 Writer Cheri
Rosenberg has been as busy as usual with reviews for IGW. Here she
reviews to books,Mark A. Roeder's Summer of My Discontent and Anna Furtado's The Heart's Desire |
 The Summer of My Discontent by Mark A. Roeder 294 pages, $18.95 iUniverse, 2003 ISBN: 0595298060 For those readers who are keeping up with the Gay Youth Chronicles, we’re back in Verona, Indiana, in the summer of 1981. All living together on the Selby Farm are old friends Ethan, Nathan, Brendan, Casper, Ethan’s Uncle Jack, and Jack’s second wife, Ardelene, who happens to be Casper’s grandma. The Summer of My Discontent is the follow up to Mark A. Roeder’s, A Better Place. We meet a few new characters, including Dane, a troubled runaway looking for love and sex in all the wrong places. He chooses friends unwisely, and makes some bad choices while trying to find his place in the world. Dane takes up company, and moves in with a male prostitute, Austin. He ends up working for a grave robber, Boothe, in order to make money. He thinks his new life is preferable to living at home with his parents, and having them find out his big, dark secret. Dane fantasizes about having a real boyfriend, someone to love and return his love, but he wants to have sex so is willing to go to any means to get it. The problem is he chooses the wrong boys to mess with. Dane is only sixteen years old and has a lot of growing up to do. Can he do that on his own in Verona? Ethan, Nathan, Brendan, and Casper all help Uncle Jack on the farm. Life is good for the loving, extended family until a drought hits the farm, threatening its economic stability. The family draws closer together as they try to figure out a way to avoid financial ruin. With the summer nearing an end, Ethan is willing to give up his hopes and dreams of being Verona High’s champion wrestler in order to help save the farm. Brendan hopes to be Verona High’s new quarterback, as he was in his old school…before he was outed. His parents sent him to the Cloverdale Center in an effort to make him straight. Brendan is very thankful he and Casper have ended up on the Selby farm. He is willing to forgo his favorite game, football, in order to protect his new home. Nathan and Casper seek outside employment in order to bring in some extra cash. With the four boys and Uncle Jack pulling together they hope to save what is near and dear to them. Meanwhile, Casper’s hateful brother, Jason, is at the Cloverdale Center for killing their father. Jason writes Casper and tries to make amends for his past misdeeds. Is he redeemable, or is he just trying to manipulate Casper again? Ethan and Nathan make no secret about their relationship, but Brendan and Casper are not out about theirs. It’s not that they want to hide who they are, but they‘re new at school, and need to feel their way around. At Verona High, Brendan will have to prove himself as a jock all over again. Casper, shy and introverted at his old school, has another chance to make friends. It should be an interesting year for all the boys, especially because Uncle Jack insists that Ethan and Brendan not give up sports to work the farm. Both boys couldn’t be happier. Dane’s path crosses the four boys with interesting results. Read The Summer of My Discontent to find out what happens. Once again, Mark Roeder tells a riveting tale about our favorite heroes, along with some new villains. The Gay Youth Chronicles could easily be a hit TV series that would delight, entertain, and educate. We need gay youth oriented TV programming so gay kids don’t have to feel like they’re alone in the world and straight kids might learn to be more tolerant. The Summer of My Discontent is a great story…fast-paced, fun, and appeals to all audiences. Roeder offers advice and hope for troubled youth dealing with discrimination, fear, raging hormones, and insecurity. There is a common theme in Roeder’s series, Gay Youth Chronicles. He offers hope for a time when being gay doesn’t mean hiding who you are in order to avoid ridicule. He also shows that accepting yourself is the first step towards true happiness. Self-loathing and denial is neither healthy nor productive. Another common theme—if friendship and love precede sex, intimacy will be much more meaningful and satisfying. Roeder’s characters are honest, loving people who care about one another. Ethan, Brendan, Nathan, and Casper are fine, upstanding young men. Dane, Jason, Austin, and Boothe are deviant characters who could either show redemption or suffer the consequences of their unacceptable behavior. Learning from one’s mistakes, and not repeating them, is what life is all about. I give The Summer of My Discontent five stars. Whenever I pick up a book by Mark A. Roeder, I know I am in for a great read. |
