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What it Takes
The connection was instantaneous.Moments after Milo Grahams family relocate to Cape Cod, he meets Andrew Witherell--launching a lifelong friendship built on a foundation of deep bonds, secret forts, and plans for the future.When Milo is called home from college to attend his domineering fathers funeral, he and Andrew finally act on their mutual attraction. But, doubtful of his worth, Milo decides to sever all ties with his childhood friend.Circumstances send both men home again years later, and their long held feelings will not be denied. But will they have what it takes to find lasting love?
246 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 14, 2016
8 people are currently reading
753 people want to read
About the author
Jude Sierra
7 books110 followersJude began her writing career at the age of eight when she immortalized her summer vacation with ten entries in a row that read “pool+tv”.
As a sucker for happy endings and well written emotional arcs and characters, Jude is an unapologetic bookaholic. She finds bookstores and libraries unbearably sexy and, to her husband’s dismay, is attempting to create her own in their living room.
She is a writer of many things that hope to find their way out of the sanctuary of her hard drive, and many that have found a home in a fanfiction community.
She is currently working on her Master of Arts in Writing and Rhetoric and managing a home filled with her husband, two young sons, and two cats. Her first novel, Hush, was published in 2015 and her second novel, What it Takes, was published in January of 2016. She has an upcoming novel, Idlewild, coming in October of 2016
As a sucker for happy endings and well written emotional arcs and characters, Jude is an unapologetic bookaholic. She finds bookstores and libraries unbearably sexy and, to her husband’s dismay, is attempting to create her own in their living room.
She is a writer of many things that hope to find their way out of the sanctuary of her hard drive, and many that have found a home in a fanfiction community.
She is currently working on her Master of Arts in Writing and Rhetoric and managing a home filled with her husband, two young sons, and two cats. Her first novel, Hush, was published in 2015 and her second novel, What it Takes, was published in January of 2016. She has an upcoming novel, Idlewild, coming in October of 2016
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December 28, 2023
✰ 4.5 stars ✰
“Loving Milo was the most selfless, even if not the healthiest, act of his life.
Finally understanding the limitations of their friendship, despite everything else, was a gift.”
After my first go with Jude Sierra's writing, I was a bit skeptical of whether or not What It Takes would have what it takes (sorry, couldn't help myself! 😊) for it to still have left on my e-tbr for as long as I did. And after reading it, I was actually a bit terrified at how much I actually liked it. I highlighted so much that I was literally so scared as to why the writing hit me so hard. It's not perfect, gosh, it's not. But, the characters' story and their love and the writing - it just spoke to me - it sank its claws into my clutches and I couldn't tear myself away. I went back and reread certain parts then and there because of how beautiful their journey - it was my kind of story. And I savored it - more than I thought I would. 🥹🥹
“Milo smiles against Andrew’s skin.
“God, you’re obsessed with my hair.”
“It’s great hair,” Andrew replies easily. “If only you’d let me do it for you…”
“Good luck with that.”
Andrew tugs lightly at his hair and Milo sighs into the touch. “Eh, a boy can dream.”
Milo and Andrew have been best friends since they were eight years old. 'You’re my best friend. You’ve been my best friend forever. Nothing’s gonna change that.' They were complete opposites, but they were the closest of friends - Milo, who shined even when he's carrying the abusive pain and tormented anguish and scars of an abusive father, and Andrew, the quiet and reserved friend, who's there to pick up the pieces of his hurt and sadness at his most vulnerable, while carrying in his heart the deepest of desires to have Milo love him as much as he loves him. 'Some of his feelings are the same as they’ve always been—wanting to help him, protect him from everything in his life that’s hurting him. Andrew loves that he’s Milo’s person, the person who knows him best.' 🥺🥺 It's that unyielding force of whether or not their friendship can survive that next time - that Milo can be worthy of Andrew's affections, even when he's at his most broken that is the catalyst of their story - the fear of whether giving into desire - at the sake of their friendship - and knowing that Andrew's feelings for Milo isn't out of a blind need to just be there for him at his worst, but to also love him, at his best is something that I was just swept away with. 🤧
I don't quite have the words to describe how much I enjoyed reading this. The words flowed into my soul - Milo and Andrew were so real - the intensity of their dynamic - that push and pull of loving someone, but not believing that it's the right kind of love. From the day they met, from the day Andrew came out, from the day he held Milo through his sadness - he loved him - he loved him with all his heart. And yet, I understood Milo's hesitancy for accepting it - that he doesn't want Andrew to love him when he's defeated - and for them to sever all ties after their college freshmen year - because the pain of being in each other's orbit was more hurtful than breaking apart. 😢 It made their reunion all that more bittersweet and meaningful that I just wanted them to be together - to make up for the years lost - and get the happily ever after that had always been there - but only after learning to love each other - apart.
“I’m sorry,” he whispers, because Andrew deserves to know. He tries to tell himself he can’t feel the pain radiating from Andrew. “All I do is drag you down. You deserve better.”
“I wish you wouldn’t say that.” Andrew’s voice breaks, and, deep inside, something breaks in Milo as well.”
That visceral tearing apart of wanting and jealousy and pining - and fits of yearning was my safe haven - somehow, I live for heartbreak, but only when a happily ever after is guaranteed. And I adored how their relationship was built up - so naturally and believably. I loved their childhood years - the fort escapes, the soft confessions, the gentle calming ease Andrew enveloped Milo with. I loved the quiet tender affection they embraced each other with, I loved how they grew up and opened up to one another - Milo's hesitancy of being gay and Andrew's hurt that he wouldn't be enough for him. 'How should one unpack blame?' ❤️🩹❤️🩹 They were both such martyrs to their feelings for each other, that you have to smile through the hurt, because the alternative is loving each other - with the pain and sadness. 'In his presence, everything feels right. Milo can be just himself. Milo knows Andrew loves him, just as he loves Andrew. Except maybe not the same way.' And their final meeting, before their seven year absence was so poignantly emotional - the bonfire, the letters, it was just so achingly tragic, but I GOT IT. It's almost melodramatic, but it's what their relationship needed at that time, in order for them to find each other again - at the place that was always their home. 🫂
But, was it perfect? No. The author has a tendency to use the characters' names repetitively to a point that may be annoying to some; fortunately, I was already familiar with it from my previous read of hers, so it didn't bother me too much, this time around. Did Andrew's current boyfriend, Dex get the short end of the stick? Yes. Was it too convenient that the minute Milo resurfaced in Andrew's life that Dex realized that it was not going to work between him and Andrew? Also, yes. But, that's why I felt that Milo and Andrew were star-crossed friends to lovers - friends who had to break apart to come back together again.
They had always loved each other - they could have been together so much earlier. I’ve been so afraid to love you,” Milo admits. “I’ve never been able to do anything else.' 💔💔 But, the fact that they both understood that it wouldn't have worked - it would have been a relationship built on co-dependency and Andrew's desire to take care of Milo - to be there when he was broken - rather than love him when he was whole. And, that's why - as much as my heart broke at their misguided ill-advised separation - it was what they both needed - to grow. Even if apart - even after seven years of silence - they needed that individual development - to know that the void that was in their hearts could only be filled - with each other. 🥺
“Against his scalp is the tender sweep of Andrew’s fingers, combing and combing.
“Will you ever outgrow this obsession?” Milo jokes through a slightly slurred voice.
“It’s beautiful,” Andrew says softly. “Who would want to?”
If you've been privy to my past reviews of books, you know how much I've always been slightly miffed when it comes to stories that span a wide time frame. It's always been where one instant in their lives seems to suffer and not be developed enough to show their growth. But, here - ah, it was done so well, that I didn't feel that there was anything lacking by the time jump - mainly the one from when they were 19 till them meeting again at 26. Would I have liked to have seen how they improved individually? Maybe - but, I didn't feel the absence of it that much. 😔
Because, for me - it was about the connection that had to be renewed upon their reunion - that deep set of longing for that person - feeling incomplete without them - the one who got away - and who maybe could not have - if circumstances had been different. That they both grew up as people, that the absence does indeed make the heart grow fonder, and still allow Milo and Andrew that they didn't need to be hurting to be in love - that Andrew's reason for loving Milo was not based solely on being there for him when he was down and defeated. 😥 Milo was able to heal from his own trauma, and Andrew's unrequited affection - while it continued to fester - he at least had the chance to experience love with someone else - they both did, actually. But, it was that emotional and aching pull that drew them back to each other is something that my angsty heart thrives on.
