Reviewed by Tammy
TITLE: Only the Lonely
SERIES: A Twin Ties Prequel
AUTHOR: Lynn Kelling
PUBLISHER: Fantastic Fiction Publishing
LENGTH: 55 Pages
RELEASE DATE: May 17, 2016
BLURB:
Evan Savage is a young teen desperately searching for something to hold on to and a way to be noticed. Living in rural Whippoorwill, Pennsylvania, his only family is an absentee father who leaves Evan alone for days at a time while away for work. Friendless and bullied at school, with only a nearby preacher named Jimmy to look out for him; Evan gratefully accepts attention wherever and however he gets it. Sometimes it feels like part of him is missing, and every day the void consumes more of Evan’s ability to fight back against his circumstances. While looking at himself in the mirror within a recurring dream, his reflection keeps reaching out to him with happiness he doesn’t feel, from a world different than his own, though much less tangible. Anonymous sexual encounters with strange men satisfy Evan’s need for company and reassurance that he’s someone worth wanting, as well as test his boundaries. But, faced with the growing temptation to slip away for good, it’s up to Jimmy, and Evan’s dream-world counterpart, to try to keep him there.
REVIEW:
Evan Savage is fourteen years old but feels so much older than that. His mother is dead; his father is a truck driver who is rarely ever home to know what Evan is doing. Evan’s neighbour Jimmy, a preacher has taken it upon himself to look in on Evan when he can. Basically Evan is bringing himself up alone and not doing a very good job of it. Evan has taken to drinking beer as well as taking whatever drugs he can get his hands on to make himself feel better about being left alone so much, so young.
To stop himself from falling into the void that seems to be constantly waiting for him Evan has taken to advertising on the internet for anonymous sexual encounters. One such encounter leads to several dates because the man feeds him his favourite food, talks to him like he’s not a kid which makes him feel so good but after they have sex for the first time Evan goes through the man’s wallet and recognises the man as the father of one the boys he goes to school with!
There goes another person who could have been something more than a hook-up but he wasn’t!
Basically, Only The Lonely is about one incredibly lonely teenage boy who does anything, with anyone just so he doesn’t have to feel the abandonment and complete lack of human contact in his life. It really is an incredibly sad look into what is unfortunately an occurrence that happens all too often today. I myself have 2 teenage boys so this book really hits home for me. Please take the time to read this short-story so that, should you need to you can hopefully recognise the signs.
RATING: 
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