decision. The only person whom Alek really needed to talk to was Ethan, but even then I didn’t feel like they had the right conversation. Ethan sounded so manipulative when he claimed that Alek “owed him a second chance.” Ethan, honey, when you fuck up, you don’t cash in, you beg. And his confession of self-sabotage is so late in the book, like last two pages too late, that at that point, it just felt like a pity-grab move. Ethan has only one (1) brain cell and it’s so painfully and embarrassingly obvious in this book, that at this point, I really do believe that Alek deserves better than him in the long-term. (And any true New Yorker knows you don’t go to Rockefeller or Chelsea for ice-skating, you go to Bryant Park for the free admission, you dumbass.)
Anyway... these are my thoughts. I’m really only giving this book two stars for Alek, my favorite character, the aspects of Armenian culture, which are well-written as always, and the subplot about reconciling religion and self.
#JusticeForArno
(Boy, I hate writing reviews for books whose authors I’ve met. It feels kind of mean, but... if you’re on here, then you’ve opened the box and that’s your fault. Sorry, not sorry.)
Anyway, here’s the main Thing that really grinds my buttons about the... I don’t know what this series is called... these books, One Man Guy and Hold My Hand: it’s Ethan.
Three reads with Ethan and I still don’t know what his capital-D Deal is. I Don’t Get Him. It’s not that Ethan is necessarily flat or one-dimensional, it’s that he just has one note and he plays that one note Constantly and Really Hard. His dialogue still Sucks, so much so that I literally feel like my Life Points get drained with every line. It’s Ethan who wants to have sex, but when it comes down to really discussing it, it’s suddenly “hard to talk about” and he resorts to food metaphors to explain anal sex like a hard-pressed middle-class Christian white dad from Arizona. It took me ages to get through that fucking scene because I literally felt the secondhand embarrassment beat me up harder with every mention of hot dog and kebab than every minute of That Scene From Spider-Man 3 (you know what I’m talking about). The sex food metaphors were probably meant to be cute, but no... it wasn’t. And, I don’t know, isn’t fifteen a little too young to have sex? Maybe it’s just me and my personal (and lack of) experience when I was a Complete Dumbass at fifteen, but Ethan’s vibe makes him feel so much older than his seventeen years that I feel... I hate to say it, predatorial? (Or maybe that’s just me because I was a Depressed Hoe at seventeen.)
Ethan’s development was minimal but promising at the end of One Man Guy, but his brain cell count seems to have not increased beyond one (1) this whole time. (Spoilers ahead, but unless you’re blind, the cover is pretty obvious.) In One Man Guy, Ethan was the one who wanted to be monogamous after his devastating relationship with Remi. However, in a stroke of writing genius, despite almost two years of hindsight, Ethan completely goes against his own values and cheats on Alek with Remi, who’s suddenly back in the States.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I know there is a possibility for reconciliation after a partner cheats. I’ve seen Esther Perel’s “Rethinking Infidelity” TED Talk. When it comes to something like this, I personally think it’s Alek alone who needs to make the decision. The thing with this book, however, is that there’s so much manipulative dialogue that Alek is subject to after the act is revealed, it ends up feeling so cheap and fake when they basically do get back together in the end. Even Jesus is a manipulative presence when Alek has a “I should be a good Christian and forgive” moment in church. EVEN REMI COMES BY TO TELL ALEK TO GET BACK TOGETHER WITH ETHAN. Alek’s “choice” to reconcile with Ethan didn’t come from within himself, it was just the result of various outside forces pushing him to make that decision. The only person whom Alek really needed to talk to was Ethan, but even then I didn’t feel like they had the right conversation. Ethan sounded so manipulative when he claimed that Alek “owed him a second chance.” Ethan, honey, when you fuck up, you don’t cash in, you beg. And his confession of self-sabotage is so late in the book, like last two pages too late, that at that point, it just felt like a pity-grab move. Ethan has only one (1) brain cell and it’s so painfully and embarrassingly obvious in this book, that at this point, I really do believe that Alek deserves better than him in the long-term. (And any true New Yorker knows you don’t go to Rockefeller or Chelsea for ice-skating, you go to Bryant Park for the free admission, you dumbass.)
Anyway... these are my thoughts. I’m really only giving this book two stars for Alek, my favorite character, the aspects of Armenian culture, which are well-written as always, and the subplot about reconciling religion and self.
#JusticeForArno
September 2, 2020
This book is a very sweet sequel to One Man Guy, where we met Alek Khederian and his loving Armenian family, and Ethan, the skater boy he meets at summer school and *spoilers for book one* starts a relationship with. By the start of this novel, Ethan and Alek have been in a relationship for six months and *seem* to be doing well, until Ethan makes a very bad choice towards the middle of the book. We get to see how their relationship...evolves after Alek finds out what Ethan did, and how Alek chooses to cope with it. Just like in OMG, this book had such nicely vivid descriptions of Armenian food that it made my stomach rumble even after consuming the pasta I had for lunch. Have to say, I feel like I took my culture's food for granted for most of my life (there's just always dolma and kebabs around), but reading about the food from Alek's head made me actually crave those foods like I never did before.
**spoilers from here**
.
.
.
So, I'm usually not a fan of storylines about cheating, but the angst it provides? The conflicting emotions both characters go through in order to forgive and realize how much they both mean to each other? Love that. Not that I excuse the cheating but, like, this is fiction so *shrugs*.
