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Gay Youth Chronicles Complete Chronology #44
Colin University
Colin is enthusiastic about the challenge awaiting him on the wrestling mat as a member of the Indiana University Wrestling Team. He’s determined to focus on wrestling and equally as determined to avoid a serious relationship with either sex. His plans begin to go awry when he meets a member of the Alpha Alpha Omega Fraternity and is introduced to bike racing. His plans are further derailed when he meets Haakon, a handsome freshman from Norway who shares his athletic interests. Colin’s freshman year at IU isn’t what he planned. It’s infinitely better and for the first time he has the chance to try something completely new and get out of the shadow of his incredibly athletic Uncle Skye. For Colin, a new adventure is beginning.
321 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 1, 2018
14 people are currently reading
15 people want to read
About the author
Mark A. Roeder
99 books211 followersMark A. Roeder grew up in southern Indiana - near a small town similar to those that appear in his novels.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 8, 2018
I really enjoyed the whole Gay Youth Chronicles (Boys of Verona) series of books by Mark Roeder. But this latest offering provided nothing new and there was little of substance. It’s a pretty bland, day-by-day account of Colin’s freshman IU days with no original material. There was a lot of repetition and too much was devoted to what Colin and friends ate at restaurants. The whole story was very predictable.
Colin can do it all and succeeds at college courses, multiple sports and hooking up with whoever he chose, boy or girl, and nobody ever condemns him for his sexual preferences. Where is the adversity that occurred in Roeder’s other stories? The only angst in the story was when his good friends and regular hookups, Haakon and Hamlet left to return to their native Norway. In fact, only because of their names and as explained in the story that they were visiting America for the first time, you would never know they were from Norway. Haakon and Hamlet spoke perfect English, including common English slang like an American native. To add depth to the Haakon/Hamlet characters, I tried to imagine them speaking with a Scandinavian accent.
The Little 500 story is not new and was told in a previous story. Also, once smart dialogue and narratives from earlier books in the series were tiringly reused in this story. If you’re a regular reader of Roeder’s GYC series, you’ll immediately recognize these responses to playful insults:
“Grr!”
“Hey, I’m standing right here you know!”
“I think I’ve been insulted.”
Not to mention the ‘so-so hand gesture’ and the often used fist punching a palm to jokingly show anger. And then there were the same tired ‘blond jokes’ found in nearly every Roeder story. These playful interactions are virtually identical to those of a number of previous Roeder characters. If you’re a regular reader of the series, you probably realize that many of his characters share the same personality.
Apparently, Roeder has run out of story ideas and new dialogue. I really hate trashing this latest release in the series, because I really enjoyed the series a lot. Well, it was a good run.
Colin can do it all and succeeds at college courses, multiple sports and hooking up with whoever he chose, boy or girl, and nobody ever condemns him for his sexual preferences. Where is the adversity that occurred in Roeder’s other stories? The only angst in the story was when his good friends and regular hookups, Haakon and Hamlet left to return to their native Norway. In fact, only because of their names and as explained in the story that they were visiting America for the first time, you would never know they were from Norway. Haakon and Hamlet spoke perfect English, including common English slang like an American native. To add depth to the Haakon/Hamlet characters, I tried to imagine them speaking with a Scandinavian accent.
The Little 500 story is not new and was told in a previous story. Also, once smart dialogue and narratives from earlier books in the series were tiringly reused in this story. If you’re a regular reader of Roeder’s GYC series, you’ll immediately recognize these responses to playful insults:
“Grr!”
“Hey, I’m standing right here you know!”
“I think I’ve been insulted.”
Not to mention the ‘so-so hand gesture’ and the often used fist punching a palm to jokingly show anger. And then there were the same tired ‘blond jokes’ found in nearly every Roeder story. These playful interactions are virtually identical to those of a number of previous Roeder characters. If you’re a regular reader of the series, you probably realize that many of his characters share the same personality.
Apparently, Roeder has run out of story ideas and new dialogue. I really hate trashing this latest release in the series, because I really enjoyed the series a lot. Well, it was a good run.
January 16, 2019
I've read other books in the series and I have to say this is not one of the author's best. The story lacks conflict and antagonists. Even the narration tended to be rather tedious. It was like - I rode my bike. I changed my shirt. I took a poop. This is the sixth story from the series that I've read and I loved the other five. This won't put me off continuing with other books from the series.
April 14, 2019
Little 500 Part Deux
Mark serves up Colin’s story at IU. Twins, The Little 500, a few old friends and of course FOOD. Would have liked for Colin to acknowledge his ghost cat when he was at back home for Thanksgiving. No mention of his ability to sense the paranormal either. 3.0 for socks on the door.
Mark serves up Colin’s story at IU. Twins, The Little 500, a few old friends and of course FOOD. Would have liked for Colin to acknowledge his ghost cat when he was at back home for Thanksgiving. No mention of his ability to sense the paranormal either. 3.0 for socks on the door.
September 1, 2023
Marks Writings, Wow
This adds more to Colin and Sky’s story. Connects some dots with Colin at I. U. This story shows the ability Mark Roeder has as the stories continue and this is one that will be read and re-read. I optioned for the Audio too, to add to the book on my walks or trips in the car. Great Narrators Too.
This adds more to Colin and Sky’s story. Connects some dots with Colin at I. U. This story shows the ability Mark Roeder has as the stories continue and this is one that will be read and re-read. I optioned for the Audio too, to add to the book on my walks or trips in the car. Great Narrators Too.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews