Oh, this hurt me. Great descriptive writing that painted a lovely picture of the seasons and life in this Northern England village. It felt as if I was there and was rather poetic. On top of that, a very raw portrayal of being a teenager: feelings of inadequacy, desire, embarrassment, shame and guilt. How these emotions still linger, yet transform into adulthood. Above all, the agony of loving someone and wanting to be loved in return. UGH. I want more.

A poignant and poetic coming of age story about James, a gay teenager who becomes fascinated, then falls in love with Luke, his charismatic neighbor and best friend. The writing is lyrical and the descriptions of the narrator’s small village and surrounding nature are visual and vivid. The turmoil, pain, and beauty of first love was also very well rendered here, and the MC’s thoughts were realistic for his age.

This novel reminded me of Call Me By Your Name in tone and theme - so if you’re a CMBYN fan you’ll probably love this one, too.

"Open, Heaven" by Seán Hewitt is a poignant story about first loves. The novel follows the lives of two adolescents, James and Luke, who meet in a small Irish village in the early aughts and profoundly shape each other’s lives. Narrated retrospectively by James, the book provides insight into his inner thoughts hidden beneath his shy exterior.

Hewitt paints a vivid picture of the landscape, characters, and the intense emotions and struggles experienced on the journey to adulthood. In life, the path not traveled tends to get engrained in memories yet leaving us wondering. Luke remaining a significant figure in James' memory, leaves a sense of longing and curiosity about what might have been.

As a reader, I found "Open, Heaven" to be deeply moving. I highly recommend this beautiful, dreamy, and relatable story to fans of Philippe Besson's "Lie With Me," Ocean Vuong's "On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous," Sarah Winman's "Tin Man," André Aciman's "Call Me By Your Name," and Tomasz Jedrowski's "Swimming in the Dark." If you enjoy the works of these authors, you'll surely find this novel to be a compelling read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for this amazing ARC.

Beautifully written. A very emotional story of a young boy coming to terms with his sexuality and the affects it has on him and his family. A little slow to start.