Did not finish this book, and the website will not let me use the did not finish function. So I am attempting this instead, I hope that’s okay.

I’m sure the book was great but at the time I did not finish it and years have passed.

This was a fun read!! I loved the characters and the plot was a lot of fun too!! I thought the writing was easy to read and I will be recommending this to my friends!

Conjoined at the Soul is a very heartwarming story of a teenage boy who comes out to himself and then goes through the journey of finding his true love. The way the subject material is handled in this book is so great and one of the very few that I've found that covers prejudice so well on more than one category. If your looking for a well written and page turning contemporary this is the book for you.

I have to say i am not a fan. The writing style was just not for me. The story line in the blurb sounded wonderful but i just could not connect to the characters. pretty predictable and a bit stereotypical. i had high hopes for this book..

There is not enough LGBT coming of age books. this one is however set in the 1970's so not modern day. I laughed a bit and i cringed a bit i hope you can give this book a chance!

Sweet,sexy, often funny coming of age story.
Randy,16,has finally admitted to himself that he's gay and what follows is a very good description of what it must be like to cope with his sexuality and the prejudices he faces along the way..
Ready to find himself a boyfriend he gets help from two close friends.Poor Randy,everywhere he looks he seems to come into contact with hot guys.....but how to work out if they're gay is another matter.He makes mistakes,judgements.He's such a likeable character.....that I was routing for all the way.
A recommended YA story.

CW/TW: bullying, racism, antisemitism, homophobia, hate crime, use of racial and ethnic epithets

Conjoined at the Soul is Book Two of the Chadham High series. I haven’t read Book One (My Life as a Myth) in the series, but I don’t think that’s required. I did not feel lost or that I was missing anything while reading Conjoined at the Soul.

Randy Clark is a sixteen-year-old high school sophomore in late 1979, and is coming to terms with his sexuality. The book opens with Randy admitting to himself that he is gay. As he navigates his new identity during a time when being gay was not accepted, he discovers things and people he once thought he has figured out are not what they seem.

I love books set in the 80’s and this is close enough that I squealed every time a favorite band or fashion from that time was mentioned. Randy comes across as endearingly naïve and clueless. His instincts about others’ motivations are way off the mark and he finds himself in less than favorable positions. He’s so insecure that he wobbles back on forth on his resolve about certain situations and people. He has a lot of growing up to do, especially when it comes to how to be in a relationship and how he should be treated.

The author does a fantastic job of fleshing out characters typical for the late 70’s. Although this is before the AIDS epidemic, the consensus of same sex relationships is that they are distasteful. Not only does the author address homophobia, he also addresses racism and antisemitism. Randy’s father is a racist through and through. He endlessly spouts off demeaning names for non-white and non-Christian people. Randy recognizes his dad’s awful behavior and, in a way, accepts that this is just the way it is.

If it were not for the seriousness of the hate that takes place in this book, Randy’s naivety would be sort of amusing. He can’t seem to understand why certain waitresses will not serve his table of friends that includes an interracial couple. And when they get kicked out of the restaurant by the owner, he is doubly shocked at the owner’s attitude. He is also not aware of how subtle he needs to be when showing affection to another boy at times.

A few things that surprised me about this book were the number of characters that are revealed to be gay and the lackadaisical way Randy shares intimacy with others, whether due to peer pressure or his own misguidance. However, I did appreciate the frank way the author dealt with them. The characters and their conflicts felt real.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go add Book One. And Book Three (Breaths We Take) is eminent, so I’ll have to add that one too. 😊

I have mixed feelings about this book, I really wanted to like it, but I felt really unsatisfied at the end. There are definitely interesting and original parts to this story, but it feels very uneven at times. I also felt the pacing seemed strange and almost like there were two different stories only vaguely connected in the middle. All that said I would recommend it to people who like dark fairy tale stories.

I was hoping to like this book, but it's actually pretty terrible. It's yet another book, set in a high school, and yet written by someone who clearly doesn't remember how teenagers speak. Even taking into consideration that it's set in the 70's, the dialogue is still forced and awkward. Furthermore, the character development is shallow to non-existent, and the writing is incredibly heavy-handed. Every antagonist has the same array of negative traits: Homophobic and racist. Against EVERYONE. No exceptions. And every time they have a bit of dialogue they fit both of those facts in there as if the audience might forget otherwise.
Anyway, I'm not even half way through, but I don't think I can finish it. It's just too cringeworthy. "But I want to spend time with you . You know I'm...a fag- your fag. DO you want me to come over today?" Said in context to a "straight" boy who has made it ABUNDANTLY clear that he's only using him for sex. And this is where I quit. Can't do it anymore. Do not pass Go.
There are a lot of good books on this site. I'd recommend finding something better.

Boy oh boy, am I in a pickle here. On one hand, I just want to give this book all the stars because it was an ordinary romance/coming-of-age novel featuring a gay protagonist, and in a way, that already ticks all my boxes. I'm incredibly happy that we're getting more rep in books, not just about coming out, but about guys like Randy Clark knowing he's gay and then going on to live through exactly what straight people probably (how the hell would I know?) live through: first loves, disappointment, manipulation, bullying and all the other good stuff that makes us resent high school for the rest of our lives.

And while I did love all those aspects - the way Randy has to navigate High School and its bullies who call him gay because he gets a boner every time he's in the locker room, or his precarious first encounters with another closeted gay kid - I just didn't feel like this book was as fleshed out as it could have been. Yes, Randy's development throughout the book is amazing: he makes mistakes, falls in love with the wrong person, realizes he's worth more than being used by someone who won't admit he's gay, and eventually finds someone who appreciates him for who he is.

Nevertheless, there were so many things that I just didn't like. The first half of this book just suffered from the old showing vs. telling tragedy. The first chapters tell us everything about the characters without ever showing actual proof. One character is described as hilarious without making a single funny comment or joke in the entire novel.

The best friends Annie and Jeremy are stereotypical: Annie is the black, loud girl who calls everyone 'honey' and 'sweetie' and of course knows way more about gay guys than Randy, and Jeremy is the quiet, shy type that of course turns out to be gay. Randy's family is also one-dimensional: there's the Turd (his brother) who is obnoxiously unlikable, there is his mother who just looks the other way whenever Randy's father says something mysoginistic or racist (which is everything he says). Also, there is one particular moment where Annie and Mike make out during class while the teacher actually applauds and let me tell you, I don't know what school Randy goes to but teachers did not allow us to make out in the classroom - no matter the circumstances. There's also the cheating that occurs at one point that just made me think of adding unneccesary drama to spice up the plot as well as the fact that almost every single guy in this book turns out to be gay - which would be awesome if that would actually happen in real life but which just felt forced at some points in the narrative.

Nevertheless, this did end up mostly being a quick, enjoyable read and I do want to give credit to the fact that we so rarely get books about LGBTQIA+ individuals without the entire focus being on coming out and instead on navigating your life, searching for love.