“he touches me
and it’s debilitating
guilt you choke me with
the longing for
fingers fleeting in memory
memory, a haunting
I love I love I love
linger will always take his shape”
The writing moved me - the angst was so tangible - their love so deeply felt - their intimacy - so sensual of want - the gentleness and tenderness of finally being in each other's arms - and then what came after - the tears and longing and finally being able to love. I kid you not, the champion for me for this story was the writing. 'They feast on kisses, slipping exhalations into each other, breathing rediscovery into each other's bodies.' I just *claws air with feeling* It was so beautifully written - almost lyrical, almost tender, almost cutting to the core in the way the words envelop you. 🫠🫠 'When he opens them, the indigo of his eyes is the last spark Andrew needs to feel his skin light with pleasure like fire.' 🤍🤍 I wanted so so much more of them together - but the little that we got in the intensity of their intimacy - wrecked me - I inhaled it - with all my heart.
For that torch that was still blazing so brightly from either of their sides was all the flame I needed to set my heart aflame. ❤️🔥 I loved their unabashed want and fierce need, and the giddy happiness that they were finally together - albeit, with a quick fallout that immediately landed them back in each other's arms - because, y'know, closure. Closure that what they have - what they've always had - had been love - and real. 'I wished and wished; I broke myself apart for you. For so long I was resigned to having you any way I could, because loving you was like breathing; it was what I needed.' The heartbreak, the pining, the broken up parts of them to finally find their way back to each other - my heart ate it up - it was fuel for my soul. 🥰
“Andrew is in love with a boy who can’t love him back in the same way, who is thousands of miles away, trying to escape the life he had.
If Milo can work to escape his old life, maybe it’s time for Andrew to try to move past a childish, unrequited and impossible love.”
If you made it till the end of this review, thank you. 🙏🏻🙏🏻 It was a rare and opportune moment for me, when on a whim I opted to read this; the blurb and cover called to me - unrequited love of friends - the yearning. It's my kryptonite. I don't know what that says about me, but once I got lost in the story - I wished I could have re-read it again, then and there. Somehow, I find that whenever I review this author's books, I feel like I end up analyzing it, instead. 😔 But, I think, that's what makes it leave an even more lasting impression on me. Even now, I'm still getting tingles of how the words wrapped themselves around me. And how richly satisfying it was for my heart to see what it takes for a love like theirs to find their way back to each other. 🫶🏻🫶🏻
“Loving Milo was the most selfless, even if not the healthiest, act of his life.
Finally understanding the limitations of their friendship, despite everything else, was a gift.”
After my first go with Jude Sierra's writing, I was a bit skeptical of whether or not What It Takes would have what it takes (sorry, couldn't help myself! 😊) for it to still have left on my e-tbr for as long as I did. And after reading it, I was actually a bit terrified at how much I actually liked it. I highlighted so much that I was literally so scared as to why the writing hit me so hard. It's not perfect, gosh, it's not. But, the characters' story and their love and the writing - it just spoke to me - it sank its claws into my clutches and I couldn't tear myself away. I went back and reread certain parts then and there because of how beautiful their journey - it was my kind of story. And I savored it - more than I thought I would. 🥹🥹
“Milo smiles against Andrew’s skin.
“God, you’re obsessed with my hair.”
“It’s great hair,” Andrew replies easily. “If only you’d let me do it for you…”
“Good luck with that.”
Andrew tugs lightly at his hair and Milo sighs into the touch. “Eh, a boy can dream.”
Milo and Andrew have been best friends since they were eight years old. 'You’re my best friend. You’ve been my best friend forever. Nothing’s gonna change that.' They were complete opposites, but they were the closest of friends - Milo, who shined even when he's carrying the abusive pain and tormented anguish and scars of an abusive father, and Andrew, the quiet and reserved friend, who's there to pick up the pieces of his hurt and sadness at his most vulnerable, while carrying in his heart the deepest of desires to have Milo love him as much as he loves him. 'Some of his feelings are the same as they’ve always been—wanting to help him, protect him from everything in his life that’s hurting him. Andrew loves that he’s Milo’s person, the person who knows him best.' 🥺🥺 It's that unyielding force of whether or not their friendship can survive that next time - that Milo can be worthy of Andrew's affections, even when he's at his most broken that is the catalyst of their story - the fear of whether giving into desire - at the sake of their friendship - and knowing that Andrew's feelings for Milo isn't out of a blind need to just be there for him at his worst, but to also love him, at his best is something that I was just swept away with. 🤧
I don't quite have the words to describe how much I enjoyed reading this. The words flowed into my soul - Milo and Andrew were so real - the intensity of their dynamic - that push and pull of loving someone, but not believing that it's the right kind of love. From the day they met, from the day Andrew came out, from the day he held Milo through his sadness - he loved him - he loved him with all his heart. And yet, I understood Milo's hesitancy for accepting it - that he doesn't want Andrew to love him when he's defeated - and for them to sever all ties after their college freshmen year - because the pain of being in each other's orbit was more hurtful than breaking apart. 😢 It made their reunion all that more bittersweet and meaningful that I just wanted them to be together - to make up for the years lost - and get the happily ever after that had always been there - but only after learning to love each other - apart.
“I’m sorry,” he whispers, because Andrew deserves to know. He tries to tell himself he can’t feel the pain radiating from Andrew. “All I do is drag you down. You deserve better.”
“I wish you wouldn’t say that.” Andrew’s voice breaks, and, deep inside, something breaks in Milo as well.”
That visceral tearing apart of wanting and jealousy and pining - and fits of yearning was my safe haven - somehow, I live for heartbreak, but only when a happily ever after is guaranteed. And I adored how their relationship was built up - so naturally and believably. I loved their childhood years - the fort escapes, the soft confessions, the gentle calming ease Andrew enveloped Milo with. I loved the quiet tender affection they embraced each other with, I loved how they grew up and opened up to one another - Milo's hesitancy of being gay and Andrew's hurt that he wouldn't be enough for him. 'How should one unpack blame?' ❤️🩹❤️🩹 They were both such martyrs to their feelings for each other, that you have to smile through the hurt, because the alternative is loving each other - with the pain and sadness. 'In his presence, everything feels right. Milo can be just himself. Milo knows Andrew loves him, just as he loves Andrew. Except maybe not the same way.' And their final meeting, before their seven year absence was so poignantly emotional - the bonfire, the letters, it was just so achingly tragic, but I GOT IT. It's almost melodramatic, but it's what their relationship needed at that time, in order for them to find each other again - at the place that was always their home. 🫂
But, was it perfect? No. The author has a tendency to use the characters' names repetitively to a point that may be annoying to some; fortunately, I was already familiar with it from my previous read of hers, so it didn't bother me too much, this time around. Did Andrew's current boyfriend, Dex get the short end of the stick? Yes. Was it too convenient that the minute Milo resurfaced in Andrew's life that Dex realized that it was not going to work between him and Andrew? Also, yes. But, that's why I felt that Milo and Andrew were star-crossed friends to lovers - friends who had to break apart to come back together again.
They had always loved each other - they could have been together so much earlier. I’ve been so afraid to love you,” Milo admits. “I’ve never been able to do anything else.' 💔💔 But, the fact that they both understood that it wouldn't have worked - it would have been a relationship built on co-dependency and Andrew's desire to take care of Milo - to be there when he was broken - rather than love him when he was whole. And, that's why - as much as my heart broke at their misguided ill-advised separation - it was what they both needed - to grow. Even if apart - even after seven years of silence - they needed that individual development - to know that the void that was in their hearts could only be filled - with each other. 🥺
“Against his scalp is the tender sweep of Andrew’s fingers, combing and combing.
“Will you ever outgrow this obsession?” Milo jokes through a slightly slurred voice.
