The Sweet Spot: From School in Dublin to the Streets of NYC
- Lance Alvarez
- Jan 12, 2024
- 7 min read
There is a reason we call this section The Sweet Spot. Whether you're curious about reading a spicy book or know you're not ready for it and want to dip your toes in the water, these are the books for you. While both picks stand out in their own right, you will find that they showcase intimacy in a carefully crafted way to aid the plot rather than detract from it. This month's picks highlight two very different stories with characters learning to navigate life and the challenges they bring, from high school lovers finding their way back to each other in College in Dublin to three teens navigating life, love, and sexuality amidst the AIDS crisis in New York City. Despite their vastly different circumstances, both stories see their characters forced to face the complexities of life as they come to terms with who they are and struggle to love themselves.
As a reminder, and for those who did not read our Beeswax post last week, below is the structure of our Sticky Scale.
Wax
The first of the three ratings---and the one to which we dedicate this post---is Wax. Anyone who has previously handled wax knows it can be a slippery substance, but it becomes brittle when dried. Therefore, Wax books have no explicit sensuality. Physical romance
may be described in general terms or implied, but your innocence will remain intact.
Honey
Moving up a step, the second rating is Honey. As you can imagine, honey is significantly stickier than wax, but more importantly, it is sweeter. Honey's monthly section is The Sweet Spot because these books will be the perfect option for those looking for a more...
adventurous read while not devolving into spicy territory. In simpler terms, think fade to black. There is sure to be moderate sensuality, and physical actions will be described and detailed but will not be explicitly written. If you're unsure of whether you are ready for a
true spicy book, these recommendations are sure to help!
Nectar
At last, we have arrived at the last of the ratings: Nectar. These books are not for the faint of heart; I can guarantee you that. Nectar's monthly section has been deemed The Spice Rack (if you know, you know). These books will have your blood flowing, your palms
sweating, and your heartbeat racing. Whether you're into the sweet stuff, the taboos, or any of the laundry list of kinks out there, this section will surely have something for you! Be warned, our Nectar recommendations will have explicit sensuality and go beyond what is
appropriate for anyone under the age of 18. Sex will be written in graphic detail, and there is always a chance that acts beyond intercourse may make an appearance. So strap in, grab your favorite drink, and settle into your favorite spot as you venture into a world of
new experiences, or revisit your favorite smutty reads.
A Love Through the Years
A Budding Romance
If there is one thing that all good romance novels have in common, it is their ability to add their unique twist on a trope that has long been around. Now, while our first novel's two main characters fit nicely into this trope with their long-lasting love story beginning with their meeting during their high school years, it goes further than that. Instead of basking in the tumultuous high that high school love brings, they conceal their relationship and hide their blossoming attraction. We can firmly agree that a trope today must be given new life for it to connect with readers. It is the unfortunate way of trope in modern literature. Readers are used to far too many books employing the same tropes, and without an added layer of storytelling, a trope is quick to fall flat. And the author does just that, as the characters deny themselves their relationship.
Life, however, has a way of throwing a wrench in our plans, regardless of how hard we try to avoid them. And if we're honest, it is usually when we try to deny what seems to be meant for us that life will double down and force it upon us. Our two main characters discover this when they both begin college at the same institution and, more than that, find themselves in reverse roles. Marianne, the shy and private high school girl, blossoms into a social butterfly while Connell, the popular high school sports star, becomes a fly on the wall. Yet, despite their attempts to deny their connection, they repeatedly return to each other. As life does what it's best at and throws their lives into chaos, forcing change and trials upon both characters, they must fight for what they truly want, but most importantly, they must learn to discover what that is.
"Normal" is Overrated
While we firmly believe here at The Book Hive that "normal" is overrated, this month's first Sweet Spot pick will surely bring a new definition to the word. Join us as we take a tour of Trinity College in Dublin as we discover the love story through the years told by Sally Rooney in Normal People.
At school Connell and Marianne pretend not to know each other. He’s popular and well-adjusted, star of the school soccer team while she is lonely, proud, and intensely private. But when Connell comes to pick his mother up from her housekeeping job at Marianne’s house, a strange and indelible connection grows between the two teenagers - one they are determined to conceal. A year later, they’re both studying at Trinity College in Dublin. Marianne has found her feet in a new social world while Connell hangs at the sidelines, shy and uncertain. Throughout their years in college, Marianne and Connell circle one another, straying toward other people and possibilities but always magnetically, irresistibly drawn back together. Then, as she veers into self-destruction and he begins to search for meaning elsewhere, each must confront how far they are willing to go to save the other. Sally Rooney brings her brilliant psychological acuity and perfectly spare prose to a story that explores the subtleties of class, the electricity of first love, and the complex entanglements of family and friendship. |
Just like our Busy Bee Book CLub Book of the Month, Every Summer After by Carley Fortune, Normal People is a love story told over multiple years. It embraces the excitement that comes with transitioning from high school student to the first year of college. A time that brings excitement, anxiety, new experiences, and many challanges. But one that is ripe with opportunity. Many of us can attest to the thrills and pitfalls of this turbulent time in our lives and as Marianne and Connel navigate their way through the challanges and triumphs, they work to discover who they are as they step into their adulthood.
