This is a beautiful story about some ugly stuff. It is such an important read. It is a lovely and gentle falling in love story between two young men, Max and Jordan, and that is why it made it into my June #Pride reading. But it is so much more, it contains such an important message, and it is a must read for teens/young adults of all genders and sexualities.
Max is a 17 year old half-Mexican jock, he plays baseball on his school team. His dad has drilled it into his head from the start that boys must "superhero up" and not cry or be soft, shouldn't feel is how Max heard this. He lives with his mother and sees and talks to his father from time to time. He has two best friends, Betts & Zay-Rod, and they call themselves the Three Amigos. He is an artist when he allows himself to explore that part of himself. And Max is Gay.
Jordan is also 17. He is a white, skinny reed of a kid without an athletic bone in his body. He is a writer and loves 80's music. He is a writer and has two best friends, Pam & Kayla, who he calls his wives. Jordan lives with his mother and has been taking care of her since his dad died a few years back. And Jordan is Gay.
Something happened to Max. Something he is trying to get over because that's what he thinks real men do. Jordan and his mom are thisclose to losing their house. And then they meet. Jordan and his mom are trying to get his dad's for truck back up and running so they can earn the money needed to save their house. Max stayed out all night and part of the consequences he is facing is having to work all summer in the insurance office where his mom works. So when Max (who can cook) stumbles across Jordan's food truck as his mom (who can't cook) is having a meltdown it is like fate and he gets a job working on the truck.
That is the catalyst that brings the boys together. But as they try to make a go of this food truck the depth of them is slowly revealed.
Jordan's mom has a serious gambling problem and is depressed. She hasn't been a caregiver since the death of Jordan's dad, they have reversed roles. The relationship between Jordan, Pam, and Kayla is his safe place. Until he begins to feel like they aren't listening to him and are doing things he isn't comfortable with. It's nothing huge but it is part of the larger topic of consent and agency over oneself that this story tackles, and does well.
Max's dad is a classic example of what has been coined "toxic masculinity" and Max wants to please his dad. So when something happens to Max instead of facing what it is he falls into "the man up, it can't be what I think it is because I was bigger and stronger and I didn't fight or try to get away" mentality that many people who have been bullied or otherwise assaulted deal with. Usually it is girls/women but in this case it is a boy. Max went out with a college guy, one who was built much smaller than him, and something happened. Max doesn't want to talk about it or deal with it but the physical memories keep at him. And when he does finally talk about it the conversation becomes about consent, no meaning no, and how disassociating and not fighting back doesn't mean it isn't rape.
The details of the assault aren't given in a graphic manner but it is discussed. There is a brief exchange about how the body can react in a way that makes a survivor wonder if they "wanted it" and it is done with love and tenderness by Max's mom.
This revelation starts a dialogue between Max & his friends and Jordan & his about how they treat each other, the stereotypes they apply, and the right they each have to their feelings and what they allow to happen or not happen to them, from dressing up someone's dog or labeling them your "wife" all they way up to the big one, a person's body.
While it is a difficult and emotional to talk about these things, it is handled so well here. There is a bit more, shit hits the fan with Jordan's mom and he has to face some hard choices and realities...
This is such a loving and amazingly told story!!!
(Finished June 12, 2019)
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