I didn't like how Ethan got a bit manipulative at one point though??? The whole thing about Alek regretting not giving him another chance, not cool. But I do like how Alek chose to get back together with him by his own choice, and wasn't persuaded by everyone (literally everyone) telling him to forgive Ethan, and ONLY after seeing that Ethan was truly sorry and working to change. I would love to read more about Arno, the nice Armenian boy from Alek's church who is definitely heartbroken that Alek didn't stay single for long. He was so sweet, and played such an important role in Alek choosing to leave the church (which I wholeheartedly support, especially after his parents found a much more accepting progressive church they can attend instead). I never went to church, but I understood why leaving was such a hard decision considering the BS he went through with the Reverend Father.
All in all really enjoyed this book, and would 100% read another novel of Michael Barakiva's. Now I'm gonna go EAT.
-A
**spoilers from here**
.
.
.
So, I'm usually not a fan of storylines about cheating, but the angst it provides? The conflicting emotions both characters go through in order to forgive and realize how much they both mean to each other? Love that. Not that I excuse the cheating but, like, this is fiction so *shrugs*.
I didn't like how Ethan got a bit manipulative at one point though??? The whole thing about Alek regretting not giving him another chance, not cool. But I do like how Alek chose to get back together with him by his own choice, and wasn't persuaded by everyone (literally everyone) telling him to forgive Ethan, and ONLY after seeing that Ethan was truly sorry and working to change. I would love to read more about Arno, the nice Armenian boy from Alek's church who is definitely heartbroken that Alek didn't stay single for long. He was so sweet, and played such an important role in Alek choosing to leave the church (which I wholeheartedly support, especially after his parents found a much more accepting progressive church they can attend instead). I never went to church, but I understood why leaving was such a hard decision considering the BS he went through with the Reverend Father.
All in all really enjoyed this book, and would 100% read another novel of Michael Barakiva's. Now I'm gonna go EAT.
-A
July 24, 2019
Alek, who is fifteen, has a lot in his life to love. He loves his Armenian-American family, their wonderful food, and he really loves kissing his boyfriend Ethan. They've been together for a long time now, and Alek can still hardly believe that the uber-cool Ethan loves him. They've gone pretty far, but Alek is not ready to go all the way, and while disappointed, Ethan doesn't push him about it. Things that are not so great in Alek's life is church. They drive 90 minutes each way to go to a traditional Armenian church, and Alek is beginning to question the church's position on homosexuality and women. Can he make people understand what it feels like to know that who he is is considered wrong at the church? Also not so good--a former boyfriend of Ethan's shows up, and he's much older and gorgeous and very experienced; everything Alek is not. Something happens, and then everything Alek loves seems to hang in the balance.
I actually enjoyed this book more than the first one, because the things that made me lukewarm on Ethan are not really part of this. Of course, there's the big screw up, but that's different, and necessary for the plot. I think lots of kids will appreciate the frank discussion of sex and how it works, though I didn't find it believable that Alek didn't know the basics of how things work with boyfriends. I mean, I learned this stuff in 7th grade, whether I wanted to or not (I didn't). I also liked Alek's struggle with his church, and how he approached and addressed it, and how he finally got his parents to understand his point of view. Also good world-building in general, and it's nice to have a different culture represented--you don't see many Armenian-American kids in books. Recommended for 10th grade and up because of the frank discussions.
I actually enjoyed this book more than the first one, because the things that made me lukewarm on Ethan are not really part of this. Of course, there's the big screw up, but that's different, and necessary for the plot. I think lots of kids will appreciate the frank discussion of sex and how it works, though I didn't find it believable that Alek didn't know the basics of how things work with boyfriends. I mean, I learned this stuff in 7th grade, whether I wanted to or not (I didn't). I also liked Alek's struggle with his church, and how he approached and addressed it, and how he finally got his parents to understand his point of view. Also good world-building in general, and it's nice to have a different culture represented--you don't see many Armenian-American kids in books. Recommended for 10th grade and up because of the frank discussions.
January 29, 2020
Oh this beautiful BEAUTIFUL sequel of One Man Guy is truly amazing! I loved the first one so much and couldn't possibly wait to read the afterwards.
But honestly, I was so surprised to realize this is actually even better! In every matter! Mother and Father Khadarien are developing a personality against something huge they believed in for generations, for the sake of their sons, and most important thing, Alek, who is only fifteen, and talks like a leader in Woodstock. I wish I would be as clever and braver as he is. The difference from Alek of book 1 is so great than Alek of book 2. He talks about things which are matter to him and fight for them. He leads for a change in huge matters. He understands so much more than grown ups around him. I mean, really, he developed one hell of a mouth to stand for himself, even against his precious family and first love. He is one hell of a character and I CAN'T WAIT to read book 3!
PS can't have enough of this Armenian culture, I learnt so much. I don't even recall something like it!
But honestly, I was so surprised to realize this is actually even better! In every matter! Mother and Father Khadarien are developing a personality against something huge they believed in for generations, for the sake of their sons, and most important thing, Alek, who is only fifteen, and talks like a leader in Woodstock. I wish I would be as clever and braver as he is. The difference from Alek of book 1 is so great than Alek of book 2. He talks about things which are matter to him and fight for them. He leads for a change in huge matters. He understands so much more than grown ups around him. I mean, really, he developed one hell of a mouth to stand for himself, even against his precious family and first love. He is one hell of a character and I CAN'T WAIT to read book 3!
PS can't have enough of this Armenian culture, I learnt so much. I don't even recall something like it!
September 20, 2021
I'm so sad to say that I did not enjoy this novel. I was so excited to see a sequel to the original novel that I adored. This novel was stated to be a stand alone but I don't see how. The characters are the same and the style is similar in that we get the whole story from Alek's point of view. People were almost too chill about the fact that
They almost treat Alek like he's the one overreacting and acting crazy when he has absolutely every right to react in the way he did. The fact that it even happened basically threw the entire first book out of the window. Close to about halfway, I found myself skimming just to see what would happen. And that's really saying something. Super disappointed. Read One Man Guy! And pretend this one didn't happen.
