Official Review: Someone Like You by Nate Tanner
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Official Review: Someone Like You by Nate Tanner
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Someone Like You" by Nate Tanner.]
2 out of 4 stars
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Someone Like You, by Nate Turner, is the brief story of Sam, a 26 year-old recovering alcoholic, who has come back home to live with his parents and reevaluate his life and priorities. One night, he goes for a late night walk and runs into Nathan, a young man who also has his fair share of secrets and regrets. The two begin a romantic affair that brings a number of obstacles, including: a father going through chemo, guilt from an unsavory past, and a town where being gay is not something to brag about. As Sam and Nathan become closer they have to learn whether their pasts are more important than the potential of their future together.
For such a short book, only 93 pages on Kindle, there were a number of current issues that Someone Like You brought up, and not all of them were tied to gay issues in America, as I thought would happen. Most of these opinions are brought up through Sam’s cantankerous father, who is suffering through chemo, and is the designated mouthpiece of the novel. A few issues that were mentioned included: the republicans shutting down the government in 2013, alcoholism and addiction, and how families react to homosexuality. I personally didn’t mind the views that Sam’s father expressed, but the way it was presented didn’t sound natural. These messages were rather blatant and felt too forced, rather than a conversation between two people. I didn’t appreciate that these views were being shoved at the reader instead of being subtly brought up in conversation. This was especially off-putting because the book was so short; the plot and character development should have been the focus, not the random thoughts of Sam’s father at midnight no matter how important and relevant those thoughts may have been.
"... I sympathized with Achilles all the same. I knew what it felt like to be stranded, too." [Chapter I, pg. 12]
Another quality that I liked was the shortcomings that Sam and Nathan had to manage throughout the novel. A number of books tend to resolve all issues that a character may exhibit once he finds the love of his life. In Someone Like You, Sam and Nathan have problems throughout the book and at the end, rather than having all those issues resolved, they are just learning how to cope with them in manageable ways. These flaws didn’t lessen their approachability; they added depth to their development where they didn’t have much room to do so.
I also thought that the premise of the plot was promising, but it didn’t feel finished by the end of the book. If Someone Like You had been twice as long as it is, it would have had the length to create a better story. I also thought that the sex scenes were used as a crutch to create more volume to the text; without those lengthy scenes, there wouldn’t be much meat to plot, as it stands. This particular issue was such a shame because I did like the characters and the plot.
This brings me to the issues that I had upon finishing this book. There were too many loose ends to be satisfying a satisfying conclusion. The main issues that I had that won’t spoil the ending include:
- The results of Sam’s father’s chemo treatment (they were ambiguous at best)
- How Nathan’s family would react to Sam was not mentioned or discussed further (this was pretty important for me because this was the reason Nathan didn’t want to be seen with Sam during the day)
- How Sam and Nathan are able to progress in life such as Sam getting a job and staying sober was left unanswered (I would have loved to have an epilogue a year into the future, to see how the two did)
The ending was too abrupt and left me unsatisfied with the characters and their situations. Sam’s father is constantly mentioned and is used as a catalyst for Sam’s guilt throughout the book, so not knowing whether his chemo worked at the end after everything else that happened to him in the book, was frustrating. An epilogue would have been able to answer this question within a sentence. Many of these issues could have been resolved in an epilogue or another chapter; this was also why I thought the length of the book was inadequate.
Overall, Someone Like You is a quick read, perfect for a lazy afternoon in need of some romance. There was promise in Sam and Nathan as characters and their story is one that a reader can become invested in quickly. However, there were also a few flaws that I couldn’t ignore. Had the length of the book been longer, the conclusion to Sam and Nathan’s relationship would have felt more fulfilling and settled. Leaving too much unexplained at the end did not help support the idea that Sam and Nathan could have a lasting relationship. Because of these issues, I would give Someone Like You, by Nate Turner, a rating of 2 out of 4 stars.
******
Someone Like You
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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2 out of 4 stars
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Someone Like You, by Nate Turner, is the brief story of Sam, a 26 year-old recovering alcoholic, who has come back home to live with his parents and reevaluate his life and priorities. One night, he goes for a late night walk and runs into Nathan, a young man who also has his fair share of secrets and regrets. The two begin a romantic affair that brings a number of obstacles, including: a father going through chemo, guilt from an unsavory past, and a town where being gay is not something to brag about. As Sam and Nathan become closer they have to learn whether their pasts are more important than the potential of their future together.
For such a short book, only 93 pages on Kindle, there were a number of current issues that Someone Like You brought up, and not all of them were tied to gay issues in America, as I thought would happen. Most of these opinions are brought up through Sam’s cantankerous father, who is suffering through chemo, and is the designated mouthpiece of the novel. A few issues that were mentioned included: the republicans shutting down the government in 2013, alcoholism and addiction, and how families react to homosexuality. I personally didn’t mind the views that Sam’s father expressed, but the way it was presented didn’t sound natural. These messages were rather blatant and felt too forced, rather than a conversation between two people. I didn’t appreciate that these views were being shoved at the reader instead of being subtly brought up in conversation. This was especially off-putting because the book was so short; the plot and character development should have been the focus, not the random thoughts of Sam’s father at midnight no matter how important and relevant those thoughts may have been.
"... I sympathized with Achilles all the same. I knew what it felt like to be stranded, too." [Chapter I, pg. 12]
Another quality that I liked was the shortcomings that Sam and Nathan had to manage throughout the novel. A number of books tend to resolve all issues that a character may exhibit once he finds the love of his life. In Someone Like You, Sam and Nathan have problems throughout the book and at the end, rather than having all those issues resolved, they are just learning how to cope with them in manageable ways. These flaws didn’t lessen their approachability; they added depth to their development where they didn’t have much room to do so.
I also thought that the premise of the plot was promising, but it didn’t feel finished by the end of the book. If Someone Like You had been twice as long as it is, it would have had the length to create a better story. I also thought that the sex scenes were used as a crutch to create more volume to the text; without those lengthy scenes, there wouldn’t be much meat to plot, as it stands. This particular issue was such a shame because I did like the characters and the plot.
This brings me to the issues that I had upon finishing this book. There were too many loose ends to be satisfying a satisfying conclusion. The main issues that I had that won’t spoil the ending include:
- The results of Sam’s father’s chemo treatment (they were ambiguous at best)
- How Nathan’s family would react to Sam was not mentioned or discussed further (this was pretty important for me because this was the reason Nathan didn’t want to be seen with Sam during the day)
- How Sam and Nathan are able to progress in life such as Sam getting a job and staying sober was left unanswered (I would have loved to have an epilogue a year into the future, to see how the two did)
The ending was too abrupt and left me unsatisfied with the characters and their situations. Sam’s father is constantly mentioned and is used as a catalyst for Sam’s guilt throughout the book, so not knowing whether his chemo worked at the end after everything else that happened to him in the book, was frustrating. An epilogue would have been able to answer this question within a sentence. Many of these issues could have been resolved in an epilogue or another chapter; this was also why I thought the length of the book was inadequate.
Overall, Someone Like You is a quick read, perfect for a lazy afternoon in need of some romance. There was promise in Sam and Nathan as characters and their story is one that a reader can become invested in quickly. However, there were also a few flaws that I couldn’t ignore. Had the length of the book been longer, the conclusion to Sam and Nathan’s relationship would have felt more fulfilling and settled. Leaving too much unexplained at the end did not help support the idea that Sam and Nathan could have a lasting relationship. Because of these issues, I would give Someone Like You, by Nate Turner, a rating of 2 out of 4 stars.
******
Someone Like You
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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