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Something For Nothing
Alvaro Torres is a teenager with man-sized his dad bailed, his mom’s a shut-in, and his teacher at Our Lady of Providence School for Boys thinks Alvaro and his buddies are punks headed for a minimum-wage future. It doesn't look like anything's going to change until Candelario Carlisle transfers in and arouses Alvaro’s protective instincts... among other things.
When a bully threatens the pretty new kid, Alvaro takes Cande under his wing and into his fledgling dance group. Slowly, under Alvaro’s care and attention, the hard shell Cande has built around his heart begins to melt. The more involved they become, the more reluctant Cande is to add misery to Alvaro’s life, but Cande’s past could ruin the only opportunity these delincuentes have for a better life.
When a bully threatens the pretty new kid, Alvaro takes Cande under his wing and into his fledgling dance group. Slowly, under Alvaro’s care and attention, the hard shell Cande has built around his heart begins to melt. The more involved they become, the more reluctant Cande is to add misery to Alvaro’s life, but Cande’s past could ruin the only opportunity these delincuentes have for a better life.
214 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 27, 2010
4 people are currently reading
246 people want to read
About the author
Connie Bailey
50 books38 followersConnie Bailey is a Luddite who can’t live without her computer. She’s an acrophobic who loves to fly, a fault-finding pessimist who, nonetheless, is always surprised when something bad happens, and an antisocialite who loves her friends like family. She’s held a number of jobs in many disparate arenas to put food on the table, but writing is the occupation that feeds her soul.
Connie lives with her ultralight designer husband at a small grass-strip airfield halfway between Disney World and Busch Gardens. Logic and reality have had little to do with her life, and she likes it that way.
Connie lives with her ultralight designer husband at a small grass-strip airfield halfway between Disney World and Busch Gardens. Logic and reality have had little to do with her life, and she likes it that way.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
July 2, 2010
It's a nice story. Everything that could go right for these boys does. I kept waiting for the first shoe to drop, let alone the next but it didn't happen. It was too much like a fairy tale. I get that it is a romance and a certain amount is expected to be a fantasy but rags to riches like this for poverty ridden boys, all around 18 and gay to boot was just too fantastical. Not to mention the miraculous turn around for some of the other secondary characters in the book.
It's one of those books that most people are going to love because there is no downside to the story. It starts off with them all at their lowest but with dreams to reach for. As they reach the story just climbs, climbs, climbs to a higher, happy place with no misteps.
It's one of those books that most people are going to love because there is no downside to the story. It starts off with them all at their lowest but with dreams to reach for. As they reach the story just climbs, climbs, climbs to a higher, happy place with no misteps.
September 6, 2015
Wasn't sure I would like this book when I got it. The characters are still in school so it seemed like it wouldn't be to my usual tastes but I was pleasantly surprised. I started it and read it straight through with little stopping. It was a light read that still had some depth to it. The only thing I think I would say bad about the book is that it did seem to skim over deeper issues with the characters in favor of the love story. Still I'm a sucker for the love story:)
January 1, 2013
In a word: Superb. I adored this book. These smartass, tough-as-nails young men just get under your skin, and you end up laughing and crying with them (though they wouldn't admit to doing the latter).
Alvaro is a popular delinquent in what-might-be-called a reformatory school. He ends up rescuing Cande, a pretty boy, from punk thugs, and a bond forms between them. Alvaro and his friends, Kiki and Leo, form a dancing band, and with Cande and Elly they discover singing as well. Their goal is a competition a few weeks away. Together they become more than what the world, their parents, and their teachers expect, rising above their past crimes and grim view of the future.
The spirit of this story is breathtaking. It would be so easy to give up and let go, but these boys have a shared dream, and they pursue it regardless of what others think of their chances. What threw me in this book was the wonderful, exhilarating banter between all the boys, as well as the way the adults shape up too when they realize what these guys are capable of. The dreams of few affect so many it's just marvelous to witness.
This was a beautiful story. I simply cannot recommend it enough for the simple lessons that what you see isn't always what you get, and how easy it is to misjudge people based on their reputation, past, attitude, or appearance. The positive outlook here is very uplifting, and I found myself grinning from ear to ear at the successes of Party of Five. I highly recommend!
