Last of the Summer Tomatoes

By: Sherrie Henry

Narrated by: Paul Morey

Length: 7 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

Kyle Jackowski, typical sullen emo teen, struggles to find a way to deal with his sexuality and finds himself in trouble with the law...again. But instead of being sent to a juvenile detention center like he expected, he is given a chance to commute his sentence by working on a farm for the summer.

Enter Sam, son of the farm owners, who shows Kyle what he feels is perfectly normal and that he doesn't have to hide from his feelings. In turn, Sam's parents show Kyle that his abusive stepfather and battered mother are not the norm. With their love and support, Kyle finds his place in the world - by Sam's side.

©2013 Sherrie Henry (P)2014 Harmony Ink Press

A must read

A great story read perfectly you won't go wrong with this book a love story for the ages

Great YA story

Kyle is 17 on the cusp of 18 and on the verge of finally, finally, leaving his abusive step-father’s house for art school when he gets suckered into doing something stupid. He throws a brick at a window and ends up almost in juvenile detention. Instead of a jail, he signs up for a work-release program in upstate NY at a farm.
Sam is the son of the famers for whom Kyle works. He’s an openly gay college sophomore and he returns each summer to help on the farm.
Both boys are virgins. Though Sam has known for a while that he is gay, has even had some boyfriends, he is saving himself for a “committed relationship”. Kyle has barely admitted he is gay and is far from having ever acted upon it.
Kyle takes to the farm like a duck to water and when he meets Sam, their attraction is instantaneous. Kyle has “seen” Sam in a dream, and Sam is immediately protective of the obviously abused Kyle.
Sam essentially takes on the job of showing Kyle the world as a gay young man and helps him to identify and normalize his feelings. Sam’s family is also amazing in this capacity, helping Kyle to feel love for the first time since his father died a decade ago.
Kyle is a tough nut to crack though. He doesn’t know how to handle these feelings, doesn’t trust them, and he worries that Sam is either dating him because he’s convenient or going to disappear forever once school starts up again. In either case, he wants to protect his heart, so he keeps his distance.
Almost reluctantly, Kyle agrees to date Sam and together they tentatively explore the physical side of their relationship. The summer moves quickly and the boys find that though they are really thinking they might be in love, they don’t think the relationship can withstand long distance. So they essentially break up.
Time and again Kyle finds himself in abusive situations (both over the summer and at school), and it isn’t until he meets some supportive friends at art school that he takes measures to learn some self defense. Though he enjoys his new friends at school, he misses Sam and doesn’t really hear much from him, so he thinks it’s over between them, for good.
However, over Christmas break, things start to look up for Kyle when Sam comes to visit. We get a tepid HFN that (thankfully) doesn’t have to suffice, since we now have part two to read and enjoy following Sam and Kyle as they continue their relationship.

**
This is a young adult/new adult book. With that in mind, much of this book was wonderful and I really, really enjoyed it. There was definitely room for improvement, however, even as looked upon with a younger audience in mind.
First, I loved how Kyle was able to navigate through his emotions, processing his feelings for Sam and his family, while ignoring the voice in his head of his step-father with it’s homophobic, hateful messages. Sam and his family were wonderful influences and served to be great examples of how things could be.
Sam was a fantastic, mostly realistic, young man. He’d had some “sexual” encounters, but preserved penetration for someone special. I really liked that. I liked the forethought and the idea that not every boy is gunning for more with every guy he meets. Even in college!
Sam’s family was also amazing. They had some issues (namely Sam’s twin) but mostly they loved each other and worked hard and didn’t judge. By adding in some “flaws” the author was able to show a family, somewhat realistically, who could demonstrate another side of love.
As a love story this book really satisfies. Kyle needed Sam so much, but did have a lot to offer and once he crawled out of his shell it looked like the two would have a healthy relationship.
Another thing I really appreciated was the theme of food through out the story. Part of love for Kyle is food (as it is with most humans) and his own family was skimpy on love and food. Each chapter (or close to) showcases Sam’s mom feeding Kyle some new dish, showing him how fresh food, given with love and abundance can be amazing and more than just simply a way to fill a hunger. It was a lovely metaphor and cleverly used by the author.
However, what bugged me, so much, was the completely unrealistic language Sam used with Kyle. He spoke in a way no 20 year old I ever knew spoke. He was totally self-actualized and at times he sounded no different than I would expect a guidance counselor. I felt he even treated Sam more as a father figure than boyfriend at times… with the major exceptions of them having sex (or nearly so). It felt more like a May/December story than a story between two contemporaries. He was just too perfect. He didn’t ever push, he had all the answers, he didn’t cheat, didn’t drink, didn’t smoke… goody two-shoes, if you get what I mean.
The other thing that bugged me was Kyle and his constant string of abuse. Everywhere he went he was getting beat up and not until the end did he think that maybe, maybe, he should do something to protect himself. This got a bit tedious.
I also found it disconcerting that Kyle, from Manhattan, had less knowledge of being gay and gay sex than the country boy from upstate New York. Even the most closeted boy in Manhattan would have some idea of what goes on… some idea that being gay might be normal… some idea that his asshole step-father shouldn’t be beating the crap out of him for looking gay…
Finally, I would have been mad if I hadn’t had the sequel available to me right now. I hated where the story was left. It was barely a new start for our boys and a terrible place to leave them for an entire year while waiting for the sequel to come out.
But… the sequel is out and from the blurb we know the boys stay together and in fact begin to explore their more intimate side of the relationship. While I appreciated the vague references to physical intimacy the author used, mindful of a younger audience, I think that she could have used more accurate terms without crossing over into “erotica” and still maintaining age appropriateness.
However, it was refreshing that most of this book was about the relationship and hardly any about the sex. I loved how satisfying it was for Kyle to finally find love.
Overall I give the story a 4 of 5 stars, I really liked it.

