Stuck With You Review

by Jeff Baker

‘Nathan Burgoine’s YA novel “Stuck With You” is the latest Hi/Lo from Lorimer Books’ “Real Love” imprint.

A Hi/Lo being a “high interest, low reading complexity book” meant for young readers who do not have a high reading level for one reason or another.

“Stuck With You” is told from the vantage point of Ben Ross. About to turn eighteen and on the train from his yearly visit to his Father in Toronto going home to his Mom and Stepdad in Ottawa. He’s Gay, out and without his cellphone as Caleb Khoury had accidentally broken it with a basketball back at school. Ben, therefore has been without contact to his support system of friends and the school’s Rainbow Club during his stay with his Father with whom he has nothing in common.

The last person Ben wants to see is Caleb Khoury.

Guess who sits down in the seat next to him?

The last thing Ben wants is a four-hour train ride with Caleb.

So it stretches to over five hours thanks to a rainstorm.

This gives the two teens a chance to talk, reluctantly and with a lot of tension at first as they begin to open up because they have nothing else to do. And here is where I, as a reader, worried because this was a “frenemies to boyfriends” story, so I wondered if the inevitable changes in their relationship would seem contrived or forced or fake. None of that happened. It seemed natural and very genuine, including Caleb’s revelation that he is bisexual.

It says a lot about Burgoine’s skill as a writer that he humanizes these two characters who could have been wooden cliches in lesser hands.

The train ride (on the “Via Train”) is evoked perfectly. Readers who have ridden that route have praised the descriptions, and I must give a nod to Burgoine’s fun chapter titles, all of which reference Caleb. (“Caleb Khoury Never Shuts Up,” Caleb Khoury Flexes a Lot,” “Caleb Khoury Is Into Guys.”)

Aimed at a YA audience, “Stuck With You” is a fun, breezy read. A train ride into the world of young love, and is highly recommended.

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NOTE: This review was also posted on Goodreads. —–jeff