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Waif's Refuge
Waif’s Refuge A coming out and coming of age novel
At fourteen, Robert had the best day of his life thanks to a boy named Sam. Following a long talk after school, the boys shared a kiss in the boy’s locker room and for the first time, they both know they are not alone. That same day soon becomes Robert’s worst. His father has found out his son is gay, and he greets the teen with the icy words, “I will not have a fag living in my house.” With nowhere else to go, Robert takes to the streets and learns to survive, even if survival means selling his tail from time to time to eat or have a place to sleep.
Now, having spent four years on the icy streets off the shores of Lake Michigan, Robert wants out. After deciding he’s tired of mere survival, he puts an ambitious plan into motion. A plan life tries to thwart at every turn and is made more complicated when he meets cute college boy Mark. Love slowly blossoms, but will it wilt under the truth of Robert’s life? After all, Robert is damaged goods, and he knows it. A mere waif to be used and tossed aside as other’s whims suit.
Buy now to read a gritty yet hopeful coming out and coming of age tale of gay teen romance and friendship in the upper Midwest.
At fourteen, Robert had the best day of his life thanks to a boy named Sam. Following a long talk after school, the boys shared a kiss in the boy’s locker room and for the first time, they both know they are not alone. That same day soon becomes Robert’s worst. His father has found out his son is gay, and he greets the teen with the icy words, “I will not have a fag living in my house.” With nowhere else to go, Robert takes to the streets and learns to survive, even if survival means selling his tail from time to time to eat or have a place to sleep.
Now, having spent four years on the icy streets off the shores of Lake Michigan, Robert wants out. After deciding he’s tired of mere survival, he puts an ambitious plan into motion. A plan life tries to thwart at every turn and is made more complicated when he meets cute college boy Mark. Love slowly blossoms, but will it wilt under the truth of Robert’s life? After all, Robert is damaged goods, and he knows it. A mere waif to be used and tossed aside as other’s whims suit.
Buy now to read a gritty yet hopeful coming out and coming of age tale of gay teen romance and friendship in the upper Midwest.
Kindle Edition
First published October 5, 2019
4 people are currently reading
19 people want to read
About the author
James Matthews
2 books3 followersJames Matthews’ love of storytelling is the foundation for his books. In his collection of fiction, readers will find an array of genres from general friction to science fiction and fantasy — all with main characters that are strong, non-stereotypical and homosexual. By reading his books, you will experience a range of emotions through Matthews’ characters, and be inspired to think differently about the world around you. He will provide you with a compelling collection of fiction stories with characters that break the mold of the stereotypical homosexual and entertain you with the adventures of these interesting characters.
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 16, 2020
Waif’s Refuge, while fiction, is an enlightening view into the lives of homeless children and their struggle to survive on the streets. While we would all like to believe that because this is fiction, it couldn’t possibly depict a truth about our society, unfortunately, it does.
Robert shows us through his story how vulnerable children are to the beliefs and weaknesses of their parents and adults in general. In Robert’s case, his father’s intolerance of his sexual orientation puts him on the streets at fourteen, as he says, “because he kissed a boy.” It highlights the dangers and challenges he and other children face alone and unprepared for what they encounter in an unkind world.
While drug addiction, sexual predators, and mental illness are included in the telling, it is not all negative. What comes through clearly in this story is Robert’s inherent goodness and his strong faith in God. That faith gives him the strength to persevere in the face of adversity. It guides him in helping even the most desperate of souls. While others see his goodness, Robert is oblivious to it. He believes only the worst of himself because of what he’s done to survive. He is a young man with strong moral values who wants to have a normal life and make a difference in the world. In a society that is quick to abandon those who are not as we may wish them to be, this story, while fiction, reinforces the belief that one good person can positively impact many. In Waif’s Refuge, that one good person is a young eighteen-year-old gay man named Robert. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did.
Robert shows us through his story how vulnerable children are to the beliefs and weaknesses of their parents and adults in general. In Robert’s case, his father’s intolerance of his sexual orientation puts him on the streets at fourteen, as he says, “because he kissed a boy.” It highlights the dangers and challenges he and other children face alone and unprepared for what they encounter in an unkind world.
