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Fairmont Boys #1
Swimmer Boy
An alternative cover edition for this ASIN can be found here.
Liam Green is a sixteen-year-old boy who has just moved to Fairmont with his family. On his first day in his new high school, he falls for Alex, a handsome jock on the swim team. Alex doesn’t seem to be gay, but that does not end Liam’s obsession with him. Fate pushes the boys together, and they become friends—until Liam’s secret is revealed.
Swimmer Boy is the first book in Jay Argent’s best-selling Fairmont Boys series. It begins a coming-of-age story about friendship and the kind of love that is found in the most unlikely places.
Liam Green is a sixteen-year-old boy who has just moved to Fairmont with his family. On his first day in his new high school, he falls for Alex, a handsome jock on the swim team. Alex doesn’t seem to be gay, but that does not end Liam’s obsession with him. Fate pushes the boys together, and they become friends—until Liam’s secret is revealed.
Swimmer Boy is the first book in Jay Argent’s best-selling Fairmont Boys series. It begins a coming-of-age story about friendship and the kind of love that is found in the most unlikely places.
163 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 26, 2015
612 people are currently reading
1049 people want to read
About the author
Jay Argent
24 books119 followersJay Argent is a novelist in his forties who lives a peaceful life with his husband. His favorite hobbies are music, movies, and romantic novels. He obtained a degree in engineering in 2001 and started his career in a management consulting firm. Right now, he is pursuing his true passion of writing.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 145 reviews
April 20, 2017
Oh my God. No.
The writing in the story was insanely... simplistic.
The majority of the book was telling, not showing.
The characters felt 17 years old, going on 13.
There was no resolution to Alex's bullying friends' ultimatum about him staying on the swim team, his scholarship, etc.
The straight swimmer boy, Alex, had zero gay thoughts at all for the first 99% of the story. Not a single one, then after one erection at the 11th hour, he has a total out-of-the-blue epiphany that he likes Liam.
Not believable at all for me.
So for all that, I'd only rate this one at around 2 stars.
June 30, 2018
I did not like this book, but it was free.
I think the writing was full of exposition, explanation, and countless extraneous material without a full fledged vision. I thought if the author had used first person narrative and made it about Liam from his perspective it would have been easier to explore.
Instead, it switches around but never gets you into Alex’s head in a real way, especially to prepare for that sudden flip flop ending. See spoiler
I agree with a reviewer who said it felt like a book report in its technical detail.
I wish it were better since I wanted to like Alex and Liam, and wanted to care about them. I liked the birthday party scene, but it would have worked better as part of a more constructed, purposeful story idea.
I think the writing was full of exposition, explanation, and countless extraneous material without a full fledged vision. I thought if the author had used first person narrative and made it about Liam from his perspective it would have been easier to explore.
Instead, it switches around but never gets you into Alex’s head in a real way, especially to prepare for that sudden flip flop ending. See spoiler
I agree with a reviewer who said it felt like a book report in its technical detail.
I wish it were better since I wanted to like Alex and Liam, and wanted to care about them. I liked the birthday party scene, but it would have worked better as part of a more constructed, purposeful story idea.
April 15, 2018
An easy read about a gay teen making a good friend. The story is simple and clean, and it's nice to see a book about gay teens that's not bogged down with too much nasty stuff. The coming out scene was a tad cringey, not on the same level as what was shown in stories such as Call Me By Yoir Name and Simon vs. The Homosapiens Agenda. Apart from that, a nice story.
September 24, 2019
A YA page turner and the first book in the best-selling Fairmont Boys series. Easy to read. Easy to understand. Easy to accept. Except for teenage bullying, hatred and discrimination. Although an entertaining fiction read, books like Swimmer Boy can help us better understand and support and help young victims.
August 15, 2017
This is simply not a narrative. Although writing is grammatically correct and even fairly fluid, this work never takes off as a story but it reads like a report/assignment/page of a diary.
September 21, 2018
Good god that was painful!!!
I only finished it because it was short & I was determined to not DNF.
The only positive thing I can say about this book is the photo of the hottie on the cover.
Can I give negative stars PLEEEEZE!!!
I only finished it because it was short & I was determined to not DNF.
The only positive thing I can say about this book is the photo of the hottie on the cover.
Can I give negative stars PLEEEEZE!!!
