~THE BOOK~
Author: J.H. Trumble
Release date: September 24, 2013
Published by: Kensington
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Three words: Romantic, Beautiful, and Heartbreaking.
That is Just Between Us.
While Curtis helps his his high school band director with band camp, he meets Luke, a slightly off-rhythm clarinet player. These two cuties quickly realize that they are attracted to each other and, maybe even love each other. Unfortunately, shortly after this realization, Curtis finds out he is HIV positive...that is where this emotional roller-coaster of a story really takes off.
This story explores the issue of HIV and how one person reacts when he finds out he is HIV positive: how it affects his perception of himself, how it affects how others see him, how it affects his family, and how it affects his romantic relationships.
I really enjoyed this story. J. H. Trumble wrote these characters so well that I became emotionally invested in the outcome of their relationship and their lives. I read the story in one night...I literally couldn’t put it down. And it was worth the dark circles under my eyes the next day :) It begins with Curtis and Luke admitting they are attracted to each other and from that point forward the tension between Curtis and Luke had me wringing my hands, shouting aloud at Curtis when I didn’t agree with him, and hurting along with Luke when he couldn’t get a handle on his relationship with Curtis.
By the way, another reason I was able to so easily connect with the characters is because of the formatting of the chapters. Trumble wrote them from the two different points of view: Luke’s and Curtis’--each chapter labeled with whose world I was reading in. This is my favorite POV style because I feel like I really get into EACH character’s head. YEAH!
I will admit that at times I hesitated with how committed Luke, a 17-year-old kid, could be to Curtis after learning of Curtis’ diagnosis. Then I took a moment and thought of my high school students and how many of them love with a capital L-O-V-E!, and then I was able to accept that Luke’s 17-year-old love could feel that strong.
And by the way, who knew marching band could be such a cool way to connect characters? I loved this as the background to the characters’ lives. It felt refreshingly unique.
Trust me when I say, you cannot go wrong picking up this book and giving it a read. You will love it as much as I did.
~THE AUTHOR~
J.H. Trumble is a Texas native and graduate of Sam Houston State University. You can visit the author online at:
~The Giveaway~
~The Schedule~
September 17 - A Diary of a Book Addict
September 18 - YA Book Addict
September 18 - Naughty Book Kitties
September 19 - Adventures in Reading
September 20 - alwaysjoart
September 21 - eveREADthings
September 22 - Sonorous Words
September 22 - The Avid Reader
September 23 - Nightly Reading
September 23 - Book Chic
September 24 - JeanzBookReadNReview
September 24 - Moosubi Reviews
September 25 - Book Breather
September 26 - Book a la Mode
September 27 - Blkosiner's Book Blog
September 27 - Snuggling on the Sofa
September 28 - Totally Bookalicious
September 28 - A Cauldron of Books
September 29 - Libby Blog
September 30 - Danasquare
September 30 - Curling Up with a Good Book
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