Chat

by Sara Luna

Evan has always lived up to expectations—those of his loving parents, his long-term girlfriend, and his religion. But even people with clear, bright futures can be a little lost sometimes.

A few clicks on the internet land him in a chatroom, where a random stranger becomes his confidant as he tries to find his way. Anonymous advice can’t hurt, can it? But oddly enough, the more he gets to know this stranger with a silly screen name, the more he gets to know about himself. Messages turn to meetings, friendly chats become a deeper connection, and soon Evan is facing a very different future—everything he never wanted—but maybe everything he actually needs.

Genres: M M Romance, Contemporary, LGBT, Romance, Short Stories, Fiction

83 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 15, 2021

Reviews

[Teal]

The voice didn't work for me. I couldn't believe the 1st-person narrator was a 19-year old guy. Plus, his relationship with his girlfriend was so oopy goopy moopy schmoopy sugary sweet that it made me want to throw up a little. YMMV.

DNF @ 25%

[QuietlyKat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet is the most common descriptor I saw in reviews of Chat prior to reading it. While I somewhat agree that it is a sweet story, it’s so much more than that. Evan is a kind hearted young man who’s been raised by a conservative Christian family. As such, he has deeply ingrained and subconscious ideology and values that are somewhat cringeworthy and problematic despite his best intentions. Luna took some risks here, at times Evan’s subconscious conservative judgement was quite off-putting and made him hard to like. But taking that risk paid off in the way Luna uses it to push back on Evan’s unintentional and ignorant micro aggressions. So even though at times I side eyed Evan hard with distaste, he takes Henry’s pushback well and questions his own internalized homophobia and judgment, learning and growing in the process. Moreover, it doesn’t always take Henry pushing back; sometimes Evan recognizes as soon as a problematic thought enters his head or leaves his mouth and pushes back himself. It’s subtle and really well played.

Luna also added another element that I really loved. Henry isn’t the stereotypical fine, fit, gorgeous main man. He’s ‘real’ and he’s insecure about his appearance, particularly because he has been rejected because he’s not that physical ‘ideal.’ In a similar way to which Henry pushes back on Evan’s ignorant and unintentional micro aggressions, Evan pushes back on Henry’s self criticism, not only appreciating Henry’s appearance but encouraging him to stop putting himself down.

Chat is a thoughtful YA story, subtly and deftly confronting challenging social issues. We get these flawed but kind protagonists, each supporting and helping the other grow in important ways. It’s not always a pleasant or easy journey but it’s real and relevant and I appreciated the messages it was sending.

4 stars

Of note: Sara Luna is the YA pen name of Sara Alva, author of Silent and Playing God.

[annob [on hiatus] · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5+ stars!

Sweet - but not sugary - coming of age story. Liked it a lot, including the side character that was a vital part of the plot. It was lovely to read a story only inhabited by goodhearted people, without losing the tension needed to drive the plot. Well done, look forward to more from the author.

[Maygirl7 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet and lovely story of a young college student fumbling his way to accepting himself and out of the homophobic closet his upbringing kept him hiding in too long. Evan can’t accept his true desires, but he meets an accepting voice online who answers his questions and calls him on his knee jerk responses with compassion. Even when Evan lashes out from his internal conflict, he quickly recognizes how hurtful he was to Henry and wants to rectify his words. In turn Evan calls Henry on his own self-esteem issues. It’s a perfect romance where the two MCs save each other rather than one being the savior. Bonus the girlfriend is an awesome, interesting woman that Evan loves even after he recognizes that his love for Hannah isn’t the romantic kind.

[Chelsey Nixon · Rating 4 out of 5]

#SpoilerWarrior

Okay. That was the most adorable little online/IRL, coming of age/coming out novella that I’ve read maybe ever. Short and sweet, babys.

[NicoleR.M.M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 stars. Sweet coming of age novella about accepting your true self and be honest to yourself and your loved ones about it.
Enjoyable short, well written read.

[Jenn (not Lily) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice little figuring out his orientation story. I wouldn't have minded more, but it's complete as is.

[Jean Malherbe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful story!

Aww, I absolutely loved this 💞
What an adorable, sweet, wholesome coming of age story.
Absolutely deserving of five stars.
Lively, snappy dialogue.
Well written, with very few editing misses. Lovely, likeable characters.
For a short story, this one gets 10 out of ten!
Highly recommended.

[Elizabeth H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Four pt five rounded up to five. A cute, fun read.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet coming out of age book.

The characters are very well defined and likable.
The book is full of emotions and struggles and it is beautifully written.

Well done.

[Claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet coming of age story. I'd only like to read more about Evan's journey.

[Sarah☀️ Somerville · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was adorable and I LOVED the ending.