Like a Love Story

by Abdi Nazemian

[Sam@WLABB]

Reza was living in the closet, paralyzed by the fear, that being gay was a death sentence. But, through some good friends and a welcoming community, Reza was able to embrace his true self, and open himself up to the possibility of love.

• Pro: I was the same age as Reza, Art, and Judy in 1989. Therefore, this was a bit of nostalgia for me. I remember the protests, and the fear that gripped us all during that time. Nazemian deftly captured the time period and the emotional impact the AIDS crisis had on everyone.

• Pro: Art was sort of in-your-face and brash, but Art+Reza was a beautiful thing. I loved these two together, and all the lovely things I associate with first love were there.

• Pro: This was such a beautiful homage to the gay community. The love and support they showed each other, as well as their drive to fight for their rights to treatment and medication was so inspiring. The parts where Nazemian focused on the community were among my favorite parts of the book, and it's great that we are seeing books recounting some important moments in LGBTQ+ history.

• Pro: And the star was Stephen. He was by far the most incredible character in this book. I adored him for being such an amazing uncle to Judy. I praised him as the father-figure Art needed, and my heart expanded three sizes, when he took Reza under his wing. His love was boundless, and I can't imagine anyone reading this story, and not adoring him as much as I did.

• Pro: Family played an important role in this story, and it was very rewarding watching them grow along with Reza, Judy, and Art. This was primarily Reza's coming of age, but I felt like every character experienced a bit of a metamorphosis over the course of this story, and the changes were all positive.

• Pro: Though a few of the things in the ending were a bit sad for me, I was so happy that I got a jump-ahead ending. They are my favorite kind, and really appropriate for this story, where I needed to know what happened to Art, Judy, and Reza.

Overall: A beautiful and moving story about finding your community and finding yourself.

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

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