Author: Abdi Nazemian
LGBTQ+ Representation: Several characters are gay.
What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer): In 1989 New York City, Art is young, out, and proud, and protests with ACT UP to get the government to takes the AIDS crisis seriously. Reza just moved to New York, and he is shy and terrified of being outed. Judy, whose Uncle Stephen is dying of AIDS, dreams of being a fashion designer. Judy begins dating Reza, and her and Art's friendship suffers when Reza and Art fall for each other.
What I think: When I read The Porcupine of Truth, it opened up my eyes about how clueless of a child I was during the late 80s/early 90s AIDS crisis (obviously, the crisis wasn't limited to those years, but those were the years I learned about AIDS). Like a Love Story is now tied with Porcupine for my favorite AIDS-related YA book, and it also takes place during those childhood years of mine.
I wanted to do something similar to my Porcupine posts and add stories of AIDS from the 1980s. I thought about asking Twitter followers, but when I across this pinned tweet by Tucker Shaw, I knew I wanted to use it in this post. I will write my own thoughts, along with quotes and excerpts from the Like a Love Story (in pink text) intertwined with excerpts from Shaw's tweet (in purple text).
Like a Love Story begins in September 1989. Reza and his newly-remarried mother have moved to New York City. Reza has a new stepfather, a new stepfather, and a secret:
I knew I liked it when boys' swim trunks fell. But the fact that this would kill me, this was something I didn't know about until that moment. Until Time magazine informed me that I would die soon (Like a Love Story pg. 8).
Shaw's story begins nearly twenty years later:
I overheard a young man on the train on the way home today, talking to another young man. Holding hands. In college, I guessed. About that age anyway. Much younger than I am.
He was talking about AIDS, in a scholarly way. About how it had galvanized the gay community. How it had spurred change. Paved the way to make things better, in the long run. The long run.
The long run (Shaw 9-18-2018).
Like a Love Story is told from the point of view of two other characters besides Reza. Here readers are introduced to Art, a rebellious, openly-gay teenager:
It's the irony that hits me first. That I have never felt more alive, while I'm surrounded by people who are dying (pg. 15).We also meet Judy, Art's best friend:
My uncle named me Judy for his "favorite Homo Sapiens of all time" (pg. 34).
Judy's Uncle Stephen is dying of AIDS. From Shaw:
Remember how terrible it was, not that long ago, during the worst times. How many beautiful friends died. One after the other. Brutally. Restlessly. Brittle and damp. In cold rooms with hot lights. Remember? (Shaw 9-18-2018).
Art and Judy volunteer with ACT UP and protest the New York Stock Exchange over the high prices of drugs used to treat AIDS.
I [Art] snap [pictures] away as the activists blow those foghorns, and I see the hint of a smile on Stephen's face. . . It's a look of sheer exhilaration. He's LIVING right now. It's like he's the most alive person in the world (pg. 62).
Art and Stephen participate in the Stop the Church demonstration also, and even when Stephen is too ill to attend, his friends and surrogate family participate in the NIH Demonstration.
[Art] All those homophobes in government, all those pharmaceutical companies profiting from our illness, all those parents kicking their children out of their homes, all those high school bullies tormenting the gay kid . . . People want their villains to look like Freddy Kruegar and Jason. They don't want to see killers in pearls and tailored suits" (pg. 296).
Shaw's memories also include some rule-breaking:
Some nights, you’d sneak in to that hospital downtown after visiting hours, just to see who was around. . . You’d get kicked out, but you’d sneak back in. Kicked out again. Back in again. Sometimes you’d recognize a friend. Sometimes you wouldn’t.
Other nights, you’d go out to dance and drink. A different distraction. You’d see a face in the dark, in the back of the bar. Is it you? Old friend! No. Not him. Just a ghost (Shaw 9-18-2018).
Reza dates Judy in spite of his feelings for Art. However, Judy finds out and feels betrayed by her best friend. They have a falling-out but reunite when they attend a Madonna concert:
[Reza] The show takes a turn when Madonna sings "Like a Prayer." She begins the song by simply looking up into the heavens and calling out, "God?" She speaks God as a question, like she's wondering where he has gone, how he's letting this world burn. The show goes from something fun to something challenging. After "Like a Prayer," she sings "Live to Tell," and at that point, the audience is in a hush" (pg. 347).
Shaw's memories include hopeful moments:
One day you’d get lucky and meet someone lovely. You'd feel happy, optimistic. You’d make plans.
Together, you’d keep a list of names in a notebook you bought for thirty cents in Chinatown so you could remember who was still here and who wasn’t, because it was so easy to forget (Shaw 9-18-2018).
And both Like a Love Story's characters and Shaw come to terms with the fact that many people will die.
[Reza] "Oh God . . . He won't live, will he? He won't live to tell anything" (pg. 347).
***
When he finally had to go too, you got rid of the notebook. No more names.
Your friends would come over with takeout and wine and you’d see how hard they tried not to ask when he was coming home because they knew he wasn’t coming home. No one came home. You’d turn 24
(Shaw 9-18-2018).
Please read Shaw's pinned tweet in its entirety. Articles about the tweet are here and here.
Listen to Madonna's music.
And research AIDS.
This book is too new to be on a Rainbow Book List. Watch this space!
My final takeaway (in 75 words or fewer): Like a Love Story is amazing and I cannot recommend it enough. Also read The Porcupine of Truth.
I have a question and two comments for Nazemian:
- Did you write a list of the index card topics?
- THANK YOU!! I've been saying for YEARS that DiMaggio does NOT belong in "Vogue"! I always thought Bridget Bardot would have worked thematically and musically.
- Thank you for letting [SPOILER] benefit from protease inhibitors. 💗
EDIT: Nazemian's responses!
- Yes, he wrote the list down (I knew it!! I would have done the same thing. Okay, honestly, I almost did it as I read the book), and
- SO MANY names would have fit in "Vogue," but it's still an incredible song.
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| Nazemian's Tweet: "1. Yes I did, and it's on an Excel spreadsheet that I had to refer to often (thank you business school for giving me one skill I've used in life... Excel). 2. I mean, Joan! Judy! The choices were endless (but Vogue is still one of the greatest songs of all time, obviously)." |
Memorable quotes/passages from the book: I've quoted a bunch already, but here are a few more that make me smile.
- "He came into my life like a cyclone, and ever since, I have been in my own version of Oz. My life was once sepia toned, one color, bland. Now it is a rainbow world of excitement and anticipation" (pg. 280).
- "I'm fascinated by idioms. There are so many interesting Persian ones that make no sense in English. Like we don't say 'I miss you.' We say 'My heart has become tight for you.' And when we truly love someone, we say, 'I will eat your liver'" (pg. 283).
- "Intimacy is beautiful. That feeling like one with another human being is why we were put on this planet. It connects us to everything good that exists inside us and outside us. And you can't be robbed of that. Stay safe, but don't lock yourself in a prison. Live" (pg. 286).
- "'Shut up,' I say blushing. 'Or I'll never let you onto the junior varsity blow job team'" (pg. 368).
Other reviews: All About Romance and Runaway with Dream Thieves
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| This book is available here: https://library.greensboro-nc.gov/ |
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| Learn more about the Rainbow Book List here: http://www.ala.org/rt/glbtrt |
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