August 1, 2021
The writing was very simplistic, far more telling than showing and there was absolutely no resolution to any of the plots that were brought up, even the major ones. At least the ebook was free.
July 3, 2025
I know fully understand why this was a free kindle book. The writing and the characters were so shallow. There was no depth at all, not even in the romance.
Any problems that there were, have not been resolved.
Any problems that there were, have not been resolved.
February 4, 2023
It was enjoyable enough, the writing is simple, and the themes were fine if a little over the top at times.
March 12, 2025
A simplistic book. Here are some thoughts I had while reading:
- I never really understood why Sam bullied Liam. Because he “looked gay”? They called him “faggot”, but how would they know? I felt that a young teen reading this could think their queerness is always on show, and that their difference to their peers is always obvious. When you’re young and feel so different already, I don’t think reading this will make you feel much more confident.
- It was never really explained and I was left wondering how Liam didn’t feel any kind of internal conflict about him being bullied. He was described as upset and crying, but I wish the author included more inner monologue. I wish the author explored the concept of having a crush that is also a bully more (at least as it seemed at first). I wish the author explored how Liam felt about the bullying because of his sexuality (if the bullying was for that reason)
- I also didn’t love the sexual scenes. It felt…inappropriate to read because Liam is 16. But I do realize this book is for teens of a similar age so it shouldn’t be an issue. I still found the description very dull (p. 49) and wish the author would have described Liam’s thoughts about Alex less directly. Maybe he could have thought about how it would feel if he had shampood his hair? How flustered he felt? The reader can imagine that he would get an erection; and the scene would have felt way more romantic and deep instead of simple describing that he got a boner thinking about Alex. Oh, also, speedos. They wear tight speedos and absolutely cannot shower with them on. They have to take their skin tight speedos off to shower naked. Without speedos! Have I said they wear speedos?
- Why did Alex insist on undressing Liam after he fell into ice instead of simply giving him a change of clothes and showing him the bathroom?
- Oh, also, what bully HITS THEIR VICTIM WITH A CAR? That was so unrealistic. And better yet: SOMEONE FUCKING DIES. So Sam ran over someone on a Christmas market. Wtf?
Though, I want to add that queer people DO get murdered and it is a real danger. I just found the setting unrealistic. I don’t believe a school bully (or a psychopath, or whatever is going on with Sam) would have chosen murder directly. While he did bully Liam a lot and hurt him, I would imagine that more abuse would happen before. I don’t understand why the author chose this way of removing Sam from the story. If he truly is such a bad person, I feel his character is not suited for this book; this book is not about the gruesome bullying of a gay boy by a psychopath, but about falling in love as a gay boy and all the struggles that come with it. Both story lines don’t fit together if the author chose such a simplistic writing style and only superficial descriptions about what happened. If Sam was removed from the story by Alex (for example, Alex telling him off for bullying someone) it would have given Rick another reason to be suspicious of Alex later on in the book, for “protecting Liam”.
- I also didn’t like how the girls in this book were purely an object for the sexual gratification of the male characters. Sofias one and only trait was that she was hot. I hate hate hate how all the boys talk about it “getting lucky” and “being rewarded”, as if being nice to your girlfriend is only means to obtain sexual pleasure.
BUT, I got this for free on Stuff Your Kindle Day and it was good reading practice. I don’t read English books often, so I appreciate the simple writing style for practice.
- I never really understood why Sam bullied Liam. Because he “looked gay”? They called him “faggot”, but how would they know? I felt that a young teen reading this could think their queerness is always on show, and that their difference to their peers is always obvious. When you’re young and feel so different already, I don’t think reading this will make you feel much more confident.
- It was never really explained and I was left wondering how Liam didn’t feel any kind of internal conflict about him being bullied. He was described as upset and crying, but I wish the author included more inner monologue. I wish the author explored the concept of having a crush that is also a bully more (at least as it seemed at first). I wish the author explored how Liam felt about the bullying because of his sexuality (if the bullying was for that reason)
- I also didn’t love the sexual scenes. It felt…inappropriate to read because Liam is 16. But I do realize this book is for teens of a similar age so it shouldn’t be an issue. I still found the description very dull (p. 49) and wish the author would have described Liam’s thoughts about Alex less directly. Maybe he could have thought about how it would feel if he had shampood his hair? How flustered he felt? The reader can imagine that he would get an erection; and the scene would have felt way more romantic and deep instead of simple describing that he got a boner thinking about Alex. Oh, also, speedos. They wear tight speedos and absolutely cannot shower with them on. They have to take their skin tight speedos off to shower naked. Without speedos! Have I said they wear speedos?
