Last Of The Summer Tomatoes (2013) - Plot & Excerpts
Sherrie Henry has given us a for-real YA book that would be something strong and powerful for early high-schoolers. That this creates some weakness in its literary punch in no way negates the positive things I felt about it. A reverse of the city mouse country mouse tale, comfortable in its parable-like set up, we get a brief introduction to Kyle, who takes the fall for a friend and gets put into a juvenile work-release program that sends him up to a farm (apparently in upstate NY, but it felt like the midwest to me).But here's the catch. Kyle, a wannabe artist and emo archetype, has been brutalized by his drunken stepfather, Hank, having lost his father when he was a little boy. He's so inured to a violent and loveless home-life, all but abandoned by his once-loving mother (not unusual in abusive relationships), that he can't quite come to grips with his new reality. Charmingly, it's not the grim, joyless farm-life he has "researched" on the internet, but a sort of Eden-like world where the stars are brighter and the food is better than anything he's ever known. Central is the fact that Glenda and Walt, the middle-aged farm couple who take him in to help on their dairy farm, are gentle and generous and loving to him from the very start.All of this, but for the fact that Kyle is gay, could be right out of a Disney Sunday feature from my own upstate New York childhood. And that's just fine. Why high school kids, particularly gay ones, need to read about dark and difficult dystopian worlds (Hunger Games, please!), I'll never know. Isn't the reality of adulthood a rude enough awakening for most of us?This does create some awkwardness in the rolling out of the narrative, which focuses on the return home for the summer of Glenda and Walt's college-boy son, Sam. A wee bit of Disney magic arises because Kyle recognizes Sam from a dream he had months earlier, a dream he recorded in startling accuracy in his sketchbook.We know where this is going, and I had to confess I was damp-eyed more than once at the tender evolution of the rapport between these two boys. Henry bends over backwards to avoid any kind of explicit sexual content - sometimes to mildly absurd levels. (Hey, these are teenage boys!) But her purpose is clear: this is a story about the blossoming of love - not lust. It is a romantic fairy tale about stumbling from adversity into a happy ending, without really knowing how it will turn out.I could have done with a bit more conflict here - there are more impossibly good folks in this book than ever populated a Jane Austen novel. Some prickly contrast would have made the goodness stand out in higher relief.But I have no bone to pick with a teen romance for gay kids showing them that love and sex are not the same thing, and that dreaming of a lifelong romance is not pointless or futile.Hey, I met my husband in college 38 years ago. I'm a believer. 4.5 *I absolutely loved is novel! Last Of The Summer Tomatoes stars Kyle. Now, Kyle is a very troublesome kid who had a very hard life. His stepfather abuses him and his mom does nothing to stop him. After getting in trouble with the law again, he’s place under a new work release program in order to avoid jail time. Kyle, being a smart guy, agrees and he is sent to work at a farm. It is there where he meets Glenda, Walt and their son, Sam.I loved Kyle! There were several times where I simply wanted to hug him and shelter him from everyone. His stepfather, Hank, was a complete homophobic asshole! I hated him almost immediately. I loved Glenda and Walt. They were the perfect parents and instantly accepted Kyle as their own. However, to me, Sam was the bomb! Everything he did was to make sure that Kyle felt good, happy and comfortable. There were times where I wanted to choke Kyle. He simply founded hard to let loose and love life with Sam, but I knew the reasons why. Hank did a number on him and I'm glad that at the end, he finally saw the light and let loose. All in all, this was a great and entertaining read. I recommend this novel to anyone who is looking to read something with a lot of heart, family love, friendship and genuine love.
What do You think about Last Of The Summer Tomatoes (2013)?
Review to come...but in a nutshell this book made me smile. It was simple and sweet.
—bill
SO cute!! I just wanted to keep going!! It was heart melty good!!
—AliceXS