They almost treat Alek like he's the one overreacting and acting crazy when he has absolutely every right to react in the way he did. The fact that it even happened basically threw the entire first book out of the window. Close to about halfway, I found myself skimming just to see what would happen. And that's really saying something. Super disappointed. Read One Man Guy! And pretend this one didn't happen.
October 25, 2024
Really don’t think this should be a YA book.
Spoilers, but I don’t think a telling a 15 year old boy that it’s okay if his boyfriend cheats on him is an acceptable message. In an adult novel this storyline could have been fleshed out in such a way as to examine the psychological aspects. In this story it kind of gives the homophobic rhetoric of “gay men can’t be monogamous”. Which is literally something in the first book that the cheater said he hated.
Spoilers, but I don’t think a telling a 15 year old boy that it’s okay if his boyfriend cheats on him is an acceptable message. In an adult novel this storyline could have been fleshed out in such a way as to examine the psychological aspects. In this story it kind of gives the homophobic rhetoric of “gay men can’t be monogamous”. Which is literally something in the first book that the cheater said he hated.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 11, 2021
I know many people are finding this book to be worse than the original in the series, but I will say I find this one much more thought-provoking. “One Man Guy” was a fun love story, while this book handles more heavy subjects. Truly a wonderful read.
Want to Read
November 4, 2015I'm incredibly excited for this! Why until 2017??? :( and why does one of the cheat??? Oh god I'm excited
August 14, 2022
I finally decided to read this book, after being a fan of its first since its release in 2014. Due to my nostalgic connection to One Man Guy, I only provided a brief, disorganized, and biased (not to mention horribly-written because it was almost 5 AM and I’ve been recovering from surgery) review on it, but wanted to approach Hold My Hand with a more neutral lens. It’s pretty fascinating to think that I last read One Man Guy around 8 years ago, yet it still feels fairly recent. Even though I have graduated high school AND almost college, Ethan and Alek’s gay adventures still remain in the forefront of my mind when it comes to YA novels. I must admit it was one of the defining young adult novels of my adolescence. So, when I revisited Barakiva’s works in 2022, I revisited with a completely new perspective on life— a perspective of a gay trans man confident in his queer identity, a perspective in which my 14 year old self would have had been so confused about.
As a whole, I’d say the premise of these novels is great. It kept me engaged, and I love seeing queer experiences that go beyond the realm of whiteness, especially since queer YA novels during the 2014-2015 era consisted mostly of white boys. I’m not Armenian myself, but I do have some extended family members who are, so it was quite nice to see some representation. Although I was generally aware of the Armenian Genocide beforehand, it’s great to see that historical disaster brought up in these books in order to educate others who may not have been aware of it. As anti-western religion as I am, I was still able to appreciate how Hold My Hand included the Khederian family’s struggles with their church. While it can be a triggering topic to some, queerness in the context of the Armenian church is certainly a topic that doesn’t deserve to go unaddressed. It brings to light the religious aspect of queer struggle, and I felt that what Alek told the congregation (the idea of loving everyone being considered radical) was genuinely effective. I do remember thinking at the time that it would have been extremely unrealistic if Barakiva made the church-goers have a standing ovation; in a way, I was thankful that he stayed true to reality and only had a few supporters in the crowd. Anything different would have soiled the impact of such a scene.
While Hold My Hand has its few general positive qualities, there’s also a significant amount of factors that hinder any high rating from me. From here on out will consist of my critique for this book, and unfortunately it’s not the most positive. I wanted to start off with how annoying I found Alek to be. I mean, I kind of get it because he’s literally 14 years old. But at the same time, how does this 14 year old know so much about the world and has a vocabulary extensive enough to be a college student? What high school sophomore says stuff like “inimitable” or “hegemony”? I learned what hegemony was when I was a freshman in college. I found it really odd when Alek went on his occasional monologues about the state of America, racism, homophobia, transphobia, etc. because sometimes they felt SO out of place. The only time where I found myself nodding my head and agreeing with the book was when Alek compared the reclamation of the word “faggot” to the Black community reclaiming the n word. That, in the context of this story, seemed like it fit well. Other than that, though, why is this kid written to be a walking encyclopedia regarding anything (especially anything diversity-equity-inclusion), but at the same time he is the most clueless person about sex I’ve ever seen? Like you would think that he and his best friend Becky would have this kind of conversation at some point or another… but nope, Alek barely even knows what a “kebab” and “pita” are.
On a more serious note: how does Alek know what transphobia is if he has to be told that penis = man by his boyfriend? Like why is he virtue signaling so much when he doesn’t even know what gay sex is and that not all men have penises? It just seems off. What makes it even worse is how Alek literally had a conversation with his brother on how he wants to be the token gay at his church. I mean, I’ll give him this: at least he’s so willing to educate others on queerness, willing to make them uncomfortable in their homophobia. When I was a bit younger, I wanted to be like that too— to speak up and educate those who were willing to learn. But there’s was something about Alek’s frequent urgency to be that token gay that got on my nerves. Like he could at least be trans-inclusive, but alas, he’s just a cis gay who forgets that genitals don’t always equal gender.
Now to the major plot point of the story: Ethan cheating on his beloved boyfriend. Of course, knowing that Ethan’s ex-boyfriend Remi suddenly entered the picture again, Barakiva just had to spice things up by bringing infidelity into the picture. I find myself constantly thinking why was this even a plausible decision except to somehow bring Ethan and Alek closer in the end (which honestly none of it makes too much sense to me but I’ll just go with it). I mean, I generally understand Ethan’s justification behind why he decided to sleep with Remi again— some rambling about a self-fulfilling prophecy and how if he worries that something in his life is too perfect then it will eventually come crashing down sooner or later so he has to crash it himself. I can definitely relate to this train of thought, but wow. It’s one thing to worry about your relationship being impossibly perfect, but when you go out and cheat, even if you deeply regret it? Feels like something entirely different.
