Title: JUST BETWEEN US
Author: J.H. Trumble
Publication Date: September 24, 2013
Pages: 320 pages
Publisher: Kensington
Genre: Fiction | Romance | Contemporary
Synopsis:
Seventeen-year-old Luke Chesser is trying to forget his spectacular failure of a love life. He practices marching band moves for hours in the hot Texas sun, deals with his disapproving father, and slyly checks out the new band field tech, Curtis Cameron. Before long, Luke is falling harder than he knew he could. And, this time, he intends to play it right.
Since testing positive for HIV, Curtis has careened between numbness and fear. Too ashamed to tell anyone, Curtis can’t possibly act on his feelings. And Luke—impulsive, funny, and more tempting than he realizes—won’t take a hint. Even when Curtis distances himself it backfires, leaving him with no idea how to protect Luke from the truth.
Confronting a sensitive topic with candor and aplomb, acclaimed author J. H. Trumble renders a modern love story as sweet, sharp, and messy as the real thing, where easy answers are elusive, and sometimes the only impossible thing is to walk away.
Find it: B&N | INDIEBOUND | Amazon | Goodreads
Guest Post:
Five Reasons You Should be Reading LGBT Novels
By: J.H. Trumble
It’s so 21st Century
Gay characters in novels is nothing new, but I’m seeing them in an increasing number of leading roles. That’s exciting. Check out Brigid Kemmerer’s Secret (the fourth novel in her Elementals series) and Benjamin Alire Saenz’s award-winning Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, just two of my recent favorites. I think LGBT characters in leading roles will be the next big thing!
You get to live inside someone else’s skin
One of the great takeaways from reading books is that we get to walk a mile or a hundred in someone else’s shoes. And often what we find is that characters who seem to have nothing in common with us, are really, in many ways just like us. They bleed when you cut them, they bristle when they’re marginalized, they fight back when they’re wronged. It’s hard to hate or even mock someone you identify with, someone you’ve cried with, laughed with, and maybe even fallen in love with.
They reflect the diversity that exists
If you think queer folk aren’t among us, you’ve been living under a rock. And this is from someone who lives in a very conservative pocket of Texas. And yet books with LGBT characters in leading roles struggle more to find a place on school library shelves than do their straight counterparts. If your school or public library has a strong LGBT collection, go hug your librarian! Diversity is a beautiful thing and should be celebrated!
They explore stereotypes
My good friend author James Howe once told me that stereotypes exist for a reason—there’s a lot of truth in them. I would have to agree with him on that. But stereotypes are not the total truth. If your understanding of the LGBT community is limited to stereotypes, then you’re missing out on the incredible diversity within that community. Books are a great way to explore what it means to be human first and gay second.
There are some damn good stories out there
If you shy away from LGBT novels because you’re not gay, then you’re really missing out on some great stories. Here is a list of some of my favorites in no particular order:
Naomi and Ely’s No Kiss List, by David Levithan
Secret, by Brigid Kemmerer
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, by Benjamin Alire Saenz
The Last Exit to Normal, by Michael Harmon
Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You, by Peter Cameron
Gone, Gone, Gone and Marco Impossible, by Hannah Moskowitz
The Vast Fields of Ordinary, by Nick Burd
And of course, my novels—Don’t Let Me Go, Where You Are, and my September 26 release, Just Between Us! Read LGBT novels! Talk about them, review them, share them with your friends, ask your librarian to purchase them.
Be part of the NEXT BIG THING!
My Opinion
This is the first book I have read with a gay couple as the main characters. When I read what this book was about I thought this might be a good book but after reading it I am in love with this book! Even though I knew that Curtis had HIV I cried when he got the news and I cried in so many other parts in this story too. I couldn't help it I just fell in love with the characters and was heartbroken for them. Curtis and Luke are not just gay they are people with feelings and lives, families and dramas, pasts and futures of their own. The author made it very easy to love these characters because their story was about real love and that is what really matters. Real love is beautiful whether you are gay or you're not. I am so glad I read this book!
J.H. Trumble is a Texas native and graduate of Sam Houston State University. You can visit the author online at http://www.jhtrumble.com as well as on Facebook and Twitter.
Find J.H. Trumble:
Facebook | Website | Twitter | Goodreads
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