Reviewed by Dan

This is a Flashback Friday Review of Cub

TITLE:  Cub

AUTHOR:     Jeff Mann

PUBLISHER:     Bear Bones Books, an imprint of Lethe Press

LENGTH:     226 Pages

RELEASE DATE:  February 11, 2014

BLURB:

Not every gay teen yearns for fashion and popular culture. Some boys are pure country folk and like the feel of flannel and the smell of the farm. And they’re neither lithe nor muscle-bound but stocky boys, the ones who develop hairy chests, arms, and faces years earlier than their peers. One such seventeen year old is Travis Ferrell, shy among most of the other kids at school but proud of his West Virginia roots. He has not yet admitted his passion for handsome guys–and his idea of what handsome is and what handsome does is not much different from him. Soon he’ll learn that he’s not unique; gay culture has a name for young men like him. Cubs.

REVIEW:

I’m not 100% sure why this book popped up on our “available to review” list almost two years after its release date, but I’m happy it did.  I had not read it previously and I thoroughly enjoyed it!  This review is publishing two years and one day from the date of its release, so it might be a flashback for some of you, for others it will be a new book!

Travis Ferrell is a chunky nerd.  A big chunky nerd, complete with a full beard and a hairy body at seventeen years old.  He is very smart, but has never been athletic, has always let the jocks push him around, etc.  He is also hiding a secret.  He is gay.  Not something that is easy to admit in public in rural West Virginia, even in the early 1990’s when the tale is set. On top of being gay, Travis also has some pretty kinky fantasies which he has never shared with anyone!

When Travis is pushed past his limit by bullies, he seeks out a gym to develop himself to handle a fight.  What he finds is Mike, the son of the owner of the gym.  Travis has had a secret crush on Mike for a couple years, ever since they had PE together and Travis caught sight of Mike’s furry body.  You see, Travis isn’t into slim little twinks.  He likes a little beef, and a lot of hair on his fantasy men.  And his fantasies are about to come true.

I loved this story.  It speaks to those of us who grew up in rural areas of the US.  I, like Travis, grew up in a rural area, and I’m from a farm family.  I, like Travis, never looked at a twink twice.  Give me a big beefy hairy man any day!  Thanks Mr. Mann for writing a tale about us.  I felt while reading the story that it could have been about me.  Well, except for the decade!  I could equate with the characters…probably more with Mike’s story in the end in my case than Travis’ but I loved both of these characters.

I flew through this book, staying up until 3:30 this morning reading it.  Then I got to the end.  No spoilers, but I was so hoping there would be a sequel at some point (which there will not be).  I wanted more.  What happened next?  The book has a real world ending.  Sometimes there isn’t a Happily Ever After, and that is OK.

Ending aside, this book is so darned good that I’m highly recommending it for anyone who likes a tale of the underdog, a tale of the boys who aren’t into fashion and pop culture. Those flannel shirt wearing boys we call cubs.

I’m personally off to find another book by this author…because I love his writing style and voice.  Take my advice, pick this one up today.

RATING: 

BUY LINKS: 

Amazon 

ARe