Seventeen-year-old Marty has never been more ready to leave his tiny, conservative Kentucky hometown. His parents disapprove of him being gay and have forced him to stay in the closet (what would their neighbors and the people from church think), so he’s headed to London for a summer music program. But the truth is, he never even got into the program and he hasn’t purchased a return ticket home. His plan is to get a job with an orchestra and stay in London forever, so he can finally live his life his own way.
Of course, life never goes as you plan. Marty loves London and his independence but he’s struggling emotionally and he's having little luck finding a job. As he lands his first boyfriend, he’s torn between London and home, new friends and family and old, and it intensifies his anxiety. He's not sure where he fits in, and he doesn't know what he wants to do.
Can he find his place, his people, his happiness without hurting anyone? Can he truly be himself without forsaking his old life completely?
I enjoyed this book tremendously. So many of us have dealt with emotions and problems similar to Marty's, although I never went overseas to try and escape! I'm a big fan of how Stamper tells a story and I really liked the genuine way he treated Marty's struggles with anxiety and how those around him handled it. Trying to find your way is hard enough without dealing with emotional problems on top of it all!
I loved Phil Stamper’s last book, The Gravity of Us, too. He's definitely a YA author worth reading because of the way he so deftly weaves emotion and humor.
I was excited to be part of the blog tour for this book. Bloomsbury YA, Storygram Tours, and Phil Stamper provided me a complimentary advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making it available!
As Far As You'll Take Me will be released 2/9/2021.
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