- Why did Alex insist on undressing Liam after he fell into ice instead of simply giving him a change of clothes and showing him the bathroom?
- Oh, also, what bully HITS THEIR VICTIM WITH A CAR? That was so unrealistic. And better yet: SOMEONE FUCKING DIES. So Sam ran over someone on a Christmas market. Wtf?
Though, I want to add that queer people DO get murdered and it is a real danger. I just found the setting unrealistic. I don’t believe a school bully (or a psychopath, or whatever is going on with Sam) would have chosen murder directly. While he did bully Liam a lot and hurt him, I would imagine that more abuse would happen before. I don’t understand why the author chose this way of removing Sam from the story. If he truly is such a bad person, I feel his character is not suited for this book; this book is not about the gruesome bullying of a gay boy by a psychopath, but about falling in love as a gay boy and all the struggles that come with it. Both story lines don’t fit together if the author chose such a simplistic writing style and only superficial descriptions about what happened. If Sam was removed from the story by Alex (for example, Alex telling him off for bullying someone) it would have given Rick another reason to be suspicious of Alex later on in the book, for “protecting Liam”.
- I also didn’t like how the girls in this book were purely an object for the sexual gratification of the male characters. Sofias one and only trait was that she was hot. I hate hate hate how all the boys talk about it “getting lucky” and “being rewarded”, as if being nice to your girlfriend is only means to obtain sexual pleasure.
BUT, I got this for free on Stuff Your Kindle Day and it was good reading practice. I don’t read English books often, so I appreciate the simple writing style for practice.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 19, 2024
‘Swimmer Boy’ by Jay Argent is a such a gem. I have to admit I shed a tear when Liam was so down, especially as it was his birthday, but the book also filled me with smiles. I loved Liam and Alex as characters and was rooting for them the entire time. I can’t wait to read the next in the series to see what happens next with them both. Such a sweet read!
March 14, 2016
"High school is a battle ground for all who must pass through it in the teen version of life ever after.
Probably no one is ever truly well. Adjusted and happy during the adventure, but somehow most survive with some permanent scars to show for it, and some seem to glide through on looks and reputation. The few who missed the give away on beauty, social skills, and have to learn survival skills and hope for good luck to never be noticed. As everyone tries to develop their independence and life plans, no one wants to be to unusual in clothing styles, activities, abilities, and responsibilities. Hormones mess with the mind and body, but do not offer any clear path to success. The clicks form around similarities and want-to-bes more than the exclusions in the shadows. Self image pain and heartbreak are guaranteed for all if they have any awareness, but the sexual preference is the minefield that no one can escape without help. Guilty until proven innocent is the charge, and even if no sexual experience has occupied, how do you prove it has not happened? The only relief is from a true friend with understanding, because past history i
Probably no one is ever truly well. Adjusted and happy during the adventure, but somehow most survive with some permanent scars to show for it, and some seem to glide through on looks and reputation. The few who missed the give away on beauty, social skills, and have to learn survival skills and hope for good luck to never be noticed. As everyone tries to develop their independence and life plans, no one wants to be to unusual in clothing styles, activities, abilities, and responsibilities. Hormones mess with the mind and body, but do not offer any clear path to success. The clicks form around similarities and want-to-bes more than the exclusions in the shadows. Self image pain and heartbreak are guaranteed for all if they have any awareness, but the sexual preference is the minefield that no one can escape without help. Guilty until proven innocent is the charge, and even if no sexual experience has occupied, how do you prove it has not happened? The only relief is from a true friend with understanding, because past history i
January 30, 2019
Triggers: homophobia, bullying
This is a hard one to review, namely because I hate writing more.. negative reviews on own-voice books and this is one of those.
Swimmer Boy follows two guys, one of which is gay and the other assumes he's straight but starts discovering and realizing otherwise.
The idea of this novel is definitely one I totally love; the actual story is one I applaud but the execution was extremely lacking in my opinion.