I just feel like there’s a little bit more to the whole Ethan/Remi thing, because I do recall Ethan describing how when he’s around Remi, it’s like he loses power over himself. More importantly, he described Remi as “someone who it’s just impossible to say no to” (pg. 154). You know, I figured that Barakiva was going to dive deeper into what Ethan meant by this, but he didn’t. So now the reader is forever left to ponder if Ethan just implied his ex-boyfriend is a rapist or just some sex god that nobody can resist. I think I’ll settle for the former option for my sanity and for decent writing’s sake. This feels like the only valid explanation behind why Ethan actually went entirely through with what he did: Remi coerced him. I was so convinced this was the truth, but never got an actual confirmation because… Ethan or Alek never even got to discussing this even when it was a major event in the story. I’m disappointed because Barakiva really missed out on a perfect opportunity to bring more light to sexual harrassment.
What’s even weirder to me is how Ethan’s mental health dilemma came out of nowhere. Yeah, sure of course people can hide their struggles but that’s not even what I mean here. I mean that his mental health issues came out of nowhere in a way that signifies bad writing. Literally in the last 5 pages, Ethan mentioned he was seeing a therapist. And that was that. He barely discussed the angst that he was experiencing, the anguish that was creating a rift in his relationship with Alek. What’s even worse is this one thing that he said in the midst of a conversation with Alek: “It’s the only place I wasn’t going to feel suicidal” (pg. 195). So suddenly Ethan is suicidal? Since when? He’s seriously feeling suicidal over having a little scuffle with his boyfriend of 6 months? Why was none of this addressed? Am I the only one concerned here??? Perhaps one of the weirdest things of all in Hold My Hand is Ethan’s attachment to Alek. I’m gonna be honest, it kind of creeped me out at some points, especially the end scene where Ethan completely decks out his room with Alek-centric items and other paraphernalia. They have been dating (on and off now) for barely 6 months, yet Ethan is practically kneeling at Alek’s feet, saying stuff like “You might not owe me anything else, but you owe me the chance to try” like what????? Alek doesn’t owe Ethan ANYTHING. Ethan is the one who cheated, yet he goes on some crap about “And if you leave now, like this, I won’t be the only one who regrets this day for the rest of his life” (pg. 156). What is this— blackmail? It almost reminds me of my past experiences with borderline personality disorder, but I have a feeling that Barakiva didn’t mean it this way at all.
Given all the problems in this book, I feel as if Hold My Hand could have used at least a hundred or so more pages to flesh things out, particularly for the entire point of the story which was the whole Alek-being-too-afraid-to-have-sex thing and also the fact that Ethan cheated. I’m not asking for a smut scene for obvious reasons, but I just think that there really needed to be a deeper discussion towards the end of the novel. There is just so much missing— an opportunity for a genuinely productive conversation on forgiveness, boundaries, and of course cheating. We didn’t get any of that; instead, we just get Ethan showing Alek his lowkey creepy room. Instead of rushing the ending so the book could look the same size as its previous, perhaps spending a bit more time on development would have been more worth it.
A quick note about Remi: did anyone else find it super weird how, despite him technically being a minor, is a college student while Ethan was a high school SOPHOMORE while they dated? Even if the age difference was only two years (like Alek and Ethan), there was just that uncomfortable power dynamic in which I really hoped that Barakiva would have addressed when Ethan cheated on Alek. But alas, it’s portrayed as if Ethan was 100% committed to his decision to have sex with Remi (I think, because it was pretty unclear and unresolved). To me this feels like poor writing or plot holes or just the fact that Barakiva ran out of time to clarify this one very important detail. Like there was so much time for all the drama and Alek feeling depressed and everything, but that left so little for the important explanation behind why Ethan did what he did. Yes, people struggle with effective communication but the fact that Ethan and Alek DID (apparently) effectively communicate and basically achieved nothing was just bad writing. I also felt the explanation behind Remi’s revisiting of the US to make absolutely no sense at all, like some poor excuse to bring back his character just for some confrontation. Realistically, why would he go all the way across the world to thank his professor in person when he could have literally done that when he was still in the US at the time? Did I misunderstand this part? Either way, it’s still incredibly weird how Ethan’s dad literally brought Remi to ALEK’S BIRTHDAY DINNER. They don’t even know each other… does Ethan’s dad have some weird attachment to Remi??? I found it so odd, it was almost creepy to me…
One last— and very important— thing I want to mention. Hold My Hand did quite awful with its stereotypes of queer men, if I must say. At one point I did recall thinking about how it seemed too similar to yaoi plots. Of course, there’s the cheating with the ex thing, and the inability to control oneself around the hot guy. Then there’s weird attempts to try to get back together despite there being a lot of hardships and somehow it manages to work out. But while Ethan and Alek weren’t technically together, Alek decides to kiss his church friend, Arno. And he liked it, but not as much as he likes Ethan. Where was the explanation behind that? It felt wrong. And of course, one cannot forget about how Remi, the man himself, seems to portray the worst yaoi stereotype of them all: the sexually depraved man who judges others for their monogamous practices. I mean, that type of energy just leaks from him when he says, “I had assumed you had too much imagination to imitate the most boring, heteronormative standard possible… especially in this wonderful age of polyamorous pansexuality” (pg. 245). This was towards the end of the book, and I really wished I had never laid my eyes on those couple of sentences. I mean, really? Barakiva, really? Did you really just make the one pansexual, polyamorous guy fulfill the harmful stereotype of that community being constantly horny and greedy sex fiends who are homewreckers??? Honestly, as I’m typing this out I am officially giving this book a 2 star instead of my initial 3 star rating. The Armenian cultural elements and seemingly accurate portrayal of the church were the only factors that called for a higher rating, but given that this review has consisted of nearly 7 entire pages of me ranting about how awful certain plot devices were, I have seriously reconsidered.
As a whole, I’d say the premise of these novels is great. It kept me engaged, and I love seeing queer experiences that go beyond the realm of whiteness, especially since queer YA novels during the 2014-2015 era consisted mostly of white boys. I’m not Armenian myself, but I do have some extended family members who are, so it was quite nice to see some representation. Although I was generally aware of the Armenian Genocide beforehand, it’s great to see that historical disaster brought up in these books in order to educate others who may not have been aware of it. As anti-western religion as I am, I was still able to appreciate how Hold My Hand included the Khederian family’s struggles with their church. While it can be a triggering topic to some, queerness in the context of the Armenian church is certainly a topic that doesn’t deserve to go unaddressed. It brings to light the religious aspect of queer struggle, and I felt that what Alek told the congregation (the idea of loving everyone being considered radical) was genuinely effective. I do remember thinking at the time that it would have been extremely unrealistic if Barakiva made the church-goers have a standing ovation; in a way, I was thankful that he stayed true to reality and only had a few supporters in the crowd. Anything different would have soiled the impact of such a scene.
While Hold My Hand has its few general positive qualities, there’s also a significant amount of factors that hinder any high rating from me. From here on out will consist of my critique for this book, and unfortunately it’s not the most positive. I wanted to start off with how annoying I found Alek to be. I mean, I kind of get it because he’s literally 14 years old. But at the same time, how does this 14 year old know so much about the world and has a vocabulary extensive enough to be a college student? What high school sophomore says stuff like “inimitable” or “hegemony”? I learned what hegemony was when I was a freshman in college. I found it really odd when Alek went on his occasional monologues about the state of America, racism, homophobia, transphobia, etc. because sometimes they felt SO out of place. The only time where I found myself nodding my head and agreeing with the book was when Alek compared the reclamation of the word “faggot” to the Black community reclaiming the n word. That, in the context of this story, seemed like it fit well. Other than that, though, why is this kid written to be a walking encyclopedia regarding anything (especially anything diversity-equity-inclusion), but at the same time he is the most clueless person about sex I’ve ever seen? Like you would think that he and his best friend Becky would have this kind of conversation at some point or another… but nope, Alek barely even knows what a “kebab” and “pita” are.
On a more serious note: how does Alek know what transphobia is if he has to be told that penis = man by his boyfriend? Like why is he virtue signaling so much when he doesn’t even know what gay sex is and that not all men have penises? It just seems off. What makes it even worse is how Alek literally had a conversation with his brother on how he wants to be the token gay at his church. I mean, I’ll give him this: at least he’s so willing to educate others on queerness, willing to make them uncomfortable in their homophobia. When I was a bit younger, I wanted to be like that too— to speak up and educate those who were willing to learn. But there’s was something about Alek’s frequent urgency to be that token gay that got on my nerves. Like he could at least be trans-inclusive, but alas, he’s just a cis gay who forgets that genitals don’t always equal gender.
Now to the major plot point of the story: Ethan cheating on his beloved boyfriend. Of course, knowing that Ethan’s ex-boyfriend Remi suddenly entered the picture again, Barakiva just had to spice things up by bringing infidelity into the picture. I find myself constantly thinking why was this even a plausible decision except to somehow bring Ethan and Alek closer in the end (which honestly none of it makes too much sense to me but I’ll just go with it). I mean, I generally understand Ethan’s justification behind why he decided to sleep with Remi again— some rambling about a self-fulfilling prophecy and how if he worries that something in his life is too perfect then it will eventually come crashing down sooner or later so he has to crash it himself. I can definitely relate to this train of thought, but wow. It’s one thing to worry about your relationship being impossibly perfect, but when you go out and cheat, even if you deeply regret it? Feels like something entirely different.
I just feel like there’s a little bit more to the whole Ethan/Remi thing, because I do recall Ethan describing how when he’s around Remi, it’s like he loses power over himself. More importantly, he described Remi as “someone who it’s just impossible to say no to” (pg. 154). You know, I figured that Barakiva was going to dive deeper into what Ethan meant by this, but he didn’t. So now the reader is forever left to ponder if Ethan just implied his ex-boyfriend is a rapist or just some sex god that nobody can resist. I think I’ll settle for the former option for my sanity and for decent writing’s sake. This feels like the only valid explanation behind why Ethan actually went entirely through with what he did: Remi coerced him. I was so convinced this was the truth, but never got an actual confirmation because… Ethan or Alek never even got to discussing this even when it was a major event in the story. I’m disappointed because Barakiva really missed out on a perfect opportunity to bring more light to sexual harrassment.
What’s even weirder to me is how Ethan’s mental health dilemma came out of nowhere. Yeah, sure of course people can hide their struggles but that’s not even what I mean here. I mean that his mental health issues came out of nowhere in a way that signifies bad writing. Literally in the last 5 pages, Ethan mentioned he was seeing a therapist. And that was that. He barely discussed the angst that he was experiencing, the anguish that was creating a rift in his relationship with Alek. What’s even worse is this one thing that he said in the midst of a conversation with Alek: “It’s the only place I wasn’t going to feel suicidal” (pg. 195). So suddenly Ethan is suicidal? Since when? He’s seriously feeling suicidal over having a little scuffle with his boyfriend of 6 months? Why was none of this addressed? Am I the only one concerned here??? Perhaps one of the weirdest things of all in Hold My Hand is Ethan’s attachment to Alek. I’m gonna be honest, it kind of creeped me out at some points, especially the end scene where Ethan completely decks out his room with Alek-centric items and other paraphernalia. They have been dating (on and off now) for barely 6 months, yet Ethan is practically kneeling at Alek’s feet, saying stuff like “You might not owe me anything else, but you owe me the chance to try” like what????? Alek doesn’t owe Ethan ANYTHING. Ethan is the one who cheated, yet he goes on some crap about “And if you leave now, like this, I won’t be the only one who regrets this day for the rest of his life” (pg. 156). What is this— blackmail? It almost reminds me of my past experiences with borderline personality disorder, but I have a feeling that Barakiva didn’t mean it this way at all.