Alvaro is a popular delinquent in what-might-be-called a reformatory school. He ends up rescuing Cande, a pretty boy, from punk thugs, and a bond forms between them. Alvaro and his friends, Kiki and Leo, form a dancing band, and with Cande and Elly they discover singing as well. Their goal is a competition a few weeks away. Together they become more than what the world, their parents, and their teachers expect, rising above their past crimes and grim view of the future.
The spirit of this story is breathtaking. It would be so easy to give up and let go, but these boys have a shared dream, and they pursue it regardless of what others think of their chances. What threw me in this book was the wonderful, exhilarating banter between all the boys, as well as the way the adults shape up too when they realize what these guys are capable of. The dreams of few affect so many it's just marvelous to witness.
This was a beautiful story. I simply cannot recommend it enough for the simple lessons that what you see isn't always what you get, and how easy it is to misjudge people based on their reputation, past, attitude, or appearance. The positive outlook here is very uplifting, and I found myself grinning from ear to ear at the successes of Party of Five. I highly recommend!
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February 1, 2011Having read the previous coming of age novel by Connie Bailey, True Blue, I knew what to expect from this one: a light and “happy” story on teens in love with a little drama but not too much. Plus a little bit of “I’m gay but I’m not sure it’s a proper thing” attitude that sometime you find in the yaoi novels, but with all a western nuance; by the way there is also the naïve attitude of one of the main characters that suddenly disappear as soon as he has the chance to “taste” the forbidden fruit.
Basically you have double the deal in this story since the teen couples are two, Alvaro “Varo” and Candelario “Cande”, the main one, but also Enrique “Kiki” and Leo, the supporting one, Alvaro’s best friends that to me stole the scene to the much ordinary and cute couple of Varo and Cande.
Varo, Kiki and Leo are attending a catholic school in the Spanish neighbourhood of Los Angeles for troubled teenagers. More or less no one in the school, from the students to the professors, are expecting anything else from the teenagers to attend school and avoid trouble, but of course both expectations are often dismissed. In a way the trio of friends are not so bad: Varo, a single mother kid who is helping at home; Kiki, the neglected son of a wealthy couple pending divorce; and Leo, already with a criminal record who is working and studying at the same time to help paying his little brother’s tuition. The strange thing is that, even if the actual relationship between Kiki and Leo will start later in the story, already from the first pages I thought they were together: from a various of little signs, they seemed to me more “bonded” than with Varo, Varo was like an external addition to their duo. When Cande enters the scene it’s obvious he will be the completion of Varo, since Kiki and Leo were already good together; I realized from the jealousy Kiki felt for Varo that indeed he was thinking at Varo sentimentally, but the jealousy was sudden and soon forgotten, and Kiki pursued Leo’s attention as soon as he realized Varo was interested in Cande.
In any case, all four of them are claiming they are “not” gay; the only one who is a little on the edge is Varo, who admits he is bisexual and he has already had boyfriends in the past. The one who is the most likely gay, Kiki, is indeed the one at the opposite: he has never had any interested in men if not for his crush on Varo. When Kiki and Leo end together, it’s a mix of consolation prize and need of companionship: Kiki is having trouble at home, he needs more attention than friends could give him and Leo is there, and free, while Varo is committed to conquer Cande. Even if the starting point of the relationship is probably convenience, their story is nice and sexy, and it felt more “real” than that of Cande and Varo, less staged: Kiki and Leo were not playing the role of the uke and seme, they were more two teenagers suddenly free to experiment without adult supervision.
Cande and Varo’s relationship instead was a little more complicated for me to understand: at first I thought Cande was this completely innocent kid who was almost scared by Varo’s sexual approach; but aside from some broken sentences, as soon as they fall in bed together, Cande seems to take the upper hand and to lead the relationship at his own pace. It’s a bit of top from the bottom attitude, but more than that I think it’s the real Cande coming out (no pun intended): with the development of the story we will understand that Cande is not exactly who he claims to be, and I think the first impression I had of him was his staged persona.
Even if there is a “thriller” subplot, it’s simple and not very dangerous: I think the author didn’t want to put too much obstacles in the way of her characters, and in the end this is more a good comedy than a drama.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1615815260/?...
Basically you have double the deal in this story since the teen couples are two, Alvaro “Varo” and Candelario “Cande”, the main one, but also Enrique “Kiki” and Leo, the supporting one, Alvaro’s best friends that to me stole the scene to the much ordinary and cute couple of Varo and Cande.