Conversations felt forced, unnecessary drama was added all the time and the writing style simply wasn't to my liking. It felt too studied and I couldn't really lose myself in the story like I expect to when it comes to contemporary reads.
There's also a bit of a focus on the physical aspect and one character drooling over the other that felt a bit too much for me, but I can see how it would be realistic so I'm leaving that one in the middle.
All in all I'm glad I read the story, but this could be so much more than it is right now.
2 / 5
This is a hard one to review, namely because I hate writing more.. negative reviews on own-voice books and this is one of those.
Swimmer Boy follows two guys, one of which is gay and the other assumes he's straight but starts discovering and realizing otherwise.
The idea of this novel is definitely one I totally love; the actual story is one I applaud but the execution was extremely lacking in my opinion.
Conversations felt forced, unnecessary drama was added all the time and the writing style simply wasn't to my liking. It felt too studied and I couldn't really lose myself in the story like I expect to when it comes to contemporary reads.
There's also a bit of a focus on the physical aspect and one character drooling over the other that felt a bit too much for me, but I can see how it would be realistic so I'm leaving that one in the middle.
All in all I'm glad I read the story, but this could be so much more than it is right now.
2 / 5
Read
December 3, 2018Not for me ... The story is about coming out at 16 with school yard bullies picking on the weaker boys. Unfortunately that was Liam who was their target. I couldn't continue with this as Alex just sat back and watched the bully Sam pick on him. I totally agree with Todd's review on this one. A few typos included. Luckily this was a freebie from book bub..
Liam 16 had moved to a town and started a new high school.
Alex appeared to be straight but is he... he was also friends with Sam and others.
Liam 16 had moved to a town and started a new high school.
Alex appeared to be straight but is he... he was also friends with Sam and others.
November 1, 2023
Basic "gay teen falls for handsome straight jock" tale.
3.75 stars
Liam has just moved and now goes to Fairmont High. Upon seeing Alex, the blonde-haired swimming star of the school, falls instantly for him.
What follows is bullying, verbal and physical abuse and confusing signals from Alex, who acts straight.
Disappointingly, the two teens do not admit their feelings until the final chapter of this book. Much of the story concerns Liam's being tormented and Alex being harassed by his "supposed" girlfriend.
3.75 stars
Liam has just moved and now goes to Fairmont High. Upon seeing Alex, the blonde-haired swimming star of the school, falls instantly for him.
What follows is bullying, verbal and physical abuse and confusing signals from Alex, who acts straight.
Disappointingly, the two teens do not admit their feelings until the final chapter of this book. Much of the story concerns Liam's being tormented and Alex being harassed by his "supposed" girlfriend.
April 20, 2022
quick and easy read
very simple and unimpressive writing. it could've been better. it's a quick and easy read, with a simple story to follow and your average tropes and characters. i didn't like the start but it got better as the story progressed. i did like alex as a character and i feel his character could've been explored a bit more. solid 2 stars read, 3 stars because of alex.
very simple and unimpressive writing. it could've been better. it's a quick and easy read, with a simple story to follow and your average tropes and characters. i didn't like the start but it got better as the story progressed. i did like alex as a character and i feel his character could've been explored a bit more. solid 2 stars read, 3 stars because of alex.
April 24, 2024
What the f did I just read…
If this was a Wattpad story it would honestly have been like .. 3 stars. But it’s an actual BOOK…. Which is crazy to me tbh…
The story is very poorly written. Also some people said it’s a clean book… in my opinion it isn’t, they don’t like f or anything but they talk about boners and they constantly think sexual things.. so I don’t think it’s clean. This also makes this book even weirder because THEY ARE 16 YEARS OLD😀😀
If this was a Wattpad story it would honestly have been like .. 3 stars. But it’s an actual BOOK…. Which is crazy to me tbh…
The story is very poorly written. Also some people said it’s a clean book… in my opinion it isn’t, they don’t like f or anything but they talk about boners and they constantly think sexual things.. so I don’t think it’s clean. This also makes this book even weirder because THEY ARE 16 YEARS OLD😀😀
January 10, 2021
I just love this! I love Alex and Liam and Rosa and Liam's parents! I love the scene where Alex's friends come at him for beeing friends with a queer person and expect him to crumble infront of them but Alex is basically yelling "so what!" and just scares them away. What a King! Already bought the sequel!
January 29, 2018
Boring. I literally fell asleep reading this and just couldn't give two shits about either of the characters. It felt like the author was trying to poetic with their prose but it all came across as flat and uninteresting.
March 6, 2018
The writting is very simplistic. The POV is little jumpy for me and hard to follow by times. The end was a little the weird in my opinion. Some things in the book were just unbelievable. 2/5
January 23, 2025
2.5 ⭐️
I found the book because it was free. The summary is not from another world, but it got my attention because I thought it would be a cute, short gay story. It was... somehow, but there's a lot of "buts."
It's easy to read, yes. But at some point, I felt like I was reading a poor written Wattpad fanfic. Nothing against Wattpad fanfics, but here's the thing: I thought It could be read as if a teenager fugoshi girl was writing it (especially for the intense and repetitive use of words like "jock").
I think there's a lot going on, but almost nothing has a good closure and exploration (even knowing that there's 4 books more). We needed more description of the important things. For example, I got it, Liam is a teenager, but there's a lot of mention of him looking at boy's butts and muscles, but when they finally kiss, it's literally "and they kissed".
I read a comment saying exploring the perspective of both characters (as narrators) was a mistake. I think it was a good idea, but again, we need more descriptions and exploration of the characters. Because I got that Alex was getting attracted to Liam for a long time, but we don't get to explore that. It's just like, "Yeah, he had to like him because otherwise there will be no story." (And like what happened with the gift he bought for Liam?)
At the last part of the story, it gets a little more fluid. I felt like I connected with Liam and Alex, yes, but I'm not sure if I'm gonna end the saga. Maybe just the second book, but I'm not excited enough to say, "I have to read it now." So I'm gonna put other stories first.
I found the book because it was free. The summary is not from another world, but it got my attention because I thought it would be a cute, short gay story. It was... somehow, but there's a lot of "buts."
It's easy to read, yes. But at some point, I felt like I was reading a poor written Wattpad fanfic. Nothing against Wattpad fanfics, but here's the thing: I thought It could be read as if a teenager fugoshi girl was writing it (especially for the intense and repetitive use of words like "jock").
I think there's a lot going on, but almost nothing has a good closure and exploration (even knowing that there's 4 books more). We needed more description of the important things. For example, I got it, Liam is a teenager, but there's a lot of mention of him looking at boy's butts and muscles, but when they finally kiss, it's literally "and they kissed".
I read a comment saying exploring the perspective of both characters (as narrators) was a mistake. I think it was a good idea, but again, we need more descriptions and exploration of the characters. Because I got that Alex was getting attracted to Liam for a long time, but we don't get to explore that. It's just like, "Yeah, he had to like him because otherwise there will be no story." (And like what happened with the gift he bought for Liam?)
At the last part of the story, it gets a little more fluid. I felt like I connected with Liam and Alex, yes, but I'm not sure if I'm gonna end the saga. Maybe just the second book, but I'm not excited enough to say, "I have to read it now." So I'm gonna put other stories first.
September 8, 2025
Final verdict:
I was kind of hoping for something good but this whole book just made me feel uncomfortable. For a whole host of reasons. I'm not even sure where to start. It leans more into a certain niche although I'm unsure what niche that is. I did find the scene where our main boy tries coming out to his mum for the first time to be relatable. It hit close to home and I understood what he was going through. However this book has way too many cliche's in it. Every line feels too cliche.
I love me a good corny book. I love a book that sounds like fanfiction; but is a world of the authors own creation.
There were many sentences in this book though; where I couldn't fully wrap my head around waht the author was trying to say. I don't know if this is an earlier edition, if this is one of those issues I know we keep seeing in books on the kindle; or if that was actually just the book. I couldn't get into it.
Also we get it. Jocks have a huge role in this book. But it felt like every sentence was about this jock or that jock; to the point it just started grating my nerves.
Did not finish at 32 %
Before thoughts:
I got a free copy of this book last year from Amazon and couldn't figure out how to read it. I recently discovered I just needed to download the kindle app on the store
I was kind of hoping for something good but this whole book just made me feel uncomfortable. For a whole host of reasons. I'm not even sure where to start. It leans more into a certain niche although I'm unsure what niche that is. I did find the scene where our main boy tries coming out to his mum for the first time to be relatable. It hit close to home and I understood what he was going through. However this book has way too many cliche's in it. Every line feels too cliche.