“It’s beautiful,” Andrew says softly. “Who would want to?”
If you've been privy to my past reviews of books, you know how much I've always been slightly miffed when it comes to stories that span a wide time frame. It's always been where one instant in their lives seems to suffer and not be developed enough to show their growth. But, here - ah, it was done so well, that I didn't feel that there was anything lacking by the time jump - mainly the one from when they were 19 till them meeting again at 26. Would I have liked to have seen how they improved individually? Maybe - but, I didn't feel the absence of it that much. 😔
Because, for me - it was about the connection that had to be renewed upon their reunion - that deep set of longing for that person - feeling incomplete without them - the one who got away - and who maybe could not have - if circumstances had been different. That they both grew up as people, that the absence does indeed make the heart grow fonder, and still allow Milo and Andrew that they didn't need to be hurting to be in love - that Andrew's reason for loving Milo was not based solely on being there for him when he was down and defeated. 😥 Milo was able to heal from his own trauma, and Andrew's unrequited affection - while it continued to fester - he at least had the chance to experience love with someone else - they both did, actually. But, it was that emotional and aching pull that drew them back to each other is something that my angsty heart thrives on.
“he touches me
and it’s debilitating
guilt you choke me with
the longing for
fingers fleeting in memory
memory, a haunting
I love I love I love
linger will always take his shape”
The writing moved me - the angst was so tangible - their love so deeply felt - their intimacy - so sensual of want - the gentleness and tenderness of finally being in each other's arms - and then what came after - the tears and longing and finally being able to love. I kid you not, the champion for me for this story was the writing. 'They feast on kisses, slipping exhalations into each other, breathing rediscovery into each other's bodies.' I just *claws air with feeling* It was so beautifully written - almost lyrical, almost tender, almost cutting to the core in the way the words envelop you. 🫠🫠 'When he opens them, the indigo of his eyes is the last spark Andrew needs to feel his skin light with pleasure like fire.' 🤍🤍 I wanted so so much more of them together - but the little that we got in the intensity of their intimacy - wrecked me - I inhaled it - with all my heart.
For that torch that was still blazing so brightly from either of their sides was all the flame I needed to set my heart aflame. ❤️🔥 I loved their unabashed want and fierce need, and the giddy happiness that they were finally together - albeit, with a quick fallout that immediately landed them back in each other's arms - because, y'know, closure. Closure that what they have - what they've always had - had been love - and real. 'I wished and wished; I broke myself apart for you. For so long I was resigned to having you any way I could, because loving you was like breathing; it was what I needed.' The heartbreak, the pining, the broken up parts of them to finally find their way back to each other - my heart ate it up - it was fuel for my soul. 🥰
“Andrew is in love with a boy who can’t love him back in the same way, who is thousands of miles away, trying to escape the life he had.
If Milo can work to escape his old life, maybe it’s time for Andrew to try to move past a childish, unrequited and impossible love.”
If you made it till the end of this review, thank you. 🙏🏻🙏🏻 It was a rare and opportune moment for me, when on a whim I opted to read this; the blurb and cover called to me - unrequited love of friends - the yearning. It's my kryptonite. I don't know what that says about me, but once I got lost in the story - I wished I could have re-read it again, then and there. Somehow, I find that whenever I review this author's books, I feel like I end up analyzing it, instead. 😔 But, I think, that's what makes it leave an even more lasting impression on me. Even now, I'm still getting tingles of how the words wrapped themselves around me. And how richly satisfying it was for my heart to see what it takes for a love like theirs to find their way back to each other. 🫶🏻🫶🏻
February 9, 2017
Qué belleza de libro. Las páginas emanan sentimientos desde la primera a la última. Milo y Andrew se conocen desde los 8 años, pasan de ser mejores amigos a estar enamorados, pero las cosas son muy complicadas en la vida de Milo siendo su separación la consecuencia, y ¿qué pasará en el reencuentro?
La historia no es sobre la amistad, cómo maduran los personajes, cómo descubren su sexualidad, es todas estas cosas y fundamentalmente es una historia de amor profundo, y como suele ser el amor, sencillo y complicado al mismo tiempo.
Los personajes están maravillosamente desarrollados, les conocemos, les comprendemos y no hay nada que deseemos más que su felicidad porque es lo que se merecen. No es un libro de grandes aconticimientos, es un libro de emociones a lo largo de un viaje para encontrar al otro. Y durante ese viaje el lector les acompaña con el corazón en la mano desde el principio cuando conocemos a Andrew al mismo tiempo que lo hace Milo. Otra vez, qué belleza.
Emotivo y muy bien escrito. Muy recomendable
La historia no es sobre la amistad, cómo maduran los personajes, cómo descubren su sexualidad, es todas estas cosas y fundamentalmente es una historia de amor profundo, y como suele ser el amor, sencillo y complicado al mismo tiempo.
Los personajes están maravillosamente desarrollados, les conocemos, les comprendemos y no hay nada que deseemos más que su felicidad porque es lo que se merecen. No es un libro de grandes aconticimientos, es un libro de emociones a lo largo de un viaje para encontrar al otro. Y durante ese viaje el lector les acompaña con el corazón en la mano desde el principio cuando conocemos a Andrew al mismo tiempo que lo hace Milo. Otra vez, qué belleza.
Emotivo y muy bien escrito. Muy recomendable
September 19, 2018
Andrew y Milo son dos personajes muy especiales y su relación además de una gran amistad está llena de mucha tristeza y momentos duros pero también de un gran y profundo amor.
►Reseña completa en Mi Rinconín de Lectura◄
►Reseña completa en Mi Rinconín de Lectura◄
March 12, 2017
Wow, what a powerfully beautiful story!
I am a sucker for beautiful writing and this was poetic and evocative and everything I love <3
Both painful and hopeful, Andrew and Milo's story is going to stick with me.
So recommended!
I am a sucker for beautiful writing and this was poetic and evocative and everything I love <3
Both painful and hopeful, Andrew and Milo's story is going to stick with me.
So recommended!
September 29, 2018
Como lo he leído en el camino de ida y vuelta al trabajo, y además en inglés, me ha costado cogerle el punto y el ritmo. Culpa mía totalmente, pues aunque de narración pausada, se trata de una bonita, realista y dura historia, donde priman los sentimientos y cuyos protagonistas se merecen toda la felicidad del mundo.
#12meses12paresdeboas
#12meses12paresdeboas
April 20, 2021
Precioso :_)
Milo y Andrew se van directitos a la balda de mis OTPs adoradas donde espero que sean muy felices juntos por siempre jamás.
La historia del amor entre ellos te llega al corazón y te lo estruja bien estrujado.
Me han gustado muchísimo sus conversaciones, me han parecido muy naturales. Y a pesar de la premisa argumental, la autora no se regodea en el drama ni tira de angst para rellenar.
Un placer seguirles en el camino, se les quiere <3
Milo y Andrew se van directitos a la balda de mis OTPs adoradas donde espero que sean muy felices juntos por siempre jamás.
La historia del amor entre ellos te llega al corazón y te lo estruja bien estrujado.
Me han gustado muchísimo sus conversaciones, me han parecido muy naturales. Y a pesar de la premisa argumental, la autora no se regodea en el drama ni tira de angst para rellenar.
Un placer seguirles en el camino, se les quiere <3
June 13, 2018
I’ll love you every way you want. The ways you dreamt I could. The ways I wanted to be able to before. I’ll love you like the man I’ve become, not like that stupid boy who thought the world wanted to hurt and break him.
Oh, this has angst ... and my heart hurts in the GOOD WAY. It's a love story about two best friends (Milo and Andrew have been friends since they were eight years old) whose live intertwined early on, and they need to untangle it because it's not exactly healthy -- Milo needs to let go of his anger and not cling himself to Andrew for help, Andrew needs to stop himself being only as Milo's protector and love Milo because he's the 'broken boy'.
I may not be a fan of the fact that
The epilogue is so, so lovely, I have a HUGE smile on my face and I sighed, "this is beautiful".
AND Sierra's writing is just GORGEOUS.
