Reviewed by Dee
TITLE: Trailer Trash
AUTHOR: Marie Sexton
PUBLISHER: Riptide Publishing
LENGTH: 340 Pages
RELEASE DATE: March 21, 2016
BLURB:
It’s 1986, and what should have been the greatest summer of Nate Bradford’s life goes sour when his parents suddenly divorce. Now, instead of spending his senior year in his hometown of Austin, Texas, he’s living with his father in Warren, Wyoming, population 2,833 (and Nate thinks that might be a generous estimate). There’s no swimming pool, no tennis team, no mall—not even any MTV. The entire school’s smaller than his graduating class back home, and in a town where the top teen pastimes are sex and drugs, Nate just doesn’t fit in.
Then Nate meets Cody Lawrence. Cody’s dirt-poor, from a broken family, and definitely lives on the wrong side of the tracks. Nate’s dad says Cody’s bad news. The other kids say he’s trash. But Nate knows Cody’s a good kid who’s been dealt a lousy hand. In fact, he’s beginning to think his feelings for Cody go beyond friendship.
Admitting he might be gay is hard enough, but between small-town prejudices and the growing AIDS epidemic dominating the headlines, a town like Warren, Wyoming, is no place for two young men to fall in love.
REVIEW:
Anyone who grew up in the ‘80s will find this story a huge trip down memory lane. Anyone who didn’t will find themselves either enthralled or confused by many of the references. While I appreciate the author must have gone to pains to get the era spot-on at times I found the details a little much. One example that comes to mind is the reference to Simon & Simon on the television (with rabbit ears and bad reception) and then a little further on the reference to Rick and AJ arguing. Anyone not familiar with the show might find themselves wondering if they’ve skipped over two characters.
The reference to AIDS, and the misguided belief born out of fear and ignorance, portrayed how truly difficult it was for a gay man to come out in the 80s. Not that I’m saying it’s ever an easy thing to do. Heap on top of that two teenagers from vastly different background and these two boys had the odds of a HEA stacked against them. Due to that fact the story and any hope of a relationship was a long slow burn. It’s not until around the 95% the outcome seemed more set in stone.
This story reminded me of how much, and why, I hated high school. The small town school is rife with bullying, clique groups, drugs, smoking, homophobes. Not to mention someone coming from a single parent family trying to fit in fashion wise.
Lovers of young adult stories, heavy on angst, and wanting an insight to life in the 1980s will love this story.
RATING: 
BUY LINKS: