- Title: Love & Other Curses
- Author: Michael Thomas Ford
- Publisher : HarperTeen (April 9, 2019)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 352 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0062791206
Synopsis
The Weyward family has been haunted by a curse for generations—if a Weyward falls in love before their seventeenth birthday, the person they love dies. Sam doesn’t plan to fall for anyone in the weeks before his birthday. He’ll spend his time working at the Eezy-Freeze with his dad; cooking up some midsummer magic with his grandmother, great-grandmother, and great-great-grandmother (the Grands); and experimenting with drag with the help of the queens at the Shangri-La, the local gay club.
However when a new guy comes to town, Sam finds himself in trouble when they strike up a friendship that might be way more than that. As Sam’s birthday approaches and he still hasn’t quite fallen in love, the curse seems to get more powerful and less specific about who it targets. A mysterious girl Sam talks to on the phone late at night and a woman he’s only seen in a dream might have the answers he’s been looking for—but time is running out to save the people he cares about.
Commentary
I hadn't been to the thrift store in a while and so when I woke up with the urge to go I knew I was going to find something good. I picked up several books that morning and then went next door to the Dollar Tree for some cheap snacks. As soon as I walked in the door I noticed that they had re-arranged the front end since I had last visited. There was a large box at the front entrance filled with books.
Love and Other Curses caught my eye right away. As soon as I saw that it involved magic grandmothers and sassy drag queens, I knew that I had to buy this book and I was not disappointed!
The Good
Warning: This book depicts LGBTQ Teens in a direct and frank manner. Some may find the honest talk about gay / trans sexuality distasteful.
What I didn't know at the time was that this was a book marketed for teens aged 14-17 years old. Oh well, I've always been young at heart. Love and Other Curses is a coming-of-age story about a young gay man finding his way in a world that is both small and big at the same time. By the time we enter Sam's life he has already figured out and accepted that he is gay and even his family loves and accepts him. His family consist of his father, his grandmother, great-grandmother, and great-great grandmother.... all of whom practice magic.
There are numerous references to magic, rituals, omens, spells, and potions throughout the book and I like that neither Sam's ethnicity or the flavor of their magic is every really defined. It is never called witchcraft, black magic, Hoodoo, Voodoo, etc.. it is simply called magic.
Even with all the support of his family, Sam is still trying to figure out who he is and what he wants to do with his life. His path to self-discovery includes exploring different sides of his personality through the illusion of drag. Even in this he has the support of three drag-queens who have adopted him into their family and help him navigate living a gay life in an ever-changing world.
When Tom Swift appears in his life, Sam learns that everyone is on their own journey of self-discovery. Early on, he learns that Tom is a trans man (a biological female who identifies as a male). Unsurprisingly, Sam is very understanding and accepting of Tom and even finds himself attracted to the young man. They become fast friends, but the curse intervenes introducing division into their relationship. Along the way, Sam confides in an unseen woman whom he randomly calls on the phone from time to time. Linda helps Sam sort out his thoughts and feelings when he can't go to the Grandmothers or the Drag Queens.
The Bad
Honestly, I really liked this story, but I find it hard to believe that Sam had so many people in his life who loved and accepted him unconditionally. That has not been my experience nor the experience of any gay or trans people that I have personally known.
Then again, this is a work of fiction and perhaps the author felt that there was enough ugliness in the world. Sam's family is the family we all wanted to be a part of when we were struggling with our own identity and felt that we had nowhere to turn where we can be safe and vulnerable. That's not such a bad thing after all.
In the end Sam gets his happy ending a almost too perfect new love interest. I really felt sorry for Tom who appears to be the flipside of Sam in that whereas Sam has all this support and love, Tom has none. I wish we would have gotten more closure on Tom's story. I'll find myself wondering about him for weeks to come.
The Ugly
The ugly here was me ugly crying at the death of (spoiler).
The Verdict
I give this one 5 out of 5 Stiffy's on Carolina Dean's Stiff-O-Meter (patent pending). Yes, I am STILL working on my rating system. What's a stiffy, you ask? Well, you'll have to read the book and find out for yourself.
- Carolina Dean
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