The Girl For Me
A Discussion Between Laddie And Her Inner Voice ( a.k.a. IV)Laddie: What to write, what to write, what to write?
IV: You tryin' to figure out what to write?
Laddie: Is that not obvious...
IV: Okay, Captain of the S.S. Sarcasm. Try giving them an overview.
This is the story of Dani and Kev. Dani is a junior in high school. He's a young gay man who, on his first night cross dressing, runs into Kev a senior at a party. Dani and Kev make a deal. Kev stays silent about Dani's cross dressing as long as Dani tutors him. As Dani and Kev spend every afternoon together, a friendship forms. Not only does a friendship form but an attraction blooms. But Kev is trying to figure out if he's really as straight as he thinks. Dani, on the other hand, is trying to figure out his gender identity. A relationship between them is impossible...isn't it?
Laddie: I don't want to give away the whole story.
IV: Then don't.
Laddie: Seriously, you're not at all helpful. What kind of inner voice are you?
IV: Oh, fine, tell them why you liked it.
What I loved most about this story was that it really captured what it is to be a teenager. For most teens it's hard to be themselves because not alot of people know exactly who they are at sixteen or seventeen.
Kev is a boy who thinks he's straight until he meets Dani. Not only does Kev have to figure out if he's gay but he has to figure out what it means to be attracted to a man who dresses like a woman. I loved Kev because once he figures out that Dani is what's important to him, it really doesn't matter if Dani is a boy or a girl or both. To Kev, Dani is just...Dani, no matter what gender Dani is. Kev repeatedly tells Dani that he likes Dani as a girl because that's when Dani seems most comfortable in his skin. That's what matters to Kev. I thought that was beautiful.
Dani struggles throughout the story with his gender identity. Does he want to be a girl? Does he want to be a guy? My heart ached for Dani. At the same time Dani is stronger than he thinks. I loved how he had so much faith in Kev. He also didn't cut Kev any slack when Kev was an ass. Dani was also great at standing up for himself. The prom scene at the end of the book was awesome. I wanted to give Dani a standing ovation. It was really great to see how he grows to be comfortable in his own skin.
Kev and Dani were very fleshed out characters that I completely fell in love with and rooted for.
IV: Now, tell them what you didn't like.
Laddie: You're getting bossy now?
IV: Well, since you obviously need to me to write this review for you...
Laddie: I think I like you better when you say less.
There isn't much I didn't like about this story. The editing and POV changes were a little spotty but it's online fiction, so I expected that. Other than that I have no complaints. What I loved pretty much eclipsed anything that may have bothered me.
IV: Now tell them that you highly recommend it, thank me for doing all of the work, and tah-dah! You have a review.
Laddie: That's it. You're fired.
IV: That's code for thank you, isn't it?
Laddie: So fired.
I highly recommend this book. I couldn't love it any more if I tried.