March 2, 2018
Wow!! All the stars for this one. A joy and a pleasure to read for someone who loves YA fiction. Lush, richly descriptive prose, complete with fully rounded characters makes me a very happy bunny indeed BUT it’s so full of angst that you may feel tempted to hit someone or something [and don’t forget to have tissues handy]. In fact, it’s a rather wonderful slow-burn love story with 2 likeable but intense young MC’s who grab your heart right from the start and won’t let go. Hopefully, it’s a forever kind of love but um….there are lots of unspoken secrets on both sides.
Milo and Drew…where do we begin?? Childhood friends from the age of 8 when Milo moves with his parents to Santuit on Cape Cod, he and Drew meet almost immediately on the beach and a special bond is formed; however, Milo’s family is definitely NOT picture perfect. Milo’s father James is a complete s**t and a domineering control freak and bully – physically, mentally and verbally abusive to his only child AND of course, as these pathetic, cowardly people seem to be able to do, hid everything that should have been perfectly obvious to any concerned adult. His image was everything…he disgusted me, I loathed him and didn’t feel any more inclined to like Milo’s mother Shelby either...she was weak, downtrodden and just did as she was told. There is no on-page violence in the story, but there is absolutely no question that you, as the reader, will empathise and rage over Milo’s perceived pain…and Drew’s absolute anguish at only being able to be there for Milo in a small way; as a trusted friend, the keeper of some secrets and a shoulder to cry on when things get to be too much.
Drew knows that he is gay and totally in love with Milo from around the age of 13/14, but in view of the continuing misery in Milo’s life, he is terrified of scaring Milo away by telling him the truth, and so stays silent. Milo struggles even more as he goes through his teens, his father putting the fear of God into him practically every day …to have your own father interrogate you over every little thing you do, every friend you make, every piece of homework you get back from your teacher, trashing your bedroom looking for God knows what, and of course punishing you when you do something he dislikes or doesn’t agree with; I would’ve thought it made life pretty unbearable. All Milo can think about and look forward to is leaving home at 18 to go away to college and finally start living his life…the further away from Santuit and his appalling father the better, BUT he has been so damaged during his formative teenage years that college doesn’t really help, in fact in some ways it makes things a whole lot worse and the guilt he feels for the way he’s been treating Drew multiplies. And Drew?? Well, Drew has guilt too, and after a life changing event for both of them, feels the only way he can save himself and his sanity is to cut all ties with Milo, thus shattering their special bond.
Is grown-up Milo strong enough to listen to his heart AND his counsellor after all these years, and finally leave his own personal ‘bag of rocks’ behind?? Will Drew ever forgive himself [and Milo for that matter] for everything that they have left unsaid to one another?? Is there a HEA?? Oh yes, and it’s rather a beautiful one, ADORED that epilogue!! I’ll leave this one here. Do yourselves a huge favour YA fans, and enjoy this lush prose and superb story. Oh, and the wrecked hideout on the cover is very relevant to the story….
September 15, 2016
Oh my. It was one of the most beautiful m/m books I've ever read. The best second chances story. The best friends to lovers story. And so much more. It was like I wanted to read it faster because I needed to know what happened next - and at the same time I wanted to stay with it, its world, its characters, for so much longer. It was sad - and beautiful, hopeful - and beautiful. It left something with me that will stay.
Milo and Andrew - they both are so bright and so impossible NOT to love - and everything between them was so powerful and heartbreaking and inspiring at the same time. As painful as everything that happened between them was, it also always felt right. There wasn't a single moment when I wished the book took some other course.
I love the theme of second chances in love. That's how I found this book, on m/m second chances list. But I think it's the first book where I really found what I wanted - where I intensely, desperately wished for them to find each other again. It was slow - but exactly the way it had to be, without cutting corners, without forcing it.
Damn, I can't even describe how the epilogue makes me feel. Like I'm almost afraid to believe in so much happiness after so much pain - but I'm so very, very grateful for it.
Milo and Andrew - they both are so bright and so impossible NOT to love - and everything between them was so powerful and heartbreaking and inspiring at the same time. As painful as everything that happened between them was, it also always felt right. There wasn't a single moment when I wished the book took some other course.
I love the theme of second chances in love. That's how I found this book, on m/m second chances list. But I think it's the first book where I really found what I wanted - where I intensely, desperately wished for them to find each other again. It was slow - but exactly the way it had to be, without cutting corners, without forcing it.
Damn, I can't even describe how the epilogue makes me feel. Like I'm almost afraid to believe in so much happiness after so much pain - but I'm so very, very grateful for it.
January 17, 2016
Reviewed for From Top to Bottom Reviews.
What it Takes starts with Milo and his parents moving to Cape Cod where he meets Andrew after just a few days there. They’re both eight years old and instantly hit it off. I loved to see their friendship grow from Milo keeping secrets from Andrew to them sharing their most intimate secrets.
I loved to see both characters develop from kids to teenagers to young adults and then finally see them when they're all grown up.
I want to take a bow for how Ms Sierra handled the abuse from Milo by his father. In the whole book there's only one time where it's on-page and not just mentioned by Milo or Andrew afterwards. And even reading that one scene was really difficult. The abuse follows Milo (and Andrew) throughout the story, through school and then college and even after Milo’s father dies. It's always there but somehow Ms Sierra manages it, that it never becomes too much for the reader. There's also always hope in her words that it might get better, that when Milo finally leaves for college he'll be able to leave it all behind.
Of course it's not that easy. Because his fathers words and actions are so deeply rooted inside Milo he can't just shake it off and become a different person once he goes to college. And it wouldn't have felt real if it had been that easy.
That's another thing I really loved about this story, the way the characters and everything that happens feels so real. For example Milo's fear and anxiety or the way Andrew tries to be a safe haven for Milo even when he's angry with him. Andrew is always there for Milo. No matter what he needs, he's there, even if it's just a phone call in the middle of the night because Milo didn't pass a quiz and he's feeling anxious.
The reader has the opportunity to really get to know both characters as they grow up because we meet them so young. And although the book spans about 20 years of their lives it never once felt dull or boring or made me skip pages "to get to the interesting part of the story". I truly enjoyed this book from the first to the last page and would have loved to read even more of their story.
This was my first book by this author, but definitely not my last one.
I saw that she has another book out with Interlude Press, and I think I'm going to read that as soon as possible. :)
What it Takes starts with Milo and his parents moving to Cape Cod where he meets Andrew after just a few days there. They’re both eight years old and instantly hit it off. I loved to see their friendship grow from Milo keeping secrets from Andrew to them sharing their most intimate secrets.
I loved to see both characters develop from kids to teenagers to young adults and then finally see them when they're all grown up.
I want to take a bow for how Ms Sierra handled the abuse from Milo by his father. In the whole book there's only one time where it's on-page and not just mentioned by Milo or Andrew afterwards. And even reading that one scene was really difficult. The abuse follows Milo (and Andrew) throughout the story, through school and then college and even after Milo’s father dies. It's always there but somehow Ms Sierra manages it, that it never becomes too much for the reader. There's also always hope in her words that it might get better, that when Milo finally leaves for college he'll be able to leave it all behind.
Of course it's not that easy. Because his fathers words and actions are so deeply rooted inside Milo he can't just shake it off and become a different person once he goes to college. And it wouldn't have felt real if it had been that easy.
That's another thing I really loved about this story, the way the characters and everything that happens feels so real. For example Milo's fear and anxiety or the way Andrew tries to be a safe haven for Milo even when he's angry with him. Andrew is always there for Milo. No matter what he needs, he's there, even if it's just a phone call in the middle of the night because Milo didn't pass a quiz and he's feeling anxious.
The reader has the opportunity to really get to know both characters as they grow up because we meet them so young. And although the book spans about 20 years of their lives it never once felt dull or boring or made me skip pages "to get to the interesting part of the story". I truly enjoyed this book from the first to the last page and would have loved to read even more of their story.
This was my first book by this author, but definitely not my last one.
I saw that she has another book out with Interlude Press, and I think I'm going to read that as soon as possible. :)
February 24, 2017
That. Was. Stunning!
