Book Review: "Please Come to Boston" by Gary Goldstein

In 1975, Nicky (who decides to start calling himself Nick) has left his home on Long Island for the first time, to attend college at Boston University. He’s a bit shy and self-effacing, but he’s a tremendously friendly person, and he starts making friends rather easily.

On his first day of college, he meets two people: Lori, a fellow freshman who lives on the same floor of their dorm (BU’s first coed dorm floor), and Joe, a handsome jock and dorm orientation leader. Nick and Lori teeter on the line between friends and lovers for a bit before deciding on being friends, and then Joe asks Lori out. And while Nick is a bit jealous, he’s not sure who he’s more envious of—Joe or Lori.

For the first time, Nick realizes that what he feels for Joe makes sense of similar feelings in high school. But in 1975, no one really expressed those feelings, especially not if you were raised Catholic in an Italian family. Yet Nick, Lori, and Joe fall into a love triangle of sorts, and it seems to work for all three, at least for a little while.

As Nick tries to figure out what (and whom) he really wants, and the implications that might occur, he and Joe draw closer. Yet while Nick isn’t quite dissuaded by his feelings, Joe knows that this isn’t a path he can take with his life.

Fifty years later, Nick and Joe reunite in Boston. They’re a little shell-shocked by all of the changes to the places they knew so well in college, and they’re unsure who they are to one another after all this time. But the connection between the two of them is just as palpable as it was in 1975.

This was an absolutely fantastic book. It so perfectly captures the emotions of figuring yourself out for the first time, and what it’s like to meet friends who get you completely. It’s a romantic, funny, and emotional book that really grabbed hold of my heart, and now I’ve got to dive into Gary Goldstein’s backlist!!