Varo, Kiki and Leo are attending a catholic school in the Spanish neighbourhood of Los Angeles for troubled teenagers. More or less no one in the school, from the students to the professors, are expecting anything else from the teenagers to attend school and avoid trouble, but of course both expectations are often dismissed. In a way the trio of friends are not so bad: Varo, a single mother kid who is helping at home; Kiki, the neglected son of a wealthy couple pending divorce; and Leo, already with a criminal record who is working and studying at the same time to help paying his little brother’s tuition. The strange thing is that, even if the actual relationship between Kiki and Leo will start later in the story, already from the first pages I thought they were together: from a various of little signs, they seemed to me more “bonded” than with Varo, Varo was like an external addition to their duo. When Cande enters the scene it’s obvious he will be the completion of Varo, since Kiki and Leo were already good together; I realized from the jealousy Kiki felt for Varo that indeed he was thinking at Varo sentimentally, but the jealousy was sudden and soon forgotten, and Kiki pursued Leo’s attention as soon as he realized Varo was interested in Cande.
In any case, all four of them are claiming they are “not” gay; the only one who is a little on the edge is Varo, who admits he is bisexual and he has already had boyfriends in the past. The one who is the most likely gay, Kiki, is indeed the one at the opposite: he has never had any interested in men if not for his crush on Varo. When Kiki and Leo end together, it’s a mix of consolation prize and need of companionship: Kiki is having trouble at home, he needs more attention than friends could give him and Leo is there, and free, while Varo is committed to conquer Cande. Even if the starting point of the relationship is probably convenience, their story is nice and sexy, and it felt more “real” than that of Cande and Varo, less staged: Kiki and Leo were not playing the role of the uke and seme, they were more two teenagers suddenly free to experiment without adult supervision.
Cande and Varo’s relationship instead was a little more complicated for me to understand: at first I thought Cande was this completely innocent kid who was almost scared by Varo’s sexual approach; but aside from some broken sentences, as soon as they fall in bed together, Cande seems to take the upper hand and to lead the relationship at his own pace. It’s a bit of top from the bottom attitude, but more than that I think it’s the real Cande coming out (no pun intended): with the development of the story we will understand that Cande is not exactly who he claims to be, and I think the first impression I had of him was his staged persona.
Even if there is a “thriller” subplot, it’s simple and not very dangerous: I think the author didn’t want to put too much obstacles in the way of her characters, and in the end this is more a good comedy than a drama.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1615815260/?...
July 2, 2010
From the summary I expected something a little more grittier than what this story actually held. At first the trio - Alvaro, Kiki, and Leo - are described in the exact manner I had expected throughout the novel; rough, tough, disconnected from the 'cliques' of other students ... but [and this was supposed in the beginning, a hopeful detail:] with good and honorable hearts.
Within ten pages those hopes are dashed. They DO have good hearts - too good, for supposed 'delinquents.' Leo is working his @$$ off to support his whole family and has a very small juvenile record-type mistake. As does Kiki [who was caught for theft before, which we find out at the very end of the novel ... after we're told countless times that he and his family are richer than hell:]. And Alvaro ... well, honestly I can't even remember what - if anything - Alvaro did. Briefly it states that Cande was caught in an armed robbery, but that isn't nearly a strong enough reason for him to get caught up in the web he's in when he meets the trio. And for each member, their transgressions just don't add up to them being viewed as non-reformable delinquents.
Add to that the fact that they are really singers/dancers gearing for a competition - at which, they end up singing a song by Madonna - and my excitement in the story as a whole was completely dashed. I would have ended up giving it a "2" star, if I hadn't liked the fact that Leo and Kiki ended up together. I was more interested in THEIR relationship, in the end, than I had been with Alvaro and Cande.
Within ten pages those hopes are dashed. They DO have good hearts - too good, for supposed 'delinquents.' Leo is working his @$$ off to support his whole family and has a very small juvenile record-type mistake. As does Kiki [who was caught for theft before, which we find out at the very end of the novel ... after we're told countless times that he and his family are richer than hell:]. And Alvaro ... well, honestly I can't even remember what - if anything - Alvaro did. Briefly it states that Cande was caught in an armed robbery, but that isn't nearly a strong enough reason for him to get caught up in the web he's in when he meets the trio. And for each member, their transgressions just don't add up to them being viewed as non-reformable delinquents.