I picked this up at 2 am thinking I'd read a chapter or two, then go to sleep. So wrong! I was captivated and ensnared from page one and could not put it down until I finished.
This book is achingly beautiful. Painful. Poetic. The writing is superb. The characters are rich and nuanced. The story is exquisitely poignant.
I always say to earn 5 stars from me, I have to experience depth of emotion and I need to become fully immersed in the story. I could have drowned in the ocean of tears I cried and the emotional wreckage.
Thank you, Elsa for recommending this! It is my first Jude Sierra read and definitely won't be my last. If all her books are this stunning, she will shoot to the top of my auto buy favorite author list.
I highly recommend this book and a box of tissues or ten.
I picked this up at 2 am thinking I'd read a chapter or two, then go to sleep. So wrong! I was captivated and ensnared from page one and could not put it down until I finished.
This book is achingly beautiful. Painful. Poetic. The writing is superb. The characters are rich and nuanced. The story is exquisitely poignant.
I always say to earn 5 stars from me, I have to experience depth of emotion and I need to become fully immersed in the story. I could have drowned in the ocean of tears I cried and the emotional wreckage.
Thank you, Elsa for recommending this! It is my first Jude Sierra read and definitely won't be my last. If all her books are this stunning, she will shoot to the top of my auto buy favorite author list.
I highly recommend this book and a box of tissues or ten.
October 12, 2016
Beautiful. Lush prose. Intimate. One of the best coming-of-age, unrequited love/best-friends-to-lovers books I have ever read. I read it a second time immediately after finishing it the first time.
February 24, 2017
Me ha gustado mucho, bien narrado y unos personajes bien construidos, sin embargo debo decir que por momentos no sabía si estaba leyendo una novela de amor o me encontraba en medio de terapia, me ha dejado mentalmente exhausta y aunque hay un final feliz, todo el libro está teñido de un inevitable (al menos eso creo por las vivencias de ambos) aire melancólico que no es lo que más me suele gustar en novela romántica. Por otro lado, no lo califico como tal. Merece mucho la pena si te gustan las lecturas pausadas y las historias de superación.
September 19, 2018
Reseña conjunta en Mi rinconín de lectura
➡ http://bit.ly/2xtLgAg ⬅
➡ http://bit.ly/2xtLgAg ⬅
February 11, 2017
This book kept me up 2 nights in a row - it's one of those that once I started it I just could not put it down. For me what I enjoy getting to know the characters & watch their relationship develop, feel the connection, their joys and suffering. For me it's what gets me invested in the book. Reading Andrew's and Milo's story from the beginning had it all, I felt for both of these guys equally at different times through this story, so many feelz. Great book!
did-not-finish
January 7, 2024DNF @ 33%. No rating.
This is the second book by this author that I've tried and it's the second DNF. I think my issue is that the author's writing style doesn't work for me. While reading, I felt like there was a lot of telling instead of showing, not much was happening, the MCs felt flat and there was a strong YA-coming-of-age-gay-fiction vibe. But then I went back through the part I read to pull out examples of these things happening...and I couldn't find anything specific. In fact, there's actually a good balance between dialog and narration, quite a bit does happen plot wise and the MCs have solid personalities and development. But while reading, I was constantly feeling bored and I wasn't connecting with what was happening. So I realized that the author isn't committing any big writing sins, but their writing style just isn't translating the way it should with me, which is why I'm going to bow out of this one.
(side note: the author has a tendency to not use contractions at random times in dialog and narration, which is something that drives me nuts because it didn't fit the setting, time period or characters but I could have put up with it if the rest of the writing worked for me)
This is the second book by this author that I've tried and it's the second DNF. I think my issue is that the author's writing style doesn't work for me. While reading, I felt like there was a lot of telling instead of showing, not much was happening, the MCs felt flat and there was a strong YA-coming-of-age-gay-fiction vibe. But then I went back through the part I read to pull out examples of these things happening...and I couldn't find anything specific. In fact, there's actually a good balance between dialog and narration, quite a bit does happen plot wise and the MCs have solid personalities and development. But while reading, I was constantly feeling bored and I wasn't connecting with what was happening. So I realized that the author isn't committing any big writing sins, but their writing style just isn't translating the way it should with me, which is why I'm going to bow out of this one.
(side note: the author has a tendency to not use contractions at random times in dialog and narration, which is something that drives me nuts because it didn't fit the setting, time period or characters but I could have put up with it if the rest of the writing worked for me)
January 16, 2016
I had the distinct privilege of reading Jude Sierra’s newest book a bit early, and oh, I am so excited that it's finally able to be shared with the world. What a joy it is. I truly, truly LOVE this book. A departure from her first novel, Hush, which was a highly sexual tale that wrestled with magic and consent and drawing boundaries, Sierra’s second novel through Interlude Press chronicles the story of two men, friends since childhood, and their journeys together and apart as they grow into adults.
When we meet Milo and Andrew, they’re eight years old, and I immediately fell in love as I watched them form an instantaneous and easy friendship. They go on grand adventures, typically led by Andrew with his creative, artistic mind, and they share secrets, both lighthearted - an old poem about a hummingbird that makes excellent teasing fodder - and dark - the marks of Milo’s father’s abuse on his back.
That abuse will follow Milo and Andrew throughout the book, through college and even after Milo’s father’s death. And while difficult to read (though it’s never graphic in its explanation), it’s a showcase of one of the things I love most about Sierra’s writing - her characters are real. She doesn’t write cookie-cutter characters who fit in pretty boxes; her characters have complications, fears, marks, scars. They come out to their best friends, expecting to be ridiculed. They swim for miles to please a father who can’t be pleased. They love, hard and unabashed, without ever receiving reciprocation. They hurt each other, intentionally and unintentionally. They’re wonderful at times, awful at times.
But in this story, those characters grow up, and it is a beautiful thing to behold. It’s truly impressive, the way that Sierra chronicles a twenty-plus year timespan and never loses the reader’s attention. I couldn’t put the book down, in fact. I was enthralled in the world she wove, in the pure intimacy of a friendship between children, in the throes of unrequited love, in the hurt of watching a parent fall ill, in the searing pain of heartbreak and the utter joy of those hearts mending again. Andrew and Milo don’t get their happy ending handed to them on a silver platter - they work for every piece of that happiness. Through therapy, through time apart, through long hours of contemplation, even painting over an old mural. Because of all that work, the ending felt deserved and victorious rather than trite or cliched.
Above all else, and this is actually surprisingly hard to explain, this book is so pure. That’s the only way I can think to describe it - there’s an innocence to it, maybe because we’ve known Andrew and Milo since their childhood, but it makes the tender intimacy throughout the book so much more meaningful. Where Hush felt like a guilty pleasure (and what a lovely guilty pleasure it was - if you haven’t read it, you definitely should), What it Takes feels like warmth. A homecoming. A book that I will read when I want to curl up in a chair by a sunny window and just feel good about a story.
I’m so grateful to Jude Sierra for creating such a delightful piece of fiction. This one is staying on my bookshelf for years to come.
When we meet Milo and Andrew, they’re eight years old, and I immediately fell in love as I watched them form an instantaneous and easy friendship. They go on grand adventures, typically led by Andrew with his creative, artistic mind, and they share secrets, both lighthearted - an old poem about a hummingbird that makes excellent teasing fodder - and dark - the marks of Milo’s father’s abuse on his back.
That abuse will follow Milo and Andrew throughout the book, through college and even after Milo’s father’s death. And while difficult to read (though it’s never graphic in its explanation), it’s a showcase of one of the things I love most about Sierra’s writing - her characters are real. She doesn’t write cookie-cutter characters who fit in pretty boxes; her characters have complications, fears, marks, scars. They come out to their best friends, expecting to be ridiculed. They swim for miles to please a father who can’t be pleased. They love, hard and unabashed, without ever receiving reciprocation. They hurt each other, intentionally and unintentionally. They’re wonderful at times, awful at times.
