Five
stars
Book
Blurb:
“Part
thriller, part romance, The Friend Scheme is another twisty #ownvoices YA novel
from Cale Dietrich, author of ‘The Love Interest.’
High
schooler Matt's father is rich, powerful, and seemingly untouchable—a criminal
with high hopes that his son will follow in his footsteps. Matt's older brother
Luke seems poised to do just that, with a bevy of hot girls in tow. But Matt
has other ambitions—and attractions.
And
attraction sometimes doesn't allow for good judgement. Matt wouldn't have
guessed that when he makes a new friend, one who is also carrying a secret. The
boys' connection turns romantic, a first for both. Now Matt must decide if he
can ever do the impossible and come clean about who he really is, and who he is
meant to love.”
Review:
The
narrating was *chef’s kiss* spot-on, really felt like I was inside Matt’s head,
feeling his feelings and rooting for him 110% through it all. He tries so hard to do right by his family
and live up to societal expectations, even as he twists himself into a
miserable pretzel in his attempts.
This
isn’t so much a story of ‘finding oneself’ - Matt knows exactly who he is and what
he wants when we meet him. He just doesn’t
think it’s possible to pursue his dreams or to be with the type of person he wants
to be with. Societal norms and family obligations
have set him up to be a completely miserable 17-year-old, despite being
surrounded by family, beautiful beaches, and lots of money. He is unable to share his true self with the
world and it’s not very surprising that he has no friends when we first meet
him.
It
is heartbreaking to have a narrating character be so in-touch with themselves, but
to have such low self-esteem and feel so trapped. Matt’s insecurities and awkward moments are
the result of the environment he was brought up in; societal expectations and
traditions of masculinity, gender, and putting one’s parents’ wishes before
their own. He’s constantly in
performance-mode; pretending to be what his family expects, rather than what he
really is, under threat of his world imploding around him. He truly believes his family wouldn’t just out-cast
him, but that they’d actively hunt him down for the rest of his days, should he
go against their wishes. That’s the mob
for ya.
Readers
are introduced to Matt on the day he first meets Jason and it quickly becomes apparent
that the boys’ circumstances are similar to ‘Romeo and Juliet.’ Their friendship and mutual growing attraction
can only flourish if they don’t discuss their families, even though the ‘family
business’ is a huge aspect of both their lives.
We watch as Matt’s feelings for Jason grow and witness his inner
conflicts and self-talk over whether he can continue to hang out with (and make
out with) Jason or if he’s betraying his family by doing so. He wants to be smart, he wants to be loyal,
to his father who raised him as a single parent and his older brother who looks
out for him and gives him advise.
It
is easy for readers to become invested in Matt, to feel his feelings, and
relate to his situations. It is also deeply
satisfying to watch the positive changes he makes for himself towards the end
of this book. Hang in there through the rocky
parts, it gets better.
#TheFriendScheme #NetGalley - I voluntarily
read a Review Copy of this book. All opinions stated are solely my own and no
one else’s.
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