I love me a good corny book. I love a book that sounds like fanfiction; but is a world of the authors own creation.
There were many sentences in this book though; where I couldn't fully wrap my head around waht the author was trying to say. I don't know if this is an earlier edition, if this is one of those issues I know we keep seeing in books on the kindle; or if that was actually just the book. I couldn't get into it.
Also we get it. Jocks have a huge role in this book. But it felt like every sentence was about this jock or that jock; to the point it just started grating my nerves.
Did not finish at 32 %
Before thoughts:
I got a free copy of this book last year from Amazon and couldn't figure out how to read it. I recently discovered I just needed to download the kindle app on the store
November 10, 2022
⭐️1.5
Okay, look, I know this is for "young adults" but what the hell 😭 it was an easy read but awful! It was cringey beyond belief, the pacing was terrible, the whole set up was BAD. I don't know why I bothered with this book apart from it being free (thank god).
Honestly thought it would be a great LGBT rep story but it wasn't- Liam oggling and panting at Alex and yet when Alex watched him he was uncomfortable. Sure the writer showed struggle of coming out to parents and homophobia at school, but still that was barely anything. Alex standing up for Liam was decent, but that was only towards the end. Nothing changed in the narrative, Liam was still hated, his relationship has to be secret... come on! Also what the HELL was this Sam dealing and stealing and goes to prison and Patrick dies nonsense? It literally felt so random, incredibly off putting. Where was the need for it? Didn't like any of the characters, especially Sofia. I hated how she acted and how she treated Alex, but then he strung her along and treated her just as bad.
It's just been a poorly written team drama and there was nothing cute about it... the ending? "Oh it likes you too, like I do", mate what kind of coming out, declaration of love is that? Embarrassing.
Okay, look, I know this is for "young adults" but what the hell 😭 it was an easy read but awful! It was cringey beyond belief, the pacing was terrible, the whole set up was BAD. I don't know why I bothered with this book apart from it being free (thank god).
Honestly thought it would be a great LGBT rep story but it wasn't- Liam oggling and panting at Alex and yet when Alex watched him he was uncomfortable. Sure the writer showed struggle of coming out to parents and homophobia at school, but still that was barely anything. Alex standing up for Liam was decent, but that was only towards the end. Nothing changed in the narrative, Liam was still hated, his relationship has to be secret... come on! Also what the HELL was this Sam dealing and stealing and goes to prison and Patrick dies nonsense? It literally felt so random, incredibly off putting. Where was the need for it? Didn't like any of the characters, especially Sofia. I hated how she acted and how she treated Alex, but then he strung her along and treated her just as bad.
It's just been a poorly written team drama and there was nothing cute about it... the ending? "Oh it likes you too, like I do", mate what kind of coming out, declaration of love is that? Embarrassing.
October 13, 2024
Primo libro di una serie di quattro che non penso proprio di continuare.
Non è stata una brutta lettura, ma di sicuro ho letto cose migliori - ho trovato la scrittura un po' meccanica e poco scorrevole, non dico "infantile" ma neanche così "evoluta" da alzarsi un po' sopra il gradino del semplicistico per riuscire ad intrattenere il lettore.
Ho trovato anche la storia un po' stereotipata - possibile che qui tutti, e dico tutti, odino le persone queer e abbiano paura di "contagiarsi" o condividere lo stesso spogliatoio se per caso ce ne fosse qualcuna nelle vicinanze e le ragazze sappiano solo fare ad essere volubili, capricciose, arrabbiate e infantili oppure a non sapersi tenere un segreto neanche per cinque minuti?
Per non parlare di tutto il bullismo, l'omofobia e persino un (tentato) omicidio che vengono trattati all'acqua di rose.
Venendo ai nostri protagonisti, anche qui avrei poco da dire - Liam continua a sbavare sul fisico di Alex e di Alex abbiamo ben poca voce interiore visto che non assistiamo al "processo" che lo porta a capire di essere attratto da Liam e poi improvvisamente, puf, mettiamoci insieme!
Mi aspettavo di meglio.
