Story: Jason

Why do I like this kind of story?

In terms of writing, it is grammatically bad, which in the modern world of Gay stories is a death knell for readers (I understand what you must think, if a writer cannot edit, they should not be writing and posting), but in terms of content, it holds a good message with extremely poignant characters that we can all desire to live up to or desire to be. It has weaknesses and hokey plot elements, plus the usual Dickensian problems of the early days of online gay writers. That doesn't make it a bad story or a story that should not be read for people, who truly want to believe in love.

Sometimes, readers need to be reminded that a good story is not a story with every punctuation and every word in the exact and proper OCD order that is proper. The imperfections of a young writer shines a light into his best and most unique voice. Of course, editing is a great thing and helps sharpens the writer, but before you can sharpen a story, you must have a block of good ideas in the right mold. The more I read, the less I feel like writers are pushing their imaginations; instead, we're emulating ideas from others. Emulation might show a great deal of respect, but imagination is what makes a great story live. I would challenge everyone to write outside convention and spoil commonly held ideas and ideals.

Now let me get into the meat of the review:

Plot: Jason is a young gay 13 year old boy, who was kidnapped, raped, and left for dead. The story chronicles his struggle to remember who he was before the events, re-establish his relationships with family, fall in love again with his best friend/boyfriend, and finally facing the harsh realities that he was exposed to. This story resolves in a heartwarming conclusion.

Review:

I will keep this story review simple, it was a good story, when I first read it as a teen. As an adult, I think the writer could have done more, but I am not reducing his brilliance. I think the story is hokey at times and the ending is perhaps too happy, but in the current state of the world, sometimes people need the happy endings and the campy set ups.

I found the character of Jason to be the most rewarding and interesting gay characters to be described and written into fiction. I think the reason for that was that as a reader I had a stake in his development and his recovery of humanity. A common issue with writing that I have and many other writers here and elsewhere share is that we don't give our readers characters with emotional depth that keeps them occupied on that character's development. Jason as a story is flawed, but the character kept it alive for readers and his regrowth is what an audience demands.

My review is: 8.5/10

Very good story with noticeable flaws, but I dare a reader to go through it, just to test your emotional endurance.