Add to that the fact that they are really singers/dancers gearing for a competition - at which, they end up singing a song by Madonna - and my excitement in the story as a whole was completely dashed. I would have ended up giving it a "2" star, if I hadn't liked the fact that Leo and Kiki ended up together. I was more interested in THEIR relationship, in the end, than I had been with Alvaro and Cande.
June 22, 2013
3.5 stars. It's a cute little story, very anime feel, with small differences for the California/Hispanic setting. There were some very nice sentiments, especially the repeated theme of getting something for nothing, by giving and trusting each other. In the anime tradition, much of the book was moved along by dialogue and the dialogue was snappy and fun. But the characters weren't that distinct in their conversational styles and sometimes confusing. The sex scenes seemed a bit too focused on nude twister (He put his right arm on his left nipple and then his left hand on his butt and squeezed and then they turned around and...) and didn't feel very intimate. I'm not sure what the secret to writing good sex is, but this didn't capture it, although the nipple play was the best part of the sex. So there was a sweet tale with good sentiments, but the characters weren't very distinct and it wasn't that exciting, but not bad.
October 14, 2010
Given the setting of the story and the background of the boys, it had the potential to be a fairly dark, angsty story, but it wasn't. That really pleased me. It was sweet and funny, and the conversations cracked me up. How realistic it is may be debatable, but I gave it enough suspension of disbelief that I could really enjoy it.
January 25, 2015
I realize the author was probably aiming for a yaoi style, but the writing was just too simplistic and dull. And the story was so unlikely and shallow. There were some interesting ideas, but their problems were all resolved so easily, sometimes even off the page, and the end result was just blah.
January 22, 2018
Low angst is the primary element of both the love story and the success story. That's fine - I knew it ahead of time, so I read this as a break from more challenging books. I liked all the characters and the low arcs most faced. I really loved the joking around the friends do. That said, some aspects come off as unreal. I just ignored that, since I was reading for the relationships.
I had two problems with it. First, and right off the bat, the author "head-hops" - that is when we get thoughts and feelings from multiple people in the same scene. Generally, either you choose omniscient, in which you get anyone's point of view as serves the story, or you choose limited, in which usually there is one but often two and sometimes a small cast, as with this novel. This is the latter - but for the reader, head-hopping within the same scene is distancing. We are less sure what to expect. By the end I'd gotten used to it, but I wouldn't ever do it to readers.
And, I did have some problem with the overstating of actions and feelings, particularly during sex scenes. (It was unnecessary to detail all the places a tongue touches inside the other's mouth. Who pays attention to that? They're young and this is new, not erotica.) I skimmed some pages because it was not what I wanted for these kids, you know?
If you're looking for a sweet story with Hispanic/Latino characters, you may enjoy this one.
I had two problems with it. First, and right off the bat, the author "head-hops" - that is when we get thoughts and feelings from multiple people in the same scene. Generally, either you choose omniscient, in which you get anyone's point of view as serves the story, or you choose limited, in which usually there is one but often two and sometimes a small cast, as with this novel. This is the latter - but for the reader, head-hopping within the same scene is distancing. We are less sure what to expect. By the end I'd gotten used to it, but I wouldn't ever do it to readers.
And, I did have some problem with the overstating of actions and feelings, particularly during sex scenes. (It was unnecessary to detail all the places a tongue touches inside the other's mouth. Who pays attention to that? They're young and this is new, not erotica.) I skimmed some pages because it was not what I wanted for these kids, you know?
If you're looking for a sweet story with Hispanic/Latino characters, you may enjoy this one.
July 20, 2017
This was a good book and enjoyed reading it. I loved Alvaro Torres and Candelario (Cande) Carlisle as a couple; to be in love as a teenager. (sigh) It's the first book I've read from this author and I was plesantly surprised
September 16, 2022
The only thing that's going for this book is the cover.
Didn't like the writing, the characters, the plot.
DNF at 18%
Didn't like the writing, the characters, the plot.
DNF at 18%
June 19, 2012
3.5 stars
This story had a yaoi feel to it. I was a little surprised because the description made me think it would be a little darker, about boys that are struggling against bigotry and bullies maybe. The reason it lacked that feeling is that the four main MCs in this book had a really strong friendship and support group, they were popular, and tough enough to hold their own easily against any potential bullies. So the conflict and angst I expected from "coming out" in a rough neighborhood didn't happen at all. This was almost a young adult book, although there was sex it wasn't outrageously explicit or erotic.
