Haskel Himself by Gary Seigel
The story is set in 1966. Haskell lives with his mother in New York. But she barely sees her, because of her work. When his mother suddenly, with no warning, decides to take time off work and travel with her boyfriend, it comes as a shock to Haskell. He has to move across the country, to live with his aunt and uncle in California. Leaving his school, from everything he knows.
He is faced with bullying, a lot. He is not the kind of guy, to fit in. He loves theater, acting, has no idea about most of the sports. And he might be gay.
Growing up is tough at any age, it seems extra hard for Haskell.
It's a beautiful story of growing up, of being different and finding yourself in difficult times.
The writing is just beautiful. I felt like I was there with Haskell.
It's the kind of story that touches you, moves you, pulls at all your heartstrings...
I highly recommend it!
rating💚💚💚💚
cover💛💛💛💛💛
genre
ya, historical, LGBTQ+
published
January 19th, 2020 by Acorn Publishing
number of pages
289
Meet Haskell Hodge. At sixteen he’s already garnered some fame as a former child actor and star of a popular cereal commercial. But that doesn’t do much for him when he’s dumped at his aunt’s house in the suburbs of Los Angeles to face an assortment of neighborhood bullies.
He thinks he might be gay. In fact, he could be the only gay person in the valley, maybe on the entire planet. Even if he does manage to find a boyfriend, their relationship would have to be secret and invisible.
After all it’s 1966. And though Time Magazine claims the sexual revolution is in full swing, the freedoms straight people are enjoying don’t seem to apply to everyone. And as much as Haskell attempts to hide his true self, carefully navigating the tricky and risky terrain of being queer, he’s still taunted and teased relentlessly.
Rather than give in to the irrationality of this hate, Haskell fights back, eventually finding an unlikely outlet to vent his frustration and angst—playing a bully in a screen test for a major motion picture. If he plays his cards right, it could catapult him into Hollywood stardom.
Of course, like most things in life, it comes with a heavy price Haskell’s not certain he’s willing to pay.
anie
Congratulations on your debut novel Gary, the book sounds very good, great cover too and I wish you many sales.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing!!
ReplyDeleteThank you for reading! :)
DeleteLovely review! This sounds like a great read and very raw/real, too! So happy you liked it!
ReplyDeleteYes, it's very special. :) Thank you for reading!
DeleteThis sounds awesome, thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete