Things We Couldn't Say

De: Jay Coles

Narrado por: Sheldon Best

There's always been a hole in Gio's life. Not because he's into both guys and girls. Not because his father has some drinking issues. Not because his friends are always bringing him their drama. No, the hole in Gio's life takes the shape of his birth mom, who left Gio, his brother, and his father when Gio was nine years old. For eight years, he never heard a word from her...and now, just as he's started to get his life together, she's back.

It's hard for Gio to know what to do. Can he forgive her like she wants to be forgiven? Or should he tell her she lost her chance to be in his life? Complicating things further, Gio's started to hang out with David, a new guy on the basketball team. Are they friends? More than friends? At first, Gio's not sure...especially because he's not sure what he wants from anyone right now.

There are no easy answers to love - whether it's family love or friend love or romantic love. In Things We Couldn't Say, Jay Coles, acclaimed author of Tyler Johnson Was Here, shows us a guy trying to navigate love in all its ambiguity - hoping at the other end he'll be able to figure out who is and who he should be.

©2021 Jay Coles (P)2021 Scholastic Inc. All rights reserved.

Most relatable book I’ve read in a while!

The book is so personable and relatable. The story telling is so q some you can’t help but be so attracted to the main character.

I hated for it to end

Stories that I wish would continue. I absolutely fell in love with all the characters.

This was really good and an amazing portrayal of gay love!

I really enjoyed the story of gay love although it was a biracial couple of someone Black and Someone white but overall it was great. I wish people would show a more biracial couple other than black and white there is a way bigger spectrum then just those 2 nationalities maybe a black man with a Spanish man could have been great especially since the main character was from the hood but it was cool. It was a great listen!

Solid story, distracting narration

Everything about this book works except the narration, and that could have. The book has good character development, a solid plot, and a very good sense of place. Unfortunately, the narrator turns all of the characters except protagonist Gio into overdone caricatures. Their voices distract from well-written dialogue. That's too bad because the narrator has a great voice, and if he just tuned it down a little his performance would have been on key. Despite that, the story hooked me enough that I stuck through to the end. Gio is a likable character, and while the other characters' voices were cartoonish, they are thoughtfully constructed and more complex than they appear at first blush. It's satisfying to see how Gio comes to grips with his sexuality, but I'm unlikely to listen again because of the voice performance.

Slow, almost DNF

Really had a hard time finishing this story, most of the time it was slow, going on and on about things that added very little to the story. I was into it well enough to finish, but like another reviewer said I think I would have done better with the print edition. I felt the narration was far too dramatic, especially during the women's roles. I found myself turning the volume down when the MCs best friend was speaking (not going to try to spell her name). I will probably give the author another shot, but not the narrator. 2.5 stars.

Rollercoaster of feelings

Just when I thought I ran out of good audio books, I stumble upon this wonderful book.

Narrator

*still reading*

I’m trying to finish this but I’ll probably have to get a physical copy of the novel. I was interested by the description of the story; but the narrator makes it difficult to listen to. He switches up his voice for each character, but his choice for voices is over-dramatic and annoying.