Although I enjoy reading the popular, super hyped books out there, I try to sneak in something as often as I can by a local author and/or smaller publisher. This is the third book I’ve read by Gary Goldstein, published by Hadleigh House here in Minnesota, and I’ve enjoyed them all! Read on for my thoughts on his new release, Please Come to Boston.
The Summary
First times, fast times, past times…
Boston, 1975. Nicky DeMarco, a naïve but game 18-year-old, is navigating his first semester of college when he falls into a surprising—and life-altering—romantic triangle with Joe, a charismatic, big-hearted jock, and Lori, a warm and adventurous psych student. The three embark on a secret, joyous, and passionate journey of self-discovery as Nicky questions his sexuality—and all that entails.
It turns into an emotional high-wire act and loyalty test with unexpected consequences for the trio’s present and future, one which we flash forward to some fifty years later when Nicky and Joe reunite back where it all began.
PLEASE COME TO BOSTON is a vivid and evocative snapshot of that youthful time of life when the world is laid out in front of us with all its amazing, intoxicating, and terrifying possibilities—and the thorny complications that can follow.
Gary Goldstein’s third novel is a funny, nostalgic, and bittersweet look at first love at a time when exploring one’s sexual orientation and authentic self was riskier, more uncharted territory, yet with so many of the same defining issues that resonate today.
My Review
My daughter started Kindergarten back in September, and it’s made me feel super nostalgic about the entire school experience. All the learning, the friendship, the personal growth, riding my bike to the local library to check out book after book, becoming a band geek, learning to drive, leaving home for college, the drama of college roommates…all of it. There’s something so exciting and nostalgia-triggering about her just being at the beginning of it all.
Please Come to Boston is really centered around that same kind of nostalgia about school, although mostly about the college experience. Any time a barely-adult leaves for college, there are so many things to be learned academically, sure, but also about oneself. How will you be, act, live as a newly independent young adult?
For main character Nicky, he goes to collage expecting (or, more like hoping) to have some run-ins with the opposite sex. In reality, though, there’s one particular run-in with the same sex that throws him for a bit of a loop. When he meets the charming and terribly attractive Joe in his dorm’s elevator, he just sort of shakes it off at first. It doesn’t really mean anything, it’s just a weird thing that happens once in a while with other guys, but probably isn’t really meaningful.
Except, it keeps happening…that feeling. Being openly gay in the mid 1970’s wasn’t nearly as prevalent as it is now, and Nicky spends some time just not believing it can really be a “thing.” Until one night when, under the influence of a few things, there’s a pretty intense moment between 3 friends that can’t be ignored.
Set from the point of view of older Nicky (in his 60s), this coming-of-age story is full of nostalgia, wistfulness, and sexuality. I really liked Nicky and could understand why he felt the way he did throughout the book. I’d recommend this book to anyone interested in a coming-of-age novel with a gay main character trying to figure out who he is, what he wants, and what it all means in the grand scheme of life.
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