As I read the book blurb upon selecting this book to reccomend, I found myself thinking on the question it posed at the end: How far are they willing to go to save the other? I posed the same question to myself. And I encourage you to take a moment to ask yourself that same question and in place of "other" add in that person who completes you, or a loved one from your family. We are all formed from the challenges of our upbringing, our experiences shape and mold us into the people we become, they tint the way we look and interact with the world. And there are always those people who seem to accompany us through it all. Whether it be a parent, a sibling, a loved, one, or a best friend, as yourself how far you would be willing to go to save them from the challenges of life. Then grab a cup of your favorite drink, a soft blanket, and step into the world of Rooney's Normal People as Marianne and Connell discover their own answers to that same question.
Sally Rooney was born in 1991 and live sin Dubulin, where she graduated from Trinity College. Her work has appeared in Granta, The Dublin Review, The White Review, The Tinging Fly, and the Winter Pages anthology. Rooney was the winner of the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award in 2017. You can follow Sally Rooney on Amazon or Goodreads to keep up to date with her latests works.
Love in the Time of Crisis
The AIDS Epidemic
AIDS, or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, is "the third and most severe stage" of HIV, or human immunodeficiency virus, as listed on the Center for Disease Control's (CDC) website. While nowadays, HIV continues to remain an incurable virus, with "proper medical care...[people with HIV] can live long, healthy lives, and protect their partners." Unfortunately, for people coming up during the 1980's when homosexuality was not seen in a positive light, the introduction of HIV/AIDS brought on an epidemic that spread across the world. The term 'AIDS' was officially introduced by the CDC in 1982 and today we know that by that same time the disease had already spread to numerous countries.
With the negative attitudes at the time toward the Queer Community, the AIDS epidemic was allowed to worsen as it was believed to only affect the gay community. It saw a dehumanizing stigma arise around the disease and with the mosconceptions brought about by the beliefs, an unprecedented number of gay men found themselves losing their lives to the illness. By the mid-1980s, gay men became barred from donating blood due to the risk of transmiting HIv through blood transfusions. And in 1988, the U.S. Congress passed the Hope Act of 1988 and it was signed by President Reagan on November 4, a month before the first World AIDS Day was held on December 1. By the end of the 1980's, over 100,000 people had died from HIV/AIDS and this is precisely where our next story finds its setting.
Growing Up in a Golab Crisis
Our second Honey book recommendation is Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian.
It's 1989 in New York City, and for three teens, the world is changing. Reza is an Iranian boy who has just moved to the city with his mother to live with his stepfather and stepbrother. He's terrified that someone will guess the truth he can barely acknowledge about himself. Reza knows he's gay, but all he knows of gay life are the media's images of men dying of AIDS. Judy is an aspiring fashion designer who worships her uncle Stephen, a gay man with AIDS who devotes his time to activism as a member of ACT UP. Judy has never imagined finding romance...until she falls for Reza and they start dating. Art is Judy's best friend, their school's only out and proud teen. He'll never be who his conservative parents want him to be, so he rebels by documenting the AIDS crisis through his photographs. As Reza and Art grow closer, Reza struggles to find a way out of his deception that won't break Judy's heart--and destroy the most meaningful friendship he's ever known. |
With the AIDS epidemic in full swing, it is terrifying to imagine the younger generation of gay men coming up during a time when all you heard regarding gay men were reports of deaths and rumors due to the AIDs epidemic. But it is this exact scene which Nazemian paints for readers in Like a Love Story. A raw coming of age experience amidst one of the most impactful health crises of the 1900s. And to make matters worse for Reza, one of our three protagonists, he must also pile on the fact that he is an immigrant and in the closet. It is a perfect storm of hardships and comlications that brings Reza to collide with Judy, who is exposed to the AIDS epidemic through her gay, activitist uncle, and her best friend, Art, who is out of the closet and to whom Reza finds himself attracted.
Amidst a world suffering from a global health crisis, the three must learn to navigate life in New York City, the center of the epidemic int he United States, as they fight for who they are. Set during one of the darkest moments of Queer history, during a time brimming with homophobia, protests, and most of all change, Like a Love Story faces the challenge of portraying the raw truth of the 1980s AIDS epidemic in New York while intermizing the ups and downs of teenage life, the struggles of immigrant life, and the heartache of first loves. Told form the perspectives of thee characters all firmly planted on different sides of the issues they face around them, it is a coming of age story brimming with the essence of the genre.
Abdi Nazemian spent his childhood in a series of exciting locations (Tehran, Paris, Toronto, New York) but could usually be found in his bedroom watching old movies and reading. He was written three television shows for Fox and NBC and six produced films. His first novel, The Walk-In Closet, was awaded Best Debut at the Lambda Literary Awards. Like a Love Story won a Stonewall Honor and was chosen by Time Magazine as one of the 100 best young adult books of all time. Abdi lives in Los Angeles with his family and holds dual citizenship between the Unites States and Canada. To learn more about Abdi Nazemian and his works, you can visit abdinazemian.com.
IF YOU READ ANY OF OUR MONTHLY HONEYPOT BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS, WE INVITE YOU TO JOIN US IN THE QUEEN'S CORNER TO SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS.
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