This was a 5 Star book for me right up until the end. Jay Bell tells a masterful tale about 2 teens growing up gay and falling in love, one out and proud, the other closeted and "passing". The MCs were nuanced, at times heroic and other times flawed. And I was right there, with them all, right up until, to me, the devastating conclusion of the final chapter which then jumps 2 years into the future with the Epilogue while I'm still wrecked, but for the characters, life has moved on, but for me the reader, I'm still sobbing. I, as the reader, wasn't ready yet; hadn't processed the event, and so was left behind by the characters. *sigh* It all moved much too quickly and I wasn't given the time necessary to deal, grieve, and move on.