There were four main characters, Alvaro "Varo", Candelario "Cande", Enrique "Kiki" and Leo. While the story was primarily about Varo and Cande, Kiki and Leo were the much more engaging pair in my opinion. The friendship between these four boys and a younger boy had a lot of fun and humorous banter. There was not really any conflict in this book, and the story was almost a little too light and whimsical. I didn't feel a really tremendous connection between Varo and Cande. It all seemed like a really immature high school crush than any real enduring love story to me. I found the ending to be a little bit fantastical, but overall, I did enjoy the story and I liked the characters.
This story had a yaoi feel to it. I was a little surprised because the description made me think it would be a little darker, about boys that are struggling against bigotry and bullies maybe. The reason it lacked that feeling is that the four main MCs in this book had a really strong friendship and support group, they were popular, and tough enough to hold their own easily against any potential bullies. So the conflict and angst I expected from "coming out" in a rough neighborhood didn't happen at all. This was almost a young adult book, although there was sex it wasn't outrageously explicit or erotic.
There were four main characters, Alvaro "Varo", Candelario "Cande", Enrique "Kiki" and Leo. While the story was primarily about Varo and Cande, Kiki and Leo were the much more engaging pair in my opinion. The friendship between these four boys and a younger boy had a lot of fun and humorous banter. There was not really any conflict in this book, and the story was almost a little too light and whimsical. I didn't feel a really tremendous connection between Varo and Cande. It all seemed like a really immature high school crush than any real enduring love story to me. I found the ending to be a little bit fantastical, but overall, I did enjoy the story and I liked the characters.
October 18, 2011
I had a lot of expectations from this book. Disappointment was not one of them - because I didn't expect to be. Maybe it was because of my lack of feel for the characters or the seemingly plot-less quality of the book. But mostly, it was because I expected so much from Connie Bailey. I've held True Blue on a high pedestal since I read it and I thought this will go for Bailey's other books as well. However, Something for Nothing wasn't that great for me. It seems as though Cande just appeared in Alvaro's life and stirred it up a lot. I didn't feel the spark and excitement in their relationship. But I think I would've liked Something for Nothing if I didn't have True Blue to compare it to. I should treat both book separately but I can't and I won't.
July 14, 2012
3.5 stars
I think the synopsis of this book should be changed. This book is so much better than the brief summary makes it out to be. The story seemed like it was almost a coming of age story and the midway it shifts to be about a boy band. The relationship between Alvaro and Cande totally won this book over for me. Alvaro is supposedly this total bad ass but Cande seems to reduce him to soft mush. It's cute.
I liked how the phrase "Something for Nothing" came up within every "heart to heart" conversation, i found that amusing.
I think the synopsis of this book should be changed. This book is so much better than the brief summary makes it out to be. The story seemed like it was almost a coming of age story and the midway it shifts to be about a boy band. The relationship between Alvaro and Cande totally won this book over for me. Alvaro is supposedly this total bad ass but Cande seems to reduce him to soft mush. It's cute.
I liked how the phrase "Something for Nothing" came up within every "heart to heart" conversation, i found that amusing.
October 6, 2016
"Something for Nothing" is a very good gay coming-of-age tale that follows four gay teens who are struggling with their difficult lives and their sexuality. I enjoyed the characterizations and the rich portrayal of young love. I could have done without the epilogue, though, which took an already happy ending to an extreme. But still, the book is a very well written story that's sure to delight gay YA fiction fans.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 31, 2012
This is like one of those movies about a bunch of plucky formerly-delinquent kids from the barrio who dance and sing their way to fame and fortune--only without a community center to save, but with a a few internal gay relationships. Fun for what it is.
June 28, 2010
4.5 stars
July 7, 2010
It could just be me, but this really felt like a YA book. Well, if you take away the sex anyway. Everything was very ... "coming of age".
June 19, 2011
Loved this coming of age book. It was totally different than what I thought it was going to be. A nice surprise that left me with a smile.
September 25, 2013
follow your dreams and work for then with every breath you take.
it takes courage to follow you dreams.
it takes courage to follow you dreams.
April 28, 2023
This was so sweet! Been a while since I read a book about kids in school. Very fairy tale like. Loved the MCs and the other kids.
January 21, 2011
When I started reading I thought that Leo and Kiki were a couple...
July 10, 2016
This is a sweet story - perhaps too sweet. A fun lite read with a very happy ending.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews