Book Review: Robin’s Lake Road

October 18, 2019October 18, 2019Leave a comment

“Asher Sullivan is a shy camera geek looking forward to graduation at Sagebrush High School in small-town rural Oklahoma, and she’s got a problem: she’s never been in love. But then one spring evening, everything she ever thought she knew about herself is turned upside down the minute she meets Robin O’Leary, a popular and talented newcomer from Texas. Despite being at opposite ends of the social spectrum, the two become close friends. And it isn’t long before that friendship morphs into wild romance. Only thing is, Robin carries a secret from her past that doesn’t keep well in the Bible-belt town of Sagebrush. Neither girl is prepared for the tragic chain of events that follows. And when a torn Asher learns the dark truth behind the O’Leary family facade, she has to make a very difficult decision about what’s really important in life.”

SPOILER ALERT! I gloss over some themes that may spoil the story for you below.

Robin’s Lake Road is not the story that I thought I was getting. I thought I was getting a teenage lesbian love story which is what is typically being published these days. It seems like every story about teenage queer people that I’ve read lately is full of queer teens with accepting parents and friends who love them and allow them to be themselves. While that is a lot of people’s story it’s not everyone’s, so when I realized what Robin’s Lake Road really was, a nuanced look at what happens when someone comes out in a small unaccepting town and the lengths that some people will go to because of their Christian values, I screamed for joy.

Ok, I didn’t really scream for joy I’m not happy about the hardships that the teens in this story face but as a lesbian who’s been a lesbian her whole life, I related to so many of the things that happened in the novel from the way your peers treat you when they find out that you’re LGBTQ, to parents who will do ANYTHING to make sure that you stay straight, to dealing with a closeted mate who behaves one way in public and another in private.

I gave this book 4 stars and advise queer people to beware when they embark upon this read. There are lots of triggering scenes and scenarios.

Read if you’re queer and love seeing yourself in books or if you’re not queer and want an intimate look of what life is like for some LGBTQ youth. A lot of the story was spot on for my friends and I during our high school days.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review from Netgalley.

Chocolate Memories

October 29, 2015October 29, 20152 Comments

Chocolate Memories

I still remember the moment I saw her.

Her lips cherry frozen cup red,

Skin chocolate covered mocha brown

like a worn out penny,

Beautiful and nappy headed.

I loved her from the cinnamon of her eyes,

To the chipped polish on her fingertips,

From her lopsided ponytails,

to the scuffed toe of her converse.

Double Dutch champion.

Taught me how to spell:

M. I. crooked letter crooked letter.

I would’ve married her that summer

And she would’ve been the best wife I ever had

But summers end to soon

Before loveburns thoroughly heal.

A Sunday in August

October 27, 2014October 27, 2014Leave a comment

Eight years ago I met the love of my life. We became really good friends because in my head I was already with the love of my life. Throughout the years Ashley and I would remain friends going on occasional dates to catch up in between whoever was our most recent or current love of our life. Last July she called me and wanted to know if I would date her exclusively. I was excited but I didn’t think it would pan out to be much more than a few dates where we would catch up, enjoy each other’s time, and decide that now wasn’t OUR time; again. We would remain great friends and I would complain to my two best friends how I couldn’t find true love because no one would ever compare to Ashley. She was the ruler that everyone needed to measure up to. Honest to a fault, funny, sexy, and so positive. She made me better.

So much for great expectations and all that jazz. In her head this was our time and I would be her wife. I found out that we were in a relationship in my sleep as she told some guy that I was her partner. Excitement of what this time was for us began to set in. I told to myself OK it’s finally happening, I’m in a relationship with Ashley and life is grand. We move in together, we begin to build a life, and I am as happy as a bee on it’s favorite flower. After a while we begin to discuss marriage and I know that a proposal is coming soon. In fact being the control freak that I am, I have decided that the proposal is going to happen when we go to Italy for vacation.

My best friend and I begin to concoct a plan where I’m going to look perfect the entire time; my nails are going to be perfect, my outfits are going to be perfect, and I will never be without lipgloss. (A girl must always be prepared for the marriage proposal by the true love of her life.) I’m planning with my best friend how to be properly prepared for my proposal while Ashley is planning with my best friend how to throw me the perfect surprise proposal/engagement party.

So much for plans and all that jazz. My hair was perfect; before we spent a day at the beach and any natural haired woman who gets her hair straightened will tell you that the day at the beach is the end of straight hair. My nails were ok but they were far from perfect but this was fine by me really, because all that I had planned for Sunday was Brunch with some of the people from her networking group. So after the beach in go the two strand twists. A twist out is perfect for brunch… I should’ve caught on when she kept asking me what I was doing to my hair, what I was wearing, etc, etc… but I didn’t. As a matter of fact I didn’t even catch on when the people started dancing to OUR songs in front of our table. I totally believed her when she said that they did this often.

I’m glad that I didn’t know, that I wasn’t in control and properly prepared, that my hair wasn’t perfect, and that I totally would’ve worn a different outfit had I been aware. And I’m glad that it happened on a Sunday in August amongst all of my sneaky friends.