Reviewed by Becca
SERIES: With Me #6
AUTHOR: Kris Jacen
PUBLISHER: MLR Press
LENGTH: 114 pages
RELEASE DATE: May 24, 2019
BLURB:
Calvin and Camden Luna — why yes, their dad is a big baseball fan— have moved around the world with their parents. Their father has been in the military since before they were born. Proud of their father and uncles and all they’ve done, neither of them is sure the military is for them. Cam is a fantastic baseball player and Cal loves the science of everything. Haven’t they given enough?
Tristan Nolan and Maddy Holt both grew up as military kids too, but neither of their fathers moved them around as much as the twins. Maddy wants to save the planet and capture the heart of Calvin Luna… if he’d only open his eyes. Tris has grown up wanting to follow in the footsteps of those before him. But can he be himself — out and proud —serve and protect his country and end up with the one he’s loved for as long as he can remember?
What can happen when you grow up a military brat with the ties that they have with their fathers’ close friends and their families? Find the love of your life almost from the start? Or find out that maybe you’re all too close for anything else?
REVIEW:
Oh Mooney was so right. These kids are going to kill us. This book was so hard to read. I’ve ‘watched’ these boys grow up into amazing men, but still remember them being just little boys. Makes me sentimental even more now that my own kid is a senior this year. They grow up so fast.
This story starts with some highlights of the twins growing up. And when they meet little Tristan and Maddie as newborns, promising to take care of them and teach them always. But the older they get, the more they are starting to realize, they are so different and going in different directions. For twins as close as they are, being separated is torture. But they stick together always. As they move on in their lives, they also realize something is missing and they can’t find it in other ‘dates’. It isn’t until they realize who they want in their lives that things start to fall into place. But with growing up together like they have, will Cam and Tris and Cal and Maddie work? Or will they remain friends forever?
Watching my own kid grow up has been bittersweet. Has had me in kind of a crisis mode. I’m not sure that’s the right words, but it made me think of the same thing with this book. Watching these boys grow into men. Following their desires and hearts and being men to be proud of. From seeing them as mischievous little boys, to young boys who knew how to support, to young men learning their way into adulthood. It’s been like full circle. It’s bittersweet. I want them all to stay little forever.
But I have to say, as sad as I am their all grown up, I love this series. This book, whether it be a last one or not, has just shown how special it is. And it has truly come full circle. From the heptad being young in the military, to having grandbabies of their own, it’s been a tough but wonderful journey to watch.
I don’t even know how I can close or comment further. Except to say, all these guys have a special place in my heart, but none so much as the squeakers Cam and Cal. If you guys haven’t read this series, you need to.
RATING:
BUY LINKS: