Strings Attached by Nick Nolan

Title: Strings Attached
Author: Nick Nolan
Publisher: BookSurge Publishing
Length: Novel/320 pages
Buy the book: Ebook,  Paperback

Blurb:

Closeted teenager Jeremy is sent to live with wealthy relatives after his mother enters rehab. Struggling to fit into the posh world of Ballena Beach, Jeremy joins the high school swim team, dates a popular girl, and begins to think he may have landed in paradise—until his great aunt Katharine starts to dictate his every move … and a late-night phone call insinuates that his father’s accidental death was not so accidental after all.

As Jeremy grows accustomed to the veneer of a fabulous life, so grows his need for answers—as well as the danger of immeasurable harm. Weaving together a murder mystery, sexual ambiguity, and characters with hidden identities and agendas , Nick Nolan offers readers a deliciously witty page-turner about the “puppet” who wishes only to be a real boy. Strings Attached is also a surprisingly heartfelt story about coming-of-age and coming out—not necessarily in that order.

Review:

Strings Attached attempts to take a classic tale mixed with a teenage coming of age story, throwing in a splash of mystery and danger, some sexual tension, and a happy ending to tie everything up. The result is mostly successfully and the story is a very enjoyable to read. It has an engaging storyline, likable characters, interesting dilemmas, and a flowing writing style that is easy to read. On the other hand, the writing is overly descriptive in some parts and the style changes partway through the book which drops important resolutions abruptly. Yet the natural charm of the writing and story still manages to come through and ultimately keeps the book engaging even if it didn’t have to try so hard to add so many elements. If you’re looking for a solid coming of age story that is light and easy to read, Strings Attached fulfills that desire well.

The plot weaves several elements together all revolving around the main character Jeremy. Jeremy is a poor kid of a drunk, ex-drug using mother. Her manipulations and selfish behavior have pretty much scared Jeremy emotionally and when he’s sent to live with his rich relatives, he experiences a pretty big culture shock. The main thrust of the story deals with Jeremy’s life as he goes from rags-to-riches while struggling with accepting and identifying his sexuality, his future goals (college?), and reconciling the death of his father so long ago. The mystery portion revolves around this death and whether it was an accident or not.

For the most part, the story does a good job of keeping the various pieces moving together. Initially the book reads like a continuous narration as each successive chapter picks up exactly where the last one left off. Included is an incredible level of superfluous detail such as driving instructions down to the left/right turns at all intersections and going class by class through Jeremy’s first day of school. While this level of detail is not really necessary, it’s also not bad or distracting in any way. The quick pace keeps you interested even through the detail. Yet the narrative style changes about halfway through when suddenly the story jumps large chunks of time and details are noticeably missing.

While the leaps in the timeline again aren’t bad in theory, important events are skipped or dropped entirely only to be mentioned in passing later. This shows a very sharp contrast to the detail orientated earlier part of the book where everything is included and now scenes that should be included are not. Important turning points to Jeremy’s sexuality and understanding are not resolved and in fact, you’re left wondering what happened at all. Part of this disjointed new narrative plays into the mystery aspect, leaving it very interesting but too easily resolved. There ends up being no real mystery. Instead the facts are simply told in a pretty quick manner instead of being shown and crafting palpable tension.

What shines in the book though is the voice of Jeremy. He is the main third person narrative even as the point of view does jump around a bit and his young, coming of age tale is engaging and interesting. Some of the dialogue reads slightly mundane and antiquated yet it has a real appeal and understanding for that young adult range in a story for adults. There is thankfully no big high school trauma and drama, yet the outside antics are enough to keep the quick pace going and the pages flying by. His confusion, mistakes, yearning, and emotional cracks all create a great character with enough charm and delight to carry the story through any stumbles and foils.

Strings Attached is not perfect and I don’t think the Pinocchio theme is important or well integrated, even after reading the author notes. It’s not detrimental though and the age old coming of age for a young gay man is one that resonates even without tricks or extraneous drama. Even with the somewhat darker tones of the plot, the writing keeps the story light and interesting and above all, pretty enjoyable to read. For those that enjoy young adult books that are targeted and meant for an older audience, this offering delivers an imperfect but worthwhile story. There is also a sequel so you’ll want to start the series now. I personally am looking forward to reading more about Jeremy’s adventures.