The Summer Of Aaron

A man has lost his bearings after a breakup with his long term partner. He is drifting through the long summer vacation, supposedly on holiday, but unable to settle to anything. What happens next is described wonderfully by the author. You are drawn in, made part of the man's life, and you and he almost together get to make some important decisions about life and love. Highly recommended.

This is a poignant and beautiful story which never fails to squeeze my heart and bring tears to my eyes as I hold my breath and hope for love to conquer fear and the dreaded age gap.

At the beginning of the story, Justin is contemplating jumping off a cliff, literally, but then he encounters Aaron who distracts him from the woes of having been dumped by his partner after fourteen years of catering to his wishes. The mutual attraction between the high school teacher and the eighteen-year-old is fairly obvious, but Justin knows all the reasons why he shouldn’t give in to temptation. He may be vulnerable, but he’s also sensible and honorable, two traits, which together with his kindness, make me admire him as he struggles with loneliness.

The pace of the story is slow but every word pulls you deeper. Justin may find it easy to resist the offer of physical intimacy, but as the summer progresses so does their mutual closeness of mind and heart. Justin ends up at the mental cliff of whether to leap into the love and relationship offered by Aaron, for the summer or forever.