It Looks Like This
-
-
4.7 • 27 Ratings
-
-
- $8.99
-
- $8.99
Publisher Description
A new state, a new city, a new high school. Mike’s father has already found a new evangelical church for the family to attend, even if Mike and his plainspoken little sister, Toby, don’t want to go. Dad wants Mike to ditch art for sports, to toughen up, but there’s something uneasy behind his demands. Then Mike meets Sean, the new kid, and “hey” becomes games of basketball, partnering on a French project, hanging out after school. A night at the beach. The fierce colors of sunrise. But Mike’s father is always watching. And so is Victor from school, cell phone in hand. In guarded, Carveresque prose that propels you forward with a sense of stomach-dropping inevitability, Rafi Mittlefehldt tells a wrenching tale of first love and loss that exposes the undercurrents of a tidy suburban world. Heartbreaking and ultimately life-affirming, It Looks Like This is a novel of love and family and forgiveness—not just of others, but of yourself.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
When Mike's family relocates from the Midwest to a small Virginia town on the Atlantic coast, little seems to change. He has a couple new friends, but his father still pressures him to focus on sports, and bullies like his classmate Victor still see his quiet demeanor as an easy target. When basketball player Sean transfers into Mike's French class, a class project related sleepover turns into a midnight trip to the beach, skinny-dipping, and more. The two swear to keep their relationship a secret, but Victor, bent on causing chaos, releases a video of Mike and Sean and contacts their religious parents. When the truth of the boys' sexuality becomes public, Mike must decide whether he can give into the pressure of his parents' expectations. Debut author Mittlefehldt's direct style of writing cuts to the heart of Mike's struggle to embrace his true self and to take control of his life, bringing freshness to a familiar plot. The story is propelled in small, quiet moments that steadily build toward much-deserved hope and acceptance. Ages 14 up.
Customer Reviews
Breathtaking
This book lacks quotations around speaking parts which is an incredible pet peeve of mine. I suffered through. The writing seemed semi terrible at first..... but then it got better... and better..... and then right in the heartstrings of anyone who has ever had to live life “in the closet.” I laughed, I cried. Feelings that Mike felt I had felt before in my life too. It ended up being a road that was worth the read. It went from being a book that I was sure I would hate to a book that surprised me, and left me speechless. So much thought and effort went in this book. Living in the Bible Belt with a pastor for a father made this book 100% believable for me. Read it. You won’t be disappointed about the roller coaster of feelings you end up with.