Non è stata una brutta lettura, ma di sicuro ho letto cose migliori - ho trovato la scrittura un po' meccanica e poco scorrevole, non dico "infantile" ma neanche così "evoluta" da alzarsi un po' sopra il gradino del semplicistico per riuscire ad intrattenere il lettore.
Ho trovato anche la storia un po' stereotipata - possibile che qui tutti, e dico tutti, odino le persone queer e abbiano paura di "contagiarsi" o condividere lo stesso spogliatoio se per caso ce ne fosse qualcuna nelle vicinanze e le ragazze sappiano solo fare ad essere volubili, capricciose, arrabbiate e infantili oppure a non sapersi tenere un segreto neanche per cinque minuti?
Per non parlare di tutto il bullismo, l'omofobia e persino un (tentato) omicidio che vengono trattati all'acqua di rose.
Venendo ai nostri protagonisti, anche qui avrei poco da dire - Liam continua a sbavare sul fisico di Alex e di Alex abbiamo ben poca voce interiore visto che non assistiamo al "processo" che lo porta a capire di essere attratto da Liam e poi improvvisamente, puf, mettiamoci insieme!
Mi aspettavo di meglio.
February 21, 2024
TW: queer slurs, homophobia, car accident, bullying
I think the intent behind beginning this series was well meaning. The author is putting his own experiences from high school into the books and I feel that so I’m adding a star. However, the writing style is extremely simplistic, very “he woke up, he ate cereal, he went to school, he came home”. Like an outline for a story rather than actual story details. The girls in the story felt very villainized, and maybe Sophia really is hard to handle but it feels very stereotypical that the girls are evil in gay books and I’m really tired of that, speaking as a queer woman. The parents seemed very unbelievable, and the dialogue was stunted. I felt the characters lacked depth as they were just dumb jock and smart quiet nerd. The story in itself is not bad, the books are short and I do intend to check out the other ones to see what happens. All in all I think this is something that would be good for very young teens who may be struggling with coming out or figuring out their sexuality.
I think the intent behind beginning this series was well meaning. The author is putting his own experiences from high school into the books and I feel that so I’m adding a star. However, the writing style is extremely simplistic, very “he woke up, he ate cereal, he went to school, he came home”. Like an outline for a story rather than actual story details. The girls in the story felt very villainized, and maybe Sophia really is hard to handle but it feels very stereotypical that the girls are evil in gay books and I’m really tired of that, speaking as a queer woman. The parents seemed very unbelievable, and the dialogue was stunted. I felt the characters lacked depth as they were just dumb jock and smart quiet nerd. The story in itself is not bad, the books are short and I do intend to check out the other ones to see what happens. All in all I think this is something that would be good for very young teens who may be struggling with coming out or figuring out their sexuality.
August 31, 2021
This is a book I almost gave up on several times but I decided to just get through it, being curious how it would end up.
It's not really a difficult read, every big moment that happens is void of emotions because of the way it is written.
The writer doesn't allow his characters to feel much of anything.
The biggest emotional outburst Liam has had, have been in response to something Alex did or didn't do, and then we are told he cries.
Saying a character cries inconsolably doesn't pull the reader in to the characters state of mind.
They end up seeming bland because nothing is affecting them. And had the content just been a bit deeper I would gladly have done a dive in to this series, but right now I don't find myself caring about Alex or Liam.
Though the book got it right in one thing, sixteen year olds are childish and moody, which is what most of them seemed to be. Petulant children.
It's not really a difficult read, every big moment that happens is void of emotions because of the way it is written.
The writer doesn't allow his characters to feel much of anything.
The biggest emotional outburst Liam has had, have been in response to something Alex did or didn't do, and then we are told he cries.
Saying a character cries inconsolably doesn't pull the reader in to the characters state of mind.
They end up seeming bland because nothing is affecting them. And had the content just been a bit deeper I would gladly have done a dive in to this series, but right now I don't find myself caring about Alex or Liam.
Though the book got it right in one thing, sixteen year olds are childish and moody, which is what most of them seemed to be. Petulant children.
August 6, 2024
This wasn’t really worth it.
The writing was amateurish which I don’t mind, but combined with the generic plot and uninteresting characters this was a bore.
I don’t mind coming of age stories and wanted to read something mlm with sports. I hate swimming and thought it was ironic and funny so I had to pick it up.
