Reviewed by Valerie
TITLE: Let’s Go Out
SERIES: Let’s Connect
AUTHOR: Kelly Jensen
PUBLISHER: Shaggy Dog Productions
LENGTH: 132 pages
RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2021
BLURB:
Being dumped is oddly freeing.
It wasn’t as though Robin could have met Dan in the real world, anyway. To do that, Robin would have to leave his house. But uploading his picture to the dating app Let’s Connect, only to have Dan let him down, is still disappointing. Now Robin has run out of excuses not to look outward, and for the first time in three years, he’s seeing many of the things he’s been hiding from—including his next-door neighbor, Sean.
The very same obstacle remains, however. Sean lives in the real world too. And if Robin wants to get to know him better, to move beyond friendship to something more, he’s going to have to step outside his front door.
Robin will have to go *out*.
REVIEW:
Let’s Go Out is a lovely, heartwarming novella about a man reconnecting with the world. Forty-nine-year-old Robin hasn’t left his house for three years following what he calls The End of All Things. He’s an inhibited and introverted guy who works as a video game designer and spends much of his life living in a virtual world. But he’s lonely. It’s not that he doesn’t want to leave his house, it’s that he can’t because of the extreme panic attacks caused by his fear. Although the author doesn’t identify Robin