#BookReview: When You Call My Name by @tucker_shaw @HenryHolt

Synopsis: Tucker Shaw’s When You Call My Name is a heartrending novel about two gay teens coming of age in New York City in 1990 at the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Named "this summer's most powerful LGBTQ+ novel" by GAY TIMES, this book is perfect for fans of Adam Silvera and Mary H. K. Choi.

Film fanatic Adam is seventeen and being asked out on his first date—and the guy is cute. Heart racing, Adam accepts, quickly falling in love with Callum like the movies always promised.

Fashion-obsessed Ben is eighteen and has just left his home upstate after his mother discovers his hidden stash of gay magazines. When he comes to New York City, Ben’s sexuality begins to feel less like a secret and more like a badge of honor.

Then Callum disappears, leaving Adam heartbroken, and Ben finds out his new world is more closed-minded than he thought. When Adam finally tracks Callum down, he learns the guy he loves is very ill. And in a chance meeting near the hospital where Callum is being treated, Ben and Adam meet, forever changing each other’s lives. As both begin to open their eyes to the possibilities of queer love and life, they realize sometimes the only people who can help you are the people who can really see you—in all your messy glory.

A love letter to New York and the liberating power of queer friendship, When You Call My Name is a hopeful novel about the pivotal moments of our youth that break our hearts and the people who help us put them back together.



Goodreads | Amazon

Rating: 4 Stars
My Review: This book felt so real, full of first love and a budding romance. I loved the 90's themes and references and just how this book felt.  If you are looking for a story to fall in love with about raw characters and tragic outcomes this is the book for you. 

From School Library Journal

Gr 10 Up-The year is 1990 and two queer boys on the cusp of adulthood find themselves searching for community and purpose in New York City. Ben is living with his older brother, a doctor, after their mother finds his stash of gay magazines; Adam is working at a film store when he meets the man who will become his boyfriend, first love, and raw introduction to the reality of being a queer man in that era. The boys' stories are told from alternating points of view and barely intersect, allowing Shaw to comprehensively explore the effects of the AIDS crisis on the queer community. This book is historical fiction, riddled with early 1990s pop culture references that teens may find perplexing, but the frank, personable writing style circumvents many of the challenges the genre often has in generating teen appeal. The subject matter is intense and unspeakably tragic, but it is the deliberate inclusion of belligerent, unrestrained queer joy alongside the characters' realization that it is almost inevitable they, too, will become victims of the deadly virus, that makes this an invaluable addition to a genre that has largely excluded this piece of history. Ben and Adam both cue white. VERDICT A first purchase for all professionals serving older teens who seek to diversify their collection.-Austin Ferraroα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.  --This text refers to the hardcover edition.

Review

A Buzzfeed New LGBTQA+ YA Novels You Need This Spring Selection

"Poignant and uplifting . . . The novel explores the tenacity and strength of queer friendship during the toughest of times, while paying homage to a city that faced significant loss." ―GAY TIMES

"This book is historical fiction. . .but the frank, personable writing style circumvents many of the challenges the genre often has in generating teen appeal. . . an invaluable addition to a genre that has largely excluded this piece of history." ―School Library Journal, starred review

"In 1990 Manhattan the paths of two young men intertwine. . .but the story is not just about their connection; it’s about the history of New York and the people who fought and coped, loved and lost, died and survived during the years when an HIV diagnosis was a death sentence. The novel is a love letter to this time and place and to the people of Manhattan. It masterfully pulls at the heartstrings. . .a touching and beautiful story." ―Kirkus Reviews

"Copious period-specific pop culture references pepper the novel, whose assured pacing and intimate tone balances elements of promise, possibility, and reality. In Adam and Ben, Shaw effectively captures the era’s feeling of pain, uncertainty, and liberation for the gay community." ―Publishers Weekly

--This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

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Posted in: 4 Stars, Henry Holt and Co., Review, Young Adult