I Got You Sanitaria Springs

So we go back to Sanitaria Springs - this time with the younges of the Kelly Bros., Sean. But this time the perspective is somewhat different - through a series of texts sent between Sean and a probably slightly younger guy in need of help. I kind of liked that variation. The way the relationship between mentor Sean and mentee Bryce develops is really great - and the way Bryce grows into acceptance of being gay along the way is really heart warming.

Some might think, that Sean is acting too mature for his years. Maybe he does that a little - but lets not forget, that he has had his share of figuring out to do over the years in Sanitaria, and the Kelly boys are anything but dumb. They and their extended, chosen family are genuinely good people, leading by example. Maybe they are sometimes a little too good to be entirely for real, but I don't care. They are, what we all should try to be - great friends in need. If the author exaggerates that a little from time to time, so be it. He proves his point, and I think you leave Sanitaria Springs a better person, than when you came. 

The strength of this piece lies in the friendship between the unknown texter and his two best friends. Above all else, that was refreshing as always and heartwarming.

The framing device of only using texts to tell the story hampers it rather than adding to it; it leads the whole piece to feel very "tell don't show". This is compounded by Sean's role in the narrative: He asks explicit questions that are given frank answers, removing implication and deduction on the reader's end. Sean also gives wise advice I wouldnt expect from a teenager presumably 1-2 years older than the texter. This leads to him feeling less like a friend and more like an author stand in to give advice directly to character.

Overall the characters feel very flat, and with a bare bones plot and weak framing device this work's score is held up almost entirely by the friendship I mentioned. Just like an action movie lives by its choreography, a story like this lives by its character work and how "human" it feels. In all but one area(that does take up about a third of the story admittedly) it falls subpar, but if you just want a simple, blunt story about a kid coming out and finding out just how close he is with his bros, this is hardly a bad choice to spend a quick hour or so on.