Audio:
Paul Morey is a narrator who has done lots in the m/m genre and he did another solid job. He doesn’t do too many variations in voices, though I did enjoy his Bronx accent for Kyle’s football friends. He is a good narrator whose voice blends into the background and allows the story to flow without distraction.
I enjoyed his narration and give it a 4 of 5 stars.

Overall Impression:

4 stars – I really liked it

Good, Not Great

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Probably not; at least not unless it was deeply discounted. It wasn't that it was a bad story- it pretty much ticks all of the appropriate boxes- but I've read what was pretty much the same story by much better writers.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I'd work on making the characters more believable, especially Kyle. I actually started out liking Kyle, he was very sympathetic and affecting in the beginning. But throughout the book he becomes more and more pathetic and I just stopped believing in him as a character. I mean, I can understand his hesitation to accept gifts from the family, but the offering pay for every single thing that was offered to him, even after they told him, "don't worry about it", became so grating. I think this was an attempt at making him seem vulnerable, but he just came off as stupid and whiny. Also, his naivete about gay people beyond ridiculous. I mean, he's supposed to be a kid from the streets of New York City and he has ZERO idea of what gay people are like?

What three words best describe Paul Morey’s performance?

Sounds too old

What would have made this romance irresistible?

First of all, as I mentioned, the characters could use some work. Between Kyle's naivete and constant apologizing and Sam's comparative worldliness, I had a hard time convincing myself that these two people would actually date each other in real life. If I were Sam, I would have found Kyle to be nice but tiresome and way too immature. However, not only do these guys inexplicably end up dating each other, they practically marry one another about five minutes after meeting. Now, I'm not against love at first sight stories, but the fact that these characters are so different add yet end up together practically right away felt emotionally untrue. Perhaps if they'd worked on it a little more and slowed it down, I could have been convinced. Also, while I appreciate the attempts romance authors take at talking about HIV, I don't like it when it just get's awkwardly dropped in. Yes, gay people talk about HIV, but not in the weird germphobic way it's introduced here. You can have perfectly healthy sex without a doctor's note. Suggesting otherwise, as it seems to be in this novel,is just silly and kind of insulting.

Great coming of age story

Kyle finds himself on a farm for the summer as part of a work program after getting into trouble with the law, again. Not that he's a punk mind you, he's just a teenager doing teenager things. He welcomes the respite from his abusive step father that much is for sure. It takes time and patience, but slowly Kyle comes out of his shell and comes to appreciate his life on the farm, especially the part of his life that involves Sam, the farm owners son. So much can change over one summer, but can Sam convince Kyle to take a chance on him... on them?

I absolutely LOVE this narrator. He is so damn good at what he does, he could recite the phone book and I'd be on the edge of my seat, listening with bated breath. Add to his spectacular vocal cords such an amazing story and what you have is a book you simply must listen to. This book is all about Kyle and Sam, about Kyle finally having the freedom and ability to consider what he wants out of life. A place for him to call home where he is truly loved, wanted and respected. It's a story of first love, true love, romance and everything that goes along with it.

An innocent love story at it's best.

Ever so often, I accidentally, or not, choose a book intended for the teen LGBT market. This is one. A lovely innocent love story at it's very best. If you're looking for a hot M2M romance, keep on looking. If you want to believe in love, spend the credit.

Okay story, poor choice of narrator

The storyline was enjoyable, if a bit predictable. But Paul Morey as the narrator was not the right choice. He is not a bad narrator in general, but this is a coming of age story and he sounded way too old to be voicing these characters.

Just no

the story: everything is perfect. Except for 3 scenes, at the very beginning, in the middle, and toward the end, it's a bloody paradise for whiny Kyle. no one cares about perfect lives. Where is the conflict? Where are the crises? Whining and self doubt aren't conflicts. Sam is supposedly 19 but he's an all knowing, wise guru who comes across as a gay Dr. Phil. Yawn. The surrogate parents are perfect. Life on the farm is perfect. Everything is perfect. In other words, everything is boring. the story is also dated, what with all the references to the terrors of AIDS and gays only being allowed to get married in certain states. And I find it very hard to believe than anyone who grew in Manhattan--New York City-- is so clueless about the existence/acceptance of other gay people.
the performance. Except for Kyle (the protagonist) and the stereotypical meathead sounding football players, every male character sounds exactly the same. I couldn't tell them apart. Half the time I never knew who was speaking until/unless they were identified by name. Old, young, professional, rural, made no difference.
I've listened to so many excellent YA LGBTQ books from Audible. This isn't one of them.