But in this story, those characters grow up, and it is a beautiful thing to behold. It’s truly impressive, the way that Sierra chronicles a twenty-plus year timespan and never loses the reader’s attention. I couldn’t put the book down, in fact. I was enthralled in the world she wove, in the pure intimacy of a friendship between children, in the throes of unrequited love, in the hurt of watching a parent fall ill, in the searing pain of heartbreak and the utter joy of those hearts mending again. Andrew and Milo don’t get their happy ending handed to them on a silver platter - they work for every piece of that happiness. Through therapy, through time apart, through long hours of contemplation, even painting over an old mural. Because of all that work, the ending felt deserved and victorious rather than trite or cliched.
Above all else, and this is actually surprisingly hard to explain, this book is so pure. That’s the only way I can think to describe it - there’s an innocence to it, maybe because we’ve known Andrew and Milo since their childhood, but it makes the tender intimacy throughout the book so much more meaningful. Where Hush felt like a guilty pleasure (and what a lovely guilty pleasure it was - if you haven’t read it, you definitely should), What it Takes feels like warmth. A homecoming. A book that I will read when I want to curl up in a chair by a sunny window and just feel good about a story.
I’m so grateful to Jude Sierra for creating such a delightful piece of fiction. This one is staying on my bookshelf for years to come.
January 14, 2016
This is a wonder of a novel. It’s intimate and beautifully written. It’s full of bright laughing friendship and the hazards of growing up, the ways other people can hurt you and the ways you can heal yourself.
The lead characters, Milo and Andrew are beautiful and so deeply known here that although they grabbed me from the first there aren’t simple words for them. In one moment Andrew is soft, pretty nerdy, willing to sacrifice so much for Milo. In another he is mature and deeply sure of himself. Milo is reticent by necessity, but he is generous and brave by nature, driven and willing to work and live. They make mistakes, big ones, that feel real to the characters and their experience.
There’s difficult material here, particularly in Milo’s relationship with his parents. His relationship with his father is upsetting to read and damaging to live through. But it's handled with care and there’s resilience and hope. Well better than hope, there’s happiness and a whole huge life beyond.
The boys’ friendship feels like we have tumbled in on a secret kind of freedom. I loved watching them laugh together and tumble sentence on top of sentence. That’s a persistent thread in the book.
The novel is as much a story of growing into yourself as it is of love. Sierra carefully and kindly gives the characters room to grow up. They live full lives with friends and boyfriends while they circle and reinvent and sacrifice and open themselves up to love.
And that love. Oh my. The way they see one another is so intimate and the way they touch one another is a terrifying kind of joy. All I wanted was them to be happy. All the time. Always. Forever.
Sierra is an exceptional writer, her prose is very strong and particularly beautiful here, but more than that she’s a writer you can trust with the depth of this novel. She sees these boys clearly and she never lets go of them.
The lead characters, Milo and Andrew are beautiful and so deeply known here that although they grabbed me from the first there aren’t simple words for them. In one moment Andrew is soft, pretty nerdy, willing to sacrifice so much for Milo. In another he is mature and deeply sure of himself. Milo is reticent by necessity, but he is generous and brave by nature, driven and willing to work and live. They make mistakes, big ones, that feel real to the characters and their experience.
There’s difficult material here, particularly in Milo’s relationship with his parents. His relationship with his father is upsetting to read and damaging to live through. But it's handled with care and there’s resilience and hope. Well better than hope, there’s happiness and a whole huge life beyond.
The boys’ friendship feels like we have tumbled in on a secret kind of freedom. I loved watching them laugh together and tumble sentence on top of sentence. That’s a persistent thread in the book.
The novel is as much a story of growing into yourself as it is of love. Sierra carefully and kindly gives the characters room to grow up. They live full lives with friends and boyfriends while they circle and reinvent and sacrifice and open themselves up to love.
And that love. Oh my. The way they see one another is so intimate and the way they touch one another is a terrifying kind of joy. All I wanted was them to be happy. All the time. Always. Forever.
Sierra is an exceptional writer, her prose is very strong and particularly beautiful here, but more than that she’s a writer you can trust with the depth of this novel. She sees these boys clearly and she never lets go of them.
January 22, 2016
*copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie by the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review**
At eight years old Milo's family moves to the Cape. Milo is upset one day and while running down the beach, he runs over Andrew, literally. They become fast friends, but Milo has secrets. Secrets he can't share with anyone. We follow these young boys as they grow into pre-teens, teenagers and eventually go off to college. Then Milo's abuser, his father dies while he's in college. Even though the physical threat is gone, the emotional scars remain. Milo is still broken. He feels ashamed and worthless. He's angry and sad. The only thing about the Cape that has ever been a comfort to him is Andrew. To heal Milo has to say goodbye to everything, his home, his mother, and even Andrew. Andrew is heartbroken when Milo leaves, but he has to try to go on with his life. Try to move forward without his best friend and the love of his life.
Jude took me on a journey. I felt I grew up right along side Andrew and Milo. This story was an emotional rollercoaster. Even the happy moments were laced with fear, sadness and anxiety. But Jude kept me hanging onto every word. I loved seeing Andrew and Milo grow up. The first half of the book is told in the past and at about 50% we move to the present. When Milo returns home, the HEA they, and we desire doesn't happen right away. They have to fight for what they really want.
The story was well written and flows well. The characters were unique and well developed. We hear from both of the main characters throughout the story. The story takes place over a 20 plus year span, but it held my attention throughout. I loved these characters, my only wish is we would have had more page time with them as a couple.
This was a truly enjoyable read. Highly recommended!
March 10, 2018
3.5 stars
Although I liked the writing, I wasn't crazy about the story. The whole didn't make sense to me.
Although I liked the writing, I wasn't crazy about the story. The whole didn't make sense to me.
December 5, 2024
Definitivamente, What It Takes de Jude Sierra se ha ganado un lugar especial entre mis lecturas favoritas del año. Esta historia es una joya para quienes amamos los romances friends to lovers, esos en los que las relaciones se construyen lentamente, pero con tanta profundidad que parecen grabarse en el alma.
Milo y Andrew son los protagonistas de esta maravilla. Milo, con su sensibilidad y una carga emocional que lo hace tan humano, está intentando encontrarse a sí mismo después de años de vivir a la sombra de sus propios miedos y expectativas. Por otro lado, Andrew, siempre leal y paciente, es un personaje cuya fortaleza radica en su capacidad de amar y sostener, pero que también tiene sus propios desafíos internos que enfrentar.
Lo que más disfruté fue cómo la trama no depende de grandes giros o acontecimientos extraordinarios; es la vida misma, con sus altibajos, malentendidos y momentos de claridad, la que hace que la historia se sienta tan real. Y al mismo tiempo, hay algo épico en la manera en que su relación evoluciona: desde la amistad más pura hasta un amor tan íntimo y profundo que resulta inolvidable.
La prosa de Jude Sierra es hermosa, casi poética, y consigue transmitir todo el peso emocional de la trama sin ser demasiado pesada. Cada palabra parece estar cuidadosamente elegida para hacer justicia a la complejidad de los personajes y sus relaciones.
Si te gustan las historias que te envuelven poco a poco, con personajes complejos que crecen de manera realista a lo largo de la trama, este libro es para vos. Sin duda, una lectura que me dejó con el corazón lleno y el deseo de volver a las páginas para revivir cada instante.
Milo y Andrew son los protagonistas de esta maravilla. Milo, con su sensibilidad y una carga emocional que lo hace tan humano, está intentando encontrarse a sí mismo después de años de vivir a la sombra de sus propios miedos y expectativas. Por otro lado, Andrew, siempre leal y paciente, es un personaje cuya fortaleza radica en su capacidad de amar y sostener, pero que también tiene sus propios desafíos internos que enfrentar.
Lo que más disfruté fue cómo la trama no depende de grandes giros o acontecimientos extraordinarios; es la vida misma, con sus altibajos, malentendidos y momentos de claridad, la que hace que la historia se sienta tan real. Y al mismo tiempo, hay algo épico en la manera en que su relación evoluciona: desde la amistad más pura hasta un amor tan íntimo y profundo que resulta inolvidable.
La prosa de Jude Sierra es hermosa, casi poética, y consigue transmitir todo el peso emocional de la trama sin ser demasiado pesada. Cada palabra parece estar cuidadosamente elegida para hacer justicia a la complejidad de los personajes y sus relaciones.
Si te gustan las historias que te envuelven poco a poco, con personajes complejos que crecen de manera realista a lo largo de la trama, este libro es para vos. Sin duda, una lectura que me dejó con el corazón lleno y el deseo de volver a las páginas para revivir cada instante.
March 22, 2022
I was so lucky to be able to start off my literary escapades for the New Year on the right foot – with Jude Sierra’s second book, “What it Takes”. I so thoroughly enjoyed her first book, “Hush”, and therefore had pretty high expectations for this novel. I wasn’t disappointed.
“What it Takes” explores the relationship between Andrew and Milo, who met when they were just 8 years old and immediately bonded. Milo’s life has not been easy due to his overbearing, abusive father, and Andrew has always served to be a positive outlet for Milo, especially helping him with his frequent panic attacks and questions of self-worth.
As they grow, they each have a different experience with coming out, and their feelings for each other begin to change and grow at different times, but ultimately they eventually give in to their desire for each other. Each of them feels some degree of doubt, toward themselves and each other, and they part ways. Now, this may sound like a somewhat clichéd plotline of “couple has undeclared feelings for each other, finally passionately hook up, and then run away as fast as they can, each of them thinking they are not worthy of the other” – but this is where this novel is set apart from the rest. The doubt on both of their parts was so genuine – not a plot ploy, but something that not only could happen, but that does happen. The struggle going on within each of them is authentic, their emotions and doubts are credible and completely true to character. Most importantly, their separation was necessary and, even if they didn’t fully know why at the time, had to happen in order for them to be able to become the men they had to be to not be weighed down by the past. However, that the two of them have grown together in so many ways for almost their entire lives gave them a bond that no one else could ever compete with, so it is only natural that they are each other’s baseline by which all other relationships will be measured. And they all fall short.
This novel struck so many chords and touched emotions deep inside me. Milo’s anxiety, damaged self-worth, and fear were so incredibly true – I feel certain that Sierra must have an intimate knowledge of how it feels to live with these characteristics. Her insight is truly astounding, and it touched upon my emotions about my own experiences in such a profound way.
Sierra’s beautiful prose is in full force here, especially in the scenes set on the beach and in the woods. She has an incredible ability to paint pictures and stir emotions with her phrasing, and the way she connects with and portrays her characters’ souls, particularly Milo’s, is truly remarkable. While reading, I marked countless passages that were so beautiful phrased that I wanted to quote them all, but this is one of my favorites that captures the authenticity of the reasons for Milo and Andrew’s separation:
“How should one unpack blame? They both martyred themselves in youthful idiocy. They both ruined something. But when he thinks of the life Andrew shared with him – travel and jobs, and learning to connect with an audience through words – could he have achieved any of that? While holding Milo’s hand through anxiety and fear for years? Each visit to a therapist, each time he talked himself through fear, learned to find that handle to hold onto inside himself, and the strength to be a better man: Milo knows he might never have done that with Andrew as his citadel of protection.”
“What it Takes” explores the relationship between Andrew and Milo, who met when they were just 8 years old and immediately bonded. Milo’s life has not been easy due to his overbearing, abusive father, and Andrew has always served to be a positive outlet for Milo, especially helping him with his frequent panic attacks and questions of self-worth.
As they grow, they each have a different experience with coming out, and their feelings for each other begin to change and grow at different times, but ultimately they eventually give in to their desire for each other. Each of them feels some degree of doubt, toward themselves and each other, and they part ways. Now, this may sound like a somewhat clichéd plotline of “couple has undeclared feelings for each other, finally passionately hook up, and then run away as fast as they can, each of them thinking they are not worthy of the other” – but this is where this novel is set apart from the rest. The doubt on both of their parts was so genuine – not a plot ploy, but something that not only could happen, but that does happen. The struggle going on within each of them is authentic, their emotions and doubts are credible and completely true to character. Most importantly, their separation was necessary and, even if they didn’t fully know why at the time, had to happen in order for them to be able to become the men they had to be to not be weighed down by the past. However, that the two of them have grown together in so many ways for almost their entire lives gave them a bond that no one else could ever compete with, so it is only natural that they are each other’s baseline by which all other relationships will be measured. And they all fall short.
This novel struck so many chords and touched emotions deep inside me. Milo’s anxiety, damaged self-worth, and fear were so incredibly true – I feel certain that Sierra must have an intimate knowledge of how it feels to live with these characteristics. Her insight is truly astounding, and it touched upon my emotions about my own experiences in such a profound way.
Sierra’s beautiful prose is in full force here, especially in the scenes set on the beach and in the woods. She has an incredible ability to paint pictures and stir emotions with her phrasing, and the way she connects with and portrays her characters’ souls, particularly Milo’s, is truly remarkable. While reading, I marked countless passages that were so beautiful phrased that I wanted to quote them all, but this is one of my favorites that captures the authenticity of the reasons for Milo and Andrew’s separation:
“How should one unpack blame? They both martyred themselves in youthful idiocy. They both ruined something. But when he thinks of the life Andrew shared with him – travel and jobs, and learning to connect with an audience through words – could he have achieved any of that? While holding Milo’s hand through anxiety and fear for years? Each visit to a therapist, each time he talked himself through fear, learned to find that handle to hold onto inside himself, and the strength to be a better man: Milo knows he might never have done that with Andrew as his citadel of protection.”
January 30, 2016
What it takes, it seems, is time. The “it” might be love here (or it might be a sense of peace, or knowing yourself), and the time is a lot—this is not about instant gratification, but about coming together and apart many times, in a long rhythm; it’s about how something builds, how it accretes, how it becomes rather than how it is. The novel covers half a lifetime for Milo and Andrew, from their meeting as children on the beach until mid-adulthood (and I won’t give away what that entails).
It’s apt that a beach figures prominently in the story, because that’s the metaphor I want here; it speaks about time, and rhythm, and accretion in just the right ways. (I should say that’s me being heavy-handed—the novel itself is much more deft and gentle, doesn’t use the setting like a bat over your head; inelegance is the privilege of the review.)
It’s no easy feat to follow characters from early youth into adulthood. When the narrator is close to the point of view of the characters, the temptation is to make the kid-time too juvenile and cutesy. WHAT IT TAKES doesn’t fall into that trap. The children’s point of view is written with intelligence and compassion, just as the adult voices are. In fact, one of the qualities I appreciated most here was how the novel allowed these characters to have complex and conflicting feelings, to behave irrationally, and yet to still make sense to the reader.
If pressed to sum it up in a pithy sentence (you may have noticed that pithy is not my strong suit), I would say that this is a novel about coming home and finding your “place;” it’s about the return (but when you return you are always different for having been away). It’s about letting go and holding on. These ideas, beautifully, extend beyond the love between the main characters, to include mothers and fathers, towns and secrets.
This is a love story, yes, but one that is so intimately webbed to context: this particular story could not happen anywhere or anytime else. It is as much about reconciling with family (their cruelty, illness, love) as it is about lovers finding each other. The relationships with mother, father, others, are as important in who these characters are, what they become and what they need, as is the best-friend-turned-lover. Life here is about moving away and returning in rhythm, a little different each time. It’s a novel about what gets lost, what we grow out of, yes, but also what we gain, what we can grow into. People aren’t just the product of erosion; people are accretions, too.
It’s apt that a beach figures prominently in the story, because that’s the metaphor I want here; it speaks about time, and rhythm, and accretion in just the right ways. (I should say that’s me being heavy-handed—the novel itself is much more deft and gentle, doesn’t use the setting like a bat over your head; inelegance is the privilege of the review.)
It’s no easy feat to follow characters from early youth into adulthood. When the narrator is close to the point of view of the characters, the temptation is to make the kid-time too juvenile and cutesy. WHAT IT TAKES doesn’t fall into that trap. The children’s point of view is written with intelligence and compassion, just as the adult voices are. In fact, one of the qualities I appreciated most here was how the novel allowed these characters to have complex and conflicting feelings, to behave irrationally, and yet to still make sense to the reader.