While drug addiction, sexual predators, and mental illness are included in the telling, it is not all negative. What comes through clearly in this story is Robert’s inherent goodness and his strong faith in God. That faith gives him the strength to persevere in the face of adversity. It guides him in helping even the most desperate of souls. While others see his goodness, Robert is oblivious to it. He believes only the worst of himself because of what he’s done to survive. He is a young man with strong moral values who wants to have a normal life and make a difference in the world. In a society that is quick to abandon those who are not as we may wish them to be, this story, while fiction, reinforces the belief that one good person can positively impact many. In Waif’s Refuge, that one good person is a young eighteen-year-old gay man named Robert. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did.
June 24, 2022
Heartbreaking
November 22, 2022
I began this book with a gloomy mindset because of the conjunction of a coming-of-age novel with the title "Waif's Refuge." I had a little difficulty getting started, but then the characters came to life, and I was confronted again and again and again with the surprising strategies street boys go through to survive, to add meaning to their lives, to guardedly care for other persons, after they have been thrown out of their houses because they are gay.
I believe this book should be required for every therapist, every city administrator, and every school teacher, because the problem these boys embody requires many levels of solution.
I am glad I read it, even though it gave me bad dreams and required me to see that though not thrown out of the house, I was shut round about with expectations and denials as a teenage boy.
I believe this book should be required for every therapist, every city administrator, and every school teacher, because the problem these boys embody requires many levels of solution.
I am glad I read it, even though it gave me bad dreams and required me to see that though not thrown out of the house, I was shut round about with expectations and denials as a teenage boy.
August 15, 2024
Tears in my eyes
What a heartwarming and heartbreaking book. I got so involved with the characters in the book that I couldn’t stop reading. Be aware of many triggers but the book will definitely open your eyes to the pain and suffering our youth have to endure. The author did an amazing and inspiring job of writing this story. I highly recommend this book and it definitely deserves more than 5 stars.
What a heartwarming and heartbreaking book. I got so involved with the characters in the book that I couldn’t stop reading. Be aware of many triggers but the book will definitely open your eyes to the pain and suffering our youth have to endure. The author did an amazing and inspiring job of writing this story. I highly recommend this book and it definitely deserves more than 5 stars.
November 22, 2024
A difficult read. Every child deserves a fairytale ending. This book starkly reminds the reader that there is a chasm between deserves and reality.
May 3, 2022
Waif’s Refuge, while fiction, is an enlightening view into the lives of homeless children and their struggle to survive on the streets. While we would all like to believe that because this is fiction, it couldn’t possibly depict a truth about our society, unfortunately, it does.
Robert shows us through his story how vulnerable children are to the beliefs and weaknesses of their parents and adults in general. In Robert’s case, his father’s intolerance of his sexual orientation puts him on the streets at fourteen, as he says, “because he kissed a boy.” It highlights the dangers and challenges he and other children face alone and unprepared for what they encounter in an unkind world.
While drug addiction, sexual predators, and mental illness are included in the telling, it is not all negative. What comes through clearly in this story is Robert’s inherent goodness and his strong faith in God. That faith gives him the strength to persevere in the face of adversity. It guides him in helping even the most desperate of souls. While others see his goodness, Robert is oblivious to it. He believes only the worst of himself because of what he’s done to survive. He is a young man with strong moral values who wants to have a normal life and make a difference in the world. In a society that is quick to abandon those who are not as we may wish them to be, this story, while fiction, reinforces the belief that one good person can positively impact many. In Waif’s Refuge, that one good person is a young eighteen-year-old gay man named Robert. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did.
Robert shows us through his story how vulnerable children are to the beliefs and weaknesses of their parents and adults in general. In Robert’s case, his father’s intolerance of his sexual orientation puts him on the streets at fourteen, as he says, “because he kissed a boy.” It highlights the dangers and challenges he and other children face alone and unprepared for what they encounter in an unkind world.
While drug addiction, sexual predators, and mental illness are included in the telling, it is not all negative. What comes through clearly in this story is Robert’s inherent goodness and his strong faith in God. That faith gives him the strength to persevere in the face of adversity. It guides him in helping even the most desperate of souls. While others see his goodness, Robert is oblivious to it. He believes only the worst of himself because of what he’s done to survive. He is a young man with strong moral values who wants to have a normal life and make a difference in the world. In a society that is quick to abandon those who are not as we may wish them to be, this story, while fiction, reinforces the belief that one good person can positively impact many. In Waif’s Refuge, that one good person is a young eighteen-year-old gay man named Robert. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews