A Little Bit Country

By: Brian D. Kennedy

Narrated by: Mark Sanderlin, Andrew Gibson

Dumplin' meets Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda in this heartfelt and funny contemporary romance inspired by Dollywood, about two boys who fall in love against the backdrop of a country music-themed amusement park, from debut author Brian D. Kennedy. Perfect for fans of Erin Hahn, Phil Stamper, and David Levithan.

Emmett Maguire wants to be country music’s biggest gay superstar—a far reach when you’re seventeen and living in Illinois. But for now, he’s happy to do the next best thing: Stay with his aunt in Jackson Hollow, Tennessee, for the summer and perform at the amusement park owned by his idol, country legend Wanda Jean Stubbs.

Luke Barnes hates country music. As the grandson of Verna Rose, the disgraced singer who had a famous falling out with Wanda Jean, Luke knows how much pain country music has brought his family. But when his mom’s medical bills start piling up, he takes a job at the last place he wants: a restaurant at Wanda World.

Neither boy is looking for romance, but sparks fly when they meet—and soon they’re inseparable. Until a long-lost secret about Verna and Wanda comes to light, threatening to unravel everything.

Will Emmett and Luke be able get past the truths they discover…or will their relationship go down in history as just another Sad Country Love Song?

Wonderful young love story!

Let me just start by saying I’m going to need more Luke & Emmett. They have my heart! This is exactly the kind of book I wish I could have read when I was younger. Representation matters & we need more YA stories like this one~ full of love, truths, growth, and the beauty of discovery. I just ordered the book to have on my shelf for my nieces/nephews in the years to come!

Cute!

This book is adorable and I enjoyed it BUT I could not for the life of me like Luke. The way he treated Emmett was so toxic and not okay, he didn't do enough to make up for it all or acknowledge how badly he messed up. That sweet lil country star Emmett deserved better

Good story

The reviews were positive so I trusted that it was gonna work out but there were a few twists and turns in there that kept it interesting. I liked the character development from both characters throughout. There was a happy ending without being Polly Anna and the whole story struck the right tone for a YA novel without being insulting. Delightful listen.

A book for boys, thank you very much

This book could have saved lives in the days of my youth. I tried to resist the charm of it, the simple, teenaged angst played out with only a few improbable happenstances. I don't have a great love for country music as Emmett does. I'm old, so I no longer relate to the fear of disclosure with which Luke lives. Nonetheless, I pushed the button when I finished their story and started again. There are incidents at the beginning of the story that fund events at the end of the story without giving them away too soon. I liked that. There is a bit of silliness that seems to be requisite in "Young Adult" books, but it didn't spoil the story for this old guy. The lyrics of country songs included in the text are ordinary enough that they made me wonder if they were supposed to amuse me. Ultimately, I just thought Emmett had a long way to go to write great country music and Wanda June must have sung her flat lyrics with a lot of style to make the kind of success she got from them. It's possible. All that aside, we need more well-crafted stories for LGBTQ kids and this is a good one. The intimacy between the boys was honest and sincere and never pornographic, neither "soft" nor x-rated. The story has a decidedly masculine voice, the reader gives Emmett a higher, lighter pitch, but he's still a boy and one to whom other boys that age could relate. I wonder if straight boys could read it and learn not to be homophobes. I think they could.

Understanding the normal boy

This book was the most amazing thing I have heard. It captured so much of childhood and I especially like the twist closer to the end of the book. Bless your heart Verna Rose