If pressed to sum it up in a pithy sentence (you may have noticed that pithy is not my strong suit), I would say that this is a novel about coming home and finding your “place;” it’s about the return (but when you return you are always different for having been away). It’s about letting go and holding on. These ideas, beautifully, extend beyond the love between the main characters, to include mothers and fathers, towns and secrets.
This is a love story, yes, but one that is so intimately webbed to context: this particular story could not happen anywhere or anytime else. It is as much about reconciling with family (their cruelty, illness, love) as it is about lovers finding each other. The relationships with mother, father, others, are as important in who these characters are, what they become and what they need, as is the best-friend-turned-lover. Life here is about moving away and returning in rhythm, a little different each time. It’s a novel about what gets lost, what we grow out of, yes, but also what we gain, what we can grow into. People aren’t just the product of erosion; people are accretions, too.
January 20, 2016
The keyword for this novel is intimate. It’s all about intimacy–both good and bad, healthy and unhealthy, caring and abusive. It’s about ultimate bonds, and secrets, and feelings that last decades. It’s about the different ways intimacy can affect relationships, and how when you find the real thing, you can’t let it go.
Milo and Andrew are childhood best friends. They grow up together, learn themselves together, share each other’s darkest secrets from eight to eighteen. They stumble and they fall and they get back up, mostly together. They try. And even though they come totally together only to drift apart, that bond survives, and when they eventually come back together, it’s still there. Their feelings grow and evolve and fade and come back, but their intimacy is unmatched through all of it. That’s the point–they will never be more themselves than they are with each other, and they share a trust that is broken and mended and stronger and banged up and changed, but it never dies.
Milo in particular is a strong character. A survivor of abuse, he is complex and broken and so, so good. He just tries so hard to make the best of his situation, and I relate to that. And his struggle to break free is beautiful and heartbreaking–the ways in which it clings to him are very familiar. He’s just so strong, even when he feels weakest.
But Andrew. Sweet, confused Andrew. I love him too, for his kindness and his independence and his heartbreak. I recognize myself in him too–someone who turns to writing, to home, to familiarity, to the breath and beat that he feels instinctively inside him. He is quietly spiritual. He understands intimacy, even if he messes it up a lot because of his fear.
And their bond is just beautiful. It’s so satisfying, to see them struggle and finally find each other. And it’s all done in Jude’s exquisite prose. It’s not an easy read, it’s not a simple read, but it’s a genuinely masterful one. I have only the highest praise for this book.
Milo and Andrew are childhood best friends. They grow up together, learn themselves together, share each other’s darkest secrets from eight to eighteen. They stumble and they fall and they get back up, mostly together. They try. And even though they come totally together only to drift apart, that bond survives, and when they eventually come back together, it’s still there. Their feelings grow and evolve and fade and come back, but their intimacy is unmatched through all of it. That’s the point–they will never be more themselves than they are with each other, and they share a trust that is broken and mended and stronger and banged up and changed, but it never dies.
Milo in particular is a strong character. A survivor of abuse, he is complex and broken and so, so good. He just tries so hard to make the best of his situation, and I relate to that. And his struggle to break free is beautiful and heartbreaking–the ways in which it clings to him are very familiar. He’s just so strong, even when he feels weakest.
But Andrew. Sweet, confused Andrew. I love him too, for his kindness and his independence and his heartbreak. I recognize myself in him too–someone who turns to writing, to home, to familiarity, to the breath and beat that he feels instinctively inside him. He is quietly spiritual. He understands intimacy, even if he messes it up a lot because of his fear.
And their bond is just beautiful. It’s so satisfying, to see them struggle and finally find each other. And it’s all done in Jude’s exquisite prose. It’s not an easy read, it’s not a simple read, but it’s a genuinely masterful one. I have only the highest praise for this book.
March 19, 2016
Timing is everything -- at least, it is for Andrew and Milo. Unfortunately for them, many of the gray areas of their friendship boil down to the fact that they both have spectacularly awful timing. Add in a past Milo can't seem to escape despite his best efforts, drastically different approaches to life and love and sex, and a magnetic compatibility that refuses to be ignored, and they're a powder keg just seconds away from exploding. No wonder they decide the safest way for them to move forward is to do so separately, no matter how much it hurts.
When they reconnect years later, everything has changed, and yet very little has -- as always, timing is not their strong suit. The powder keg is even closer to igniting, and this time they're not the only ones in harm's way.
If you didn't already know that Jude is a poet at heart, you'd quickly figure it out by reading What It Takes -- I'm the kind of person who tends to skim over descriptive details when reading, but with Jude's stories, I find myself making sure to take in every single word and phrase, because they add up to something as beautiful as the Cape scenery she describes in this novel. She has a way of bringing the smallest details, the most seemingly insignificant items -- a binder, a slip of paper, a can of paint -- to life in an almost urgent way that's hard to describe, so I won't try beyond saying that she does it flawlessly.
When they reconnect years later, everything has changed, and yet very little has -- as always, timing is not their strong suit. The powder keg is even closer to igniting, and this time they're not the only ones in harm's way.
If you didn't already know that Jude is a poet at heart, you'd quickly figure it out by reading What It Takes -- I'm the kind of person who tends to skim over descriptive details when reading, but with Jude's stories, I find myself making sure to take in every single word and phrase, because they add up to something as beautiful as the Cape scenery she describes in this novel. She has a way of bringing the smallest details, the most seemingly insignificant items -- a binder, a slip of paper, a can of paint -- to life in an almost urgent way that's hard to describe, so I won't try beyond saying that she does it flawlessly.
January 22, 2016
A Joyfully Jay review.
4 stars
Childhood friends-to-lovers is one of my favorite types of stories to read and when angst is added in it can be a perfect storm. But the way this story was presented and then unfolded, the angst wasn’t as quite as intense as expected.
Milo’s father controls every aspect of his life and Milo lives in constant fear and anxiety that ramps up through the years. Most of the scenes with Milo’s father are off page and not explicit. Andrew is Milo’s confidant and quite simply the reason Milo survived. The guys form an intense bond based on Milo needing shelter and grounding and Andrew wanting nothing more than to be that person that puts Milo back together and its years before the guys will admit out loud how truly intertwined they have become. During their younger years there was not a lot of depth to their emotion, which was appropriate for their age, but there was just enough to feel it all and there was a great balance using just the right words.
Read Michelle's review in its entirety here.
4 stars
Childhood friends-to-lovers is one of my favorite types of stories to read and when angst is added in it can be a perfect storm. But the way this story was presented and then unfolded, the angst wasn’t as quite as intense as expected.
Milo’s father controls every aspect of his life and Milo lives in constant fear and anxiety that ramps up through the years. Most of the scenes with Milo’s father are off page and not explicit. Andrew is Milo’s confidant and quite simply the reason Milo survived. The guys form an intense bond based on Milo needing shelter and grounding and Andrew wanting nothing more than to be that person that puts Milo back together and its years before the guys will admit out loud how truly intertwined they have become. During their younger years there was not a lot of depth to their emotion, which was appropriate for their age, but there was just enough to feel it all and there was a great balance using just the right words.
Read Michelle's review in its entirety here.
May 27, 2016
This deserves a longer review, which I'll write the next time I read it. But in short, from now, I really loved it. I enjoyed her writing style a lot, I liked the story (and both boys), and I liked the way she told it. This was a very sweet read that felt very real and genuine. The book deals with some tough topics, and I thought they were handled well. I was also pleasantly surprised when the story veered away from where I was expecting—I enjoy being pleasantly surprised like that.
I'll definitely be reading more of Jude Sierra's stuff!
I'll definitely be reading more of Jude Sierra's stuff!
March 4, 2016
4/5!
I absolutely loved this book so much. The characters were amazing, and the direction the story went was so, so good (Even though it kinda broke my heart at first). Also
I absolutely loved this book so much. The characters were amazing, and the direction the story went was so, so good (Even though it kinda broke my heart at first). Also
March 12, 2021
a beautiful, touching tearjerker of a book.
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