As Far as You'll Take Me

December 1, 2020
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* Seventeen-year-old Marty, who is out only to his Bible-thumping parents and two best friends, is desperate to leave his small hometown of Avery, Kentucky. So he lies to his parents, telling them that he's been accepted to study at London's Knightsbridge Academy of Music. Marty's soon off to England with a one-way ticket in his pocket, for though his parents don't know it, he plans to move to London permanently. Once there, he moves in with his cousin Shane, who is also gay and actually a student at the academy. In short order, Marty meets Shane's friends, most notably handsome Pierce, on whom he develops an instant crush. Though Marty's warned that Pierce is a user, love is blind--and complicated, don't you know--and so he is deaf to the warnings. Meanwhile he quickly proves he's a brilliant oboist, but how is he going to make a living? Despite being an overachiever by nature, Marty is hampered by panic attacks and his sometimes-strained relationship with Pierce. Stamper (The Gravity of Us, 2020) does a beautiful job with his characters and their intricate relationships, and he's no slouch when it comes to plotting, either. On top of this, he writes believably about music, which is--don't tell Marty's parents--his religion; and a beautiful one it is. Amen.

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December 14, 2020
Seventeen-year-old Marty Pierce is a rule follower who googles everything in advance to avoid surprises. He’s also “pretty good at lying”—first to keep his sexuality a secret from his religious, homophobic parents, and now to craft an elaborate escape plan from his “suffocating” life in Kentucky. His folks think he’s headed to a summer music program in London, but he’s actually planning to use the three months to secure a professional oboe gig. A chronic worrier, Marty has a lot to cope with in London, even without constant fear that his lies will be found out: he’s busking to make ends meet, stressing about his body image, and navigating relationships, including a diverse new friend group, his domineering best friend back home, and a possible first boyfriend. Stamper (The Gravity of Us) alternates the plot with sections of the diary that Marty kept on an earlier, mishap-filled trip. Stamper piles problems on Marty both in London and at home, but the book’s real strength is Marty’s complexity: even when his anxiety flares up, he finds ways to maintain his mental health and cope with the things that threaten his dreams. Ages 13–up. Agent: Brent Taylor, Triada US.

December 1, 2020

Gr 8 Up-Eighteen-year-old Marty experiences anxiety that leaves him vulnerable to a variety of troubled relationships: with his nearly lifelong best friend, his mother, his potential new boyfriend, and the genuinely caring new friends he begins to make now that he's left his fundamentalist Christian Kentucky home behind to follow his musical passion in London. Stamper offers readers a realistic and sympathetic antihero on the cusp of taking control of his own life. The novel is heavily character-driven, showing Marty's social and psychological development across one summer through scenes that range from busking with his oboe to starving himself in order to lose weight. The emotional hues of each event, rather than dramatic detail, are the focus. Marty is insightful and introspective in a variety of relationships through which he develops recognition of his own and others' weaknesses and potential strengths. Opportunities for growth steadily present themselves, and it's the kind of emotional abundance older teens may experience as they emerge from the relative pliability of childhood into independence. Main characters' races aren't specified, and one secondary character has an Indian given name. VERDICT Anxious and introspective teens will recognize themselves in Marty, whether they too share specific life attributes, such as sexual orientation or musicality. Recommended.-Francisca Goldsmith, Lib. Ronin, Worcester, MA

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