Given all the problems in this book, I feel as if Hold My Hand could have used at least a hundred or so more pages to flesh things out, particularly for the entire point of the story which was the whole Alek-being-too-afraid-to-have-sex thing and also the fact that Ethan cheated. I’m not asking for a smut scene for obvious reasons, but I just think that there really needed to be a deeper discussion towards the end of the novel. There is just so much missing— an opportunity for a genuinely productive conversation on forgiveness, boundaries, and of course cheating. We didn’t get any of that; instead, we just get Ethan showing Alek his lowkey creepy room. Instead of rushing the ending so the book could look the same size as its previous, perhaps spending a bit more time on development would have been more worth it.
A quick note about Remi: did anyone else find it super weird how, despite him technically being a minor, is a college student while Ethan was a high school SOPHOMORE while they dated? Even if the age difference was only two years (like Alek and Ethan), there was just that uncomfortable power dynamic in which I really hoped that Barakiva would have addressed when Ethan cheated on Alek. But alas, it’s portrayed as if Ethan was 100% committed to his decision to have sex with Remi (I think, because it was pretty unclear and unresolved). To me this feels like poor writing or plot holes or just the fact that Barakiva ran out of time to clarify this one very important detail. Like there was so much time for all the drama and Alek feeling depressed and everything, but that left so little for the important explanation behind why Ethan did what he did. Yes, people struggle with effective communication but the fact that Ethan and Alek DID (apparently) effectively communicate and basically achieved nothing was just bad writing. I also felt the explanation behind Remi’s revisiting of the US to make absolutely no sense at all, like some poor excuse to bring back his character just for some confrontation. Realistically, why would he go all the way across the world to thank his professor in person when he could have literally done that when he was still in the US at the time? Did I misunderstand this part? Either way, it’s still incredibly weird how Ethan’s dad literally brought Remi to ALEK’S BIRTHDAY DINNER. They don’t even know each other… does Ethan’s dad have some weird attachment to Remi??? I found it so odd, it was almost creepy to me…
One last— and very important— thing I want to mention. Hold My Hand did quite awful with its stereotypes of queer men, if I must say. At one point I did recall thinking about how it seemed too similar to yaoi plots. Of course, there’s the cheating with the ex thing, and the inability to control oneself around the hot guy. Then there’s weird attempts to try to get back together despite there being a lot of hardships and somehow it manages to work out. But while Ethan and Alek weren’t technically together, Alek decides to kiss his church friend, Arno. And he liked it, but not as much as he likes Ethan. Where was the explanation behind that? It felt wrong. And of course, one cannot forget about how Remi, the man himself, seems to portray the worst yaoi stereotype of them all: the sexually depraved man who judges others for their monogamous practices. I mean, that type of energy just leaks from him when he says, “I had assumed you had too much imagination to imitate the most boring, heteronormative standard possible… especially in this wonderful age of polyamorous pansexuality” (pg. 245). This was towards the end of the book, and I really wished I had never laid my eyes on those couple of sentences. I mean, really? Barakiva, really? Did you really just make the one pansexual, polyamorous guy fulfill the harmful stereotype of that community being constantly horny and greedy sex fiends who are homewreckers??? Honestly, as I’m typing this out I am officially giving this book a 2 star instead of my initial 3 star rating. The Armenian cultural elements and seemingly accurate portrayal of the church were the only factors that called for a higher rating, but given that this review has consisted of nearly 7 entire pages of me ranting about how awful certain plot devices were, I have seriously reconsidered.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 7, 2020
There are a lots of wonderful things to love about ‘Hold My Hand.’ The representation and essence of Armenian culture woven into the narrative (and the food. The Food!) As well as a frank discussion on education, discrimination and acceptance in society as a whole. When Alek points out that with helicopter parents, parental controls on devices at home and at school, and the curriculum refusing to teach sexual health for the LGBTQIA+ community, there was nowhere for him to learn about issues concerning his health and development. Alek also tackles the Armenian church his family attends, still holding fast to bygone attitudes and interpretations that discriminate not only against him for being gay, but women, people of colour, issues like abortion, etc. ? I have to say it was refreshing the tone and frank discussion Alek brings to the narrative. It does feel a bit dated, because shouldn’t we have addressed these inequalities and moved on by now? Its popular opinion that attitudes need to change – and they are changing. But ‘Hold My Hand’ lets you know that the fight of social justice is still alive and surging. That we should not become complacent. There is still work to do to improve the human race.
I feel like we get a lovely character arc with Alek, building on his growth from ‘One Man Guy.’ We really start to see him stand his ground while remaining true to his heritage and family values. I haven’t felt such a clear cut path into adulthood in a YA novel yet. And I loved it. It really resonated with me. Though Alek is still a nerd, a little neurotic, he is not this angsty emo teen we get a lot of in YA, he feels balanced and grounded. I like his stance on honesty and forgiveness. It’s something I feel we can all aspire to.
