Published 5/24/11 With or Without You | Brian Farrey
Simon Pulse
Paperback | 349 pp.
Eighteen year-old Evan and his best friend Davis get beaten up for being loners. For being gay. For just being themselves. But as rough as things often seem, at least Evan can take comfort in his sweet, sexy boyfriend Erik–whom he’s kept secret from everyone for almost a year.Brent’s opinion of the novel:
Then Evan and Davis are recruited to join the Chasers, a fringe crowd that promises them protection and status. Davis is swept up in the excitement, but Evan is caught between his loyalty to Davis and his love for Erik. Evan’s lied to keep his two worlds separate. Now his lies are about to implode…and destroy the very relationships he’s been trying to protect.
Everyone is on the hunt for a book with gay characters. With gay characters, not about gay characters. Books about gay characters have plots that central around coming out, and have themes of acceptance. Books with gay characters are have plots that are, well, normal plots. Books with gay characters can be about vampires, apocalypse, or even fat mobsters who always fall down the stairs. Books with gay characters have other themes besides acceptance.
WITH OR WITHOUT YOU is a book with gay characters, not about them.
High school seniors Evan and Davis are sick of being bullied for no other reason than the fact that they’re gay. So when school lets out and they meet Sable, a weird/interesting/mysterious gay dude with a hidden agenda, they’re easily pulled into the Chasers, a group that celebrates homosexuality. With each meeting, Davis is sucked farther in to the group, and when it gets dangerous, Evan must decide between saving his best friend and following his heart.
There are a billion things I love about this book, but I’ll try to only name a few.
The protagonist, Evan, is probably my favorite main character of 2011. He’s so insanely relatable, and just straight-up real. Evan is the character that everyone will love and want to be IRL friends with. He doesn’t have the snarky, whiny, depressed attitude. When you think of him, you don’t say, “Oh, Evan? That gay character in W/ OR W/OUT YOU?” Because his sexuality is the least interesting thing about him. He paints, using windows as his canvas.
Brian Farrey writes about lots of different relationships in WITH OR WITHOUT YOU, but there are two that really take lead: Evan and Davis’s, and Evan and Erik’s. I love that the relationship between Evan and Davis stayed at the friend-level. There was nothing romantic between them, and that made the story even more real. You don’t know how many times I chill with one of my gay friends and someone asks if we’re dating. That bothers the $#&% out of me, when people assume that just because two people are gay they’re automatically in love and dating. I was beyond thrilled to see this in WITH OR WITHOUT YOU.
I think I mentioned this before, but Evan is a painter. But not your typical, average painter—he creates his art on windows. Glass is his medium. I don’t want to give too much away, but Evan’s problem is this: his art, while refreshing and beautiful, is completely unoriginal. He has no unique style. No identity. Instead, he mocks other artists. The book is a lot about relationships and balance, but it’s also about self-discovery. From the beginning to the end, we see a change in Evan, through his artwork. It’s like, as he learns more about the person that he is, he also learns about the artist he wants to be. This is what made WITH OR WITHOUT YOU brilliant.
And, of course, Mr. Farrey’s writing just made the story shine.
This is a book you definitely want to read.
FIVE STARS
6 comments:
HAH. I recently got into a shouting match at a party about this. And I think you would have taken my side. Someone tried to argue that any book with gay characters was a gay book, and I countered that only books with central plots/themes that are centrally gay are gay books. ANYWAY, I'm excited that non-gay books, but rather books with gay characters, are becoming more popular.
Oh, WOWY sounds great! I don't read enough YA contemporary, and definitely not enough with boy narrators, so I'll have to check this one out.
I have a trunked novel with four main characters, one of whom is gay. But the story is paranormal, a genre where I feel like it's much easier to write books with characters who are gay, not about characters who are gay, if that makes sense.
In a YA contemp, readers may have preconceived notions of what the book will be "about", themes like coming of age and acceptance. In a YA paranormal, the paranormal plot usually overshadows the characters.
While it's so cool to find a YA contemp novel with gay characters, I'm hoping that the fantasy genre will play a big role in years to come in providing books with gay characters (and hopefully some much needed cultural diversity, as well!).
I'll have to blow the dust off that old story of mine and revise to get a head start! ;)
Thanks for the awesome review, Brent!
LOL i love the line "thanks to my mothers credit card" epic! :)
Want it want it! I was just looking at this in the bookstore yesterday.
I can't wait to read this one! I got my best friend to buy it at B&N since it sounded like something she'd definitely enjoy. Just waiting for her to finish so I can read it as well! So glad to hear that you enjoyed it Brent. :)
Oh how I want to read this one. Wonderful review though, Brent. Glad you enjoyed it. I love that there are books coming out more these days where the fact that a character is gay isn't the whole POINT. Those stories are needed, sure, but not for every.single. LGBT novel.
-Lauren
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