Here We Go Again
Alison Cochrun
The favourite teacher of two childhood friends turned enemies needs a death road trip. Joe forces Rosemary and Logan together to roadtrip the USA in the ‘Gay Mobile’ for one last ride before they go their separate ways.
Woah. The character development in this novel is exceptional. I’m actually ok with both of them acting like teenagers initially because there’s a lot of background to their behaviour. Logan goes from being an ass to being a bit less of an ass, and Rosemary goes from being tortured to being a little less tortured. Also, the final scenes of this novel almost made me cry. Joe buddy! I love you!
Some of the repeated descriptions didn’t do it for me though, “Her mouth puckered into a cat’s butthole” – um, no. Not attractive, at all. Also, what’s with all the swearing and weird names for things? I could do with a bit less swearing, particularly given I’m pretty sure high-school teachers can’t swear that much?
It’s Worth the Wait but with a roadtrip added! It’s so good to see these ‘mainstream’ publishers publishing queer novels! The variety is amazing. To all those complaining humans who say there’s too many queer/woke novels, remember that there are years and years of past publishing with cis-hetero protagonists. Just because something is new and hyped doesn’t mean you have to read it!
There are two main things (apart from the main narrative) that are emphasised in these novels: 1. the importance of therapy and 2. the flexibility and fluidity of sexuality labels. Now, why would those two things be so important? Well, in Australia, 74.5% of LGBTIQA*+ individuals had experienced a mental disorder at some time in their life compared with 41.7% of heterosexual people. There’s nothing wrong with having therapy regularly even if you are coping. There’s definitely a shortage of qualified psychologists though.
I get write what you know, but why does it seem like queer people in novels are artistic/creative types? In Alison’s novels we have teachers, authors, artists, film-makers, a (failed) ‘tech-bro’ and a baker who makes amazing creative pastries! My other favourite queer author, Karelia Stetz-Waters, there are a similar collection of creative types plus some accountants (that run art galleries) and marketting/business types (who have a specilised sound skill-set). I’m probably oversimplifying it, but can’t I have some romance with ‘boring’ professions? Let me know if I’m overlooking some.
Having now devoured all three of Alison Cochrun’s novels in the last week, everything by T. Kingfisher and the new Ali Hazelwood, I think I’m ready for something that isn’t a romance again. I don’t know what I feel like yet though!