I wasn’t as sold on Ethan. He let me down as much as he did Alek - but I am much less forgiving. I would have liked to see him work harder to earn Alek’s trust – though is was great to read, he was proactive in dealing with the situation later in the book. I think there is something about his easy-breezy laid back attitude that still annoys me. He is a great counter balance to Alek, but still, he’s not a love interest I am totally invested in.
Remi as one of the stories antagonists was a stroke of genius. He was like a Bond villain and I wanted to reach through the pages and punch him in the face… though he doesn’t paint a particularly pleasant picture of Australians. As an Aussie girl I was grinding my teeth: but I do know some guys like this. Too slick for their own good, and always seem to end up on their feet despite the carnage they leave in their wake.
‘Hold My Hand’ was a cute, understated love story with a relevant social message. While I think the pacing was a little slow and there was a mix of the tone being immature and then mature at times, like it was slipping between target demographics, Michael Barakiva’s writing style is as breezy as Ethan’s demeanour.
Very easy to read and escape into, I thoroughly enjoyed my time reading ‘Hold My Hand’ and feel like it did this series a justice. I definitely want to read more from this author.
It was educational on sensitive topics without being offensive. The romance is realistic with a social conscience, and this is a novel that is as thought provoking as it is endearing. Representation for the win! A soft recommendation from me.
I feel like we get a lovely character arc with Alek, building on his growth from ‘One Man Guy.’ We really start to see him stand his ground while remaining true to his heritage and family values. I haven’t felt such a clear cut path into adulthood in a YA novel yet. And I loved it. It really resonated with me. Though Alek is still a nerd, a little neurotic, he is not this angsty emo teen we get a lot of in YA, he feels balanced and grounded. I like his stance on honesty and forgiveness. It’s something I feel we can all aspire to.
I wasn’t as sold on Ethan. He let me down as much as he did Alek - but I am much less forgiving. I would have liked to see him work harder to earn Alek’s trust – though is was great to read, he was proactive in dealing with the situation later in the book. I think there is something about his easy-breezy laid back attitude that still annoys me. He is a great counter balance to Alek, but still, he’s not a love interest I am totally invested in.
Remi as one of the stories antagonists was a stroke of genius. He was like a Bond villain and I wanted to reach through the pages and punch him in the face… though he doesn’t paint a particularly pleasant picture of Australians. As an Aussie girl I was grinding my teeth: but I do know some guys like this. Too slick for their own good, and always seem to end up on their feet despite the carnage they leave in their wake.
‘Hold My Hand’ was a cute, understated love story with a relevant social message. While I think the pacing was a little slow and there was a mix of the tone being immature and then mature at times, like it was slipping between target demographics, Michael Barakiva’s writing style is as breezy as Ethan’s demeanour.
Very easy to read and escape into, I thoroughly enjoyed my time reading ‘Hold My Hand’ and feel like it did this series a justice. I definitely want to read more from this author.
It was educational on sensitive topics without being offensive. The romance is realistic with a social conscience, and this is a novel that is as thought provoking as it is endearing. Representation for the win! A soft recommendation from me.
May 21, 2019
This Arc was very kindly provided by RainCoast books in exchange for a review❤️
3.75/5 stars!
So this book shocked me...in a really good way!
Going into this book I was extremely hesitant as it deals with a subject I really dislike reading (cheating) and I knew this book could go one of two ways, I could DNF it and end up disliking it orrr it could be a pleasant surprise and thank goodness it was just that!
So first thing I’ll say is that I wish I had read One Man Guy prior to reading this one. Now you don’t have to read one before the other as Hold My Hands does stand on its own and doesn’t leave you confused at all. That also being said I am very excited to have more Alek and Ethan to read about as I’m planning on picking up One Man Guy!
Hold My Hand is a very unique story in that it deals with a subject head on that I haven’t seen a lot of YA books deal with, which is cheating. I honestly thought the author did a fantastic job at showing not just Alek’s side of the story but also Ethan. I don’t want to get too into the details as I feel like you should just jump into this book not knowing a lot.
I thought Alek was a mature 15 year old, he was very thoughtful and true to who he was which I loved reading about. I also loved him being Armenian as I haven’t read about a YA Armenian character before! This book also did a very interesting thing that I love reading about which was Alek and his religious beliefs and what that means to him as a gay teen. I found this to be one of the most interesting parts of the story!
And for the most part I really enjoyed a lot of the side characters. I really loved seeing Aleks family dynamic and his relationship with Ethan. Although there was one major thorn I had with this book which was Alek best friend who I unfortunately could not stand and I had to drop my rating for. I found her to just be so immature and one dimensional. I also found a change in how Alek was around her, I felt like his character wasn’t the same when they had scenes together and I didn’t like that unfortunately. Because of Alek best friend and Ethan’s ex I dropped my rating as they were two characters I just did not like. Both were just too immature for me and I found them to be fake? Which kept pulling me out of the story sadly. Half of what they said just seemed like something no one would say? If that makes sense. Because of that I just couldn’t stand the two of them sadly.
Besides those two though I did enjoy this book. I loved how it dealt with a bunch of different topics that young readers need to read about and I loved seeing Alek and how mature he became throughout the story. I also liked how different this story was. I really haven’t read anything even slightly similar to it before so it really stood out to me.
All in all I did enjoy my time reading this book and do plan on picking up Alek and Ethan’s original story.
Thank you again raincoasts for providing me with this arc!
3.75/5 stars!
So this book shocked me...in a really good way!
Going into this book I was extremely hesitant as it deals with a subject I really dislike reading (cheating) and I knew this book could go one of two ways, I could DNF it and end up disliking it orrr it could be a pleasant surprise and thank goodness it was just that!
So first thing I’ll say is that I wish I had read One Man Guy prior to reading this one. Now you don’t have to read one before the other as Hold My Hands does stand on its own and doesn’t leave you confused at all. That also being said I am very excited to have more Alek and Ethan to read about as I’m planning on picking up One Man Guy!
