The Dandelion Cloud

by Dale Boyer

What is the difference between friendship and love? How does one know when it has shaded over like a dandelion from the sunny, yellow, early stages, into the “cloud” of love? Similarly, once one has decided that it is, in fact, love, how does one open up the door to that love, especially if it has been deemed somehow forbidden?
Set in a small, college town in 1979, "The Dandelion Cloud" is the story of three friends: Kyle, Craig, and Justin. When Justin begins to sense that his feelings for his friend, Kyle, have shaded over into the arena of love, that knowledge will test the bonds of the three friends, and force Justin to confront once and for all exactly what he feels, and who he is.
"The Dandelion Cloud" is a novel about friendships. It is a novel for anyone who has ever been in --or confused by -- love.

219 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 27, 2016

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Scot O'Hara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the first novel by my partner. I admit I'm biased, but I think it's a great read and it's been getting very positive responses so far. It examines the intersection between friendship and love. What are the boundaries? Where does friendship end and love begin? Check it out.

And keep your eye out for my first novel, expected later this year ... I will update you as it gets closer to publication.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Dandelion Cloud follows Justin and his two friends, Craig and Kyle, through a year at Thornton College. Justin is a freshman who meets two seniors, Craig and Kyle, and they develop a deep and intense friendship. Things are soon complicated when Justin realizes that he may be gay, and may be in love with Kyle. The book focuses on Justin’s painful and tortured struggle, as he agonizes over the question of his sexuality and how one knows the difference between love and friendship. Will his newly realized status as a gay man change his friendships with Craig and Kyle? What is the definition of love vs friendship? Can friendship withstand fundamental changes? The Dandelion Cloud explores and seeks to answer these questions. Reading this book brought me back to some of my own struggles with friendships and early relationships, and captured those emotions well. Overall, I enjoyed the book, even though the single-minded focus on Justin’s indecision and struggles was a bit exhausting. The imagery of a dandelion that is woven through the book is lovely and helps to draw everything to a satisfying close. I am glad that I read this book and honored to have shared a peek into an intensely personal story.

[Bill Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came close to giving this book a 3 out of 5 stars review, but the last 10% to 20% of the book pulled an overall 4-star rating out of me. The story, without doubt, is a good one. Three college boys, two seniors (Kyle and Craig) and one freshman (Justin) form an instant and close bond that lasts throughout a school year. Justin is struggling with his sexuality, though it seems quite clear he's gay. And he secretly falls in love with the handsome, fit Kyle, who is straight (as is Craig). The book spends much of its time inside Justin's beleaguered head, where he fights with his feelings for Kyle and his budding sexuality. I really liked this story. But the prose most of the time is so dry and so drawn out. The text does not, I repeat does not, jump off the page. It was a bit of a struggle for me at times to keep going. But my interest in the characters kept me going. Overall, I'd say this book would have been a better read had about 25% of it been cut. But that being said, still, still I liked this book. A good story is a good story, and likable characters are likable characters. And that's way more than half the battle. So I forgive the dryness and the bulk, and instead choose to accentuate the positive.

[Jerry Delaney · Rating 5 out of 5]

A literary look at first love, college, learning the difference between romantic love and friendship and what it was like to come out in small town Illinois in the 70s. The book follows three students,one of whom becomes the protagonists love interest.

Anyone who has struggled with an important crush early in life will be brought back to that time when knowing someone fluctuated between agony and hope. The author is from Chicago although the setting is downstate.