 The Heart's Desire by Anna Furtado Paper (Nov. 2004) Yellow Rose Books (Regal Crest) ISBN 1-932300-32-5 This captivating novel by new author Anna Furtado, The Heart’s Desire, is a delightful tale about two women who fall in love during the early Renaissance. Mistress Catherine Hawkins owns and runs “The Shoppe of Hawkins & Hawkins” in Willowglen Township, England. Catherine, a purveyor of herbs, spices, and fine linens, is a well known and respected member of the Spice Vendor’s Guild, a position not entrusted easily to a woman, but one that she rightfully earns. She is well educated and has extensive knowledge of herbal medicine. Never married, she contentedly lives alone except for her young assistant, Sarah, who helps tend the shop. After Sarah’s parents succumbed to an illness even Catherine could not save them from, she decided to take the girl in, train her, and give her a chance at a better life. Catherine is a fine example of a truly extraordinary woman. She is someone to be admired, even though unusual for a woman to be an entrepreneur and remain single in 1458. Catherine was fortunate to have had a father who believed everyone should have an education. He allowed Catherine to learn the business and she worked alongside him after her mother’s passing. He was a kind and understanding father. He didn’t pressure Catherine to marry, he cared more about her happiness than about what others would think. Lydia’s father, Lord Wellington, Earl of Greencastle, was a different story. He became extremely bitter after losing his young wife, leaving Lydia motherless at a tender age. With her father losing all interest, Lydia was raised by her nanny, Marian, at Greencastle. Marian frequently took Lydia to spend time with Aunt Beatrice and Hilary, to get the child away from the lecherous priest, Isadore, who Lord Wellington hired as her tutor. Beatrice and Hilary were no doubt involved in raising her as well, but Marian was the primary caretaker. When Lydia was old enough, Lord Wellington planned to marry her off to a suitable fellow, one who would increase his wealth and further his position and title in society. He cared little for Lydia’s happiness. Lord Wellington did allow Lydia an education, but Isadore was a contemptuous, wicked man. Lydia flourished because of the love and support of her nanny, Marian, her aunt, Duchess Beatrice, and Lady Hilary. On the eve of the Feast of St. Remi, as Catherine is getting her shop ready for the fair, she lays eyes on the most beautiful woman she has ever seen…she is at once smitten. Unbeknownst to her, this woman—Lady Lydia, is captivated by Catherine as well. Lydia, staying with Aunt Beatrice, Hilary, and Marian at the Grouse and Pheasant Inn, devises a scheme whereby she can get to know Mistress Catherine better. Catherine and Lydia are aware of their love for each other, but both are too afraid to reveal their hearts’ desire. Not understanding her intense feelings makes it harder for Catherine to profess her love for Lydia. Lydia yearns to express her love for Catherine, but she too is afraid of offending her, and of losing her friendship if the feeling isn’t mutual. Lydia’s plan to apprentice with Catherine in the art of herbs and spices delights both women. They develop a close friendship and enjoy each other’s company despite keeping their true feelings from each other. All is well until Lydia’s father wants her to come home in order to prepare to marry. Lydia does not want to marry any man for she loves Catherine. Lydia and Catherine are devastated when they are apart; they must figure out a way to be together. Will the women realize their dream? Alternatively, will societal constraints, Lord Wellington, or other barriers stand in the way of getting their hearts’ desire? Furtado has done her homework. The Heart’s Desire reads as if it were written with a quill dipped into ink, made visible by candlelight, at a small shop, on a quaint cobblestone street in England. Everything from the tone of the book to its language is impeccable as this historical novel takes you back to the fifteenth century. From the very first page, to the last, you feel enamored of these brave women, Catherine, Lydia, Beatrice, Hilary, and Marian, as they fight circumstances beyond their control. Furtado captures the class distinctions prevalent at that time in history. It is refreshing that Duchess Beatrice relinquishes her title while among those in her employ simply because she feels every human being deserves respect. Beatrice gains the love, respect, and loyalty of all her constituents. I cannot emphasize how well written Furtado’s novel is and how much I enjoyed it. I was sorry to finish reading it. The characters are so real that I felt I had actually made their acquaintance. The Heart’s Desire is the first installment in the Briarcrest Chronicles with book two hopefully on the way soon. I highly recommend the book to all you romantics out there. |