Additionally, them not being open about their relationship doesn’t give me pride it’s more a sad ending and I have no idea what the bullies get. The book leaves it open but hints at it just being left alone so no consequences for the bad guys. Not really satisfying.
And I dislike this smaller guy trope thing, this is supposed to be teen love, come on. Why does it always have to be a skinny guy and then a jock?
There wasn’t anything that interesting me so now I finished it in my big purge of unfinished books.
The writing was amateurish which I don’t mind, but combined with the generic plot and uninteresting characters this was a bore.
I don’t mind coming of age stories and wanted to read something mlm with sports. I hate swimming and thought it was ironic and funny so I had to pick it up.
Additionally, them not being open about their relationship doesn’t give me pride it’s more a sad ending and I have no idea what the bullies get. The book leaves it open but hints at it just being left alone so no consequences for the bad guys. Not really satisfying.
Liam was also small and skinny, which made him beautiful in Alex's eyes.
And I dislike this smaller guy trope thing, this is supposed to be teen love, come on. Why does it always have to be a skinny guy and then a jock?
There wasn’t anything that interesting me so now I finished it in my big purge of unfinished books.
April 18, 2019
I wanted to like it. I like to encourage gay teen romance authors whenever I can. Regrettably I couldn't get further than 40% of the way through before bailing. I'm sorry, I tried.
There are some areas which would help it
* Time Jumps: put a divider in, not just white space
* Tropes like Jocks: just tell us once the guy is a jock. We'll remember. It's a cliché, though
* Unresolved things: if they don't add to the plot, leave them out, but if there's a train wreck and your main character appears fit and healthy soon after, what happened?
There are a good few areas where the writing needs to be tighter. There is potential here, and, with tight editing and a bit of elbow grease a further edition can address these things. There is so little good gay teen romance that it's worth doing it.
There are some areas which would help it
* Time Jumps: put a divider in, not just white space
* Tropes like Jocks: just tell us once the guy is a jock. We'll remember. It's a cliché, though
* Unresolved things: if they don't add to the plot, leave them out, but if there's a train wreck and your main character appears fit and healthy soon after, what happened?
There are a good few areas where the writing needs to be tighter. There is potential here, and, with tight editing and a bit of elbow grease a further edition can address these things. There is so little good gay teen romance that it's worth doing it.
April 21, 2024
Wow, what can I say. Although this is seemingly written for a younger audience in mind, I felt as though it is exactly the light read I needed.
I’m so glad I picked this up. My constant ability to relate to so many feelings that Alex and Liam had endured was second to none. School can be a cruel place and the experiences of these kids is proof enough of that.
This is the first book, albeit a small one, that I’ve read cover to cover in a single day with the joy, passion and want to read the next 4 in the series. So much so, that I HAVE to pick them up in paperback form too.
I’m bias, as a fellow gay, who doesn’t love a cute high school romance, least of all a gay one given the stigma constantly faced by the LGBT community, but to me this was utter perfection.
~ 5 stars.
I’m so glad I picked this up. My constant ability to relate to so many feelings that Alex and Liam had endured was second to none. School can be a cruel place and the experiences of these kids is proof enough of that.
This is the first book, albeit a small one, that I’ve read cover to cover in a single day with the joy, passion and want to read the next 4 in the series. So much so, that I HAVE to pick them up in paperback form too.
I’m bias, as a fellow gay, who doesn’t love a cute high school romance, least of all a gay one given the stigma constantly faced by the LGBT community, but to me this was utter perfection.
~ 5 stars.
December 28, 2024
I read this almost in one sitting. It did draw me in even if it was really cliché. I guess I'm just weak for HS drama. Somethings were so predictable and weird, like how the mc's 'friends' told him to stay away from his friend bc they didn't want any of those on their team. There was no explanation of why the guys fell in love, and the ending felt a bit rushed. How did A realize he was gay? It felt like it happened out of the blue without no explanation at all. And yeah, the ending was super rushed.
BUT! I did enjoy it. I liked them becoming friends and bonding and getting to know each other. I liked Liam and Alex hanging out. And the coming out scene to his parents was beautiful.
It was hard to rate. But I give it 3 stars.
BUT! I did enjoy it. I liked them becoming friends and bonding and getting to know each other. I liked Liam and Alex hanging out. And the coming out scene to his parents was beautiful.
It was hard to rate. But I give it 3 stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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