Hold My Hand is a very unique story in that it deals with a subject head on that I haven’t seen a lot of YA books deal with, which is cheating. I honestly thought the author did a fantastic job at showing not just Alek’s side of the story but also Ethan. I don’t want to get too into the details as I feel like you should just jump into this book not knowing a lot.
I thought Alek was a mature 15 year old, he was very thoughtful and true to who he was which I loved reading about. I also loved him being Armenian as I haven’t read about a YA Armenian character before! This book also did a very interesting thing that I love reading about which was Alek and his religious beliefs and what that means to him as a gay teen. I found this to be one of the most interesting parts of the story!
And for the most part I really enjoyed a lot of the side characters. I really loved seeing Aleks family dynamic and his relationship with Ethan. Although there was one major thorn I had with this book which was Alek best friend who I unfortunately could not stand and I had to drop my rating for. I found her to just be so immature and one dimensional. I also found a change in how Alek was around her, I felt like his character wasn’t the same when they had scenes together and I didn’t like that unfortunately. Because of Alek best friend and Ethan’s ex I dropped my rating as they were two characters I just did not like. Both were just too immature for me and I found them to be fake? Which kept pulling me out of the story sadly. Half of what they said just seemed like something no one would say? If that makes sense. Because of that I just couldn’t stand the two of them sadly.
Besides those two though I did enjoy this book. I loved how it dealt with a bunch of different topics that young readers need to read about and I loved seeing Alek and how mature he became throughout the story. I also liked how different this story was. I really haven’t read anything even slightly similar to it before so it really stood out to me.
All in all I did enjoy my time reading this book and do plan on picking up Alek and Ethan’s original story.
Thank you again raincoasts for providing me with this arc!
May 17, 2019
I came across Hold My Hand by Michael Barakiva when I was browsing Netgalley, and the blurb piqued my interest. My request was accepted, and so I added the book to my reading queue.
Alek is an Armenian-American high school student. He has been dating Ethan for almost six months. Things are getting pretty serious, but Alek has reservations. He loves kissing Ethan, but he’s not sure if he’s ready for things to go further physically. Alek measures his life in terms of Before Ethan and After Ethan; he’s changed so much for the better because of this relationship, and he can’t imagine what would happen if it ended.
I grew up in Glendale, California, so I am well-versed in Armenian culture, and the over the top antics of Alek’s family had me laughing and laughing. They love Alek and accept that he’s gay, but they’re still pretty strict.
I have mixed feelings about Ethan, but maybe that’s because I’m a mother and I immediately saw Alek as my precious baby, and was thereafter suspicious of Ethan’s motives. I will give Ethan credit: for the most part, he is very respectful of Alek’s boundaries. Ethan is a little older than Alek, but he’s still a teenager, and teens can be impulsive. Ethan does seem genuinely remorseful for his mistakes, and makes a genuine effort to fix his mistakes. He definitely grew on me by the end of the book.
I would like to note that the blurb didn’t mention that Hold My Hand is a sequel to One Man Guy. I didn’t find out that there was an earlier book until after finishing this one, but Barakiva does such a wonderful job that I didn’t feel as though I was missing any information even though the book begins six months into Alek and Ethan’s relationship. Readers don’t necessarily have to start with One Man Guy, although I’m sure it would be more impactful to experience the whole emotional arc from Alek and Ethan first meeting and everything that happens thereafter.
I would absolutely recommend Hold My Hand. It’s going to resonate with the target demographic of YA readers because it captures the angst of growing up and first romance so well. This book has a nice blend of humor and angst, and I enjoyed my reading experience so much that I bought One Man Guy.
At the end of the book, Barakiva notes that he was inspired by a reader who proposed a sequel. I humbly submit that I would love to see Arno get his own book so that he can have his very own happily ever after.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.
Alek is an Armenian-American high school student. He has been dating Ethan for almost six months. Things are getting pretty serious, but Alek has reservations. He loves kissing Ethan, but he’s not sure if he’s ready for things to go further physically. Alek measures his life in terms of Before Ethan and After Ethan; he’s changed so much for the better because of this relationship, and he can’t imagine what would happen if it ended.
I grew up in Glendale, California, so I am well-versed in Armenian culture, and the over the top antics of Alek’s family had me laughing and laughing. They love Alek and accept that he’s gay, but they’re still pretty strict.
I have mixed feelings about Ethan, but maybe that’s because I’m a mother and I immediately saw Alek as my precious baby, and was thereafter suspicious of Ethan’s motives. I will give Ethan credit: for the most part, he is very respectful of Alek’s boundaries. Ethan is a little older than Alek, but he’s still a teenager, and teens can be impulsive. Ethan does seem genuinely remorseful for his mistakes, and makes a genuine effort to fix his mistakes. He definitely grew on me by the end of the book.
I would like to note that the blurb didn’t mention that Hold My Hand is a sequel to One Man Guy. I didn’t find out that there was an earlier book until after finishing this one, but Barakiva does such a wonderful job that I didn’t feel as though I was missing any information even though the book begins six months into Alek and Ethan’s relationship. Readers don’t necessarily have to start with One Man Guy, although I’m sure it would be more impactful to experience the whole emotional arc from Alek and Ethan first meeting and everything that happens thereafter.
I would absolutely recommend Hold My Hand. It’s going to resonate with the target demographic of YA readers because it captures the angst of growing up and first romance so well. This book has a nice blend of humor and angst, and I enjoyed my reading experience so much that I bought One Man Guy.
At the end of the book, Barakiva notes that he was inspired by a reader who proposed a sequel. I humbly submit that I would love to see Arno get his own book so that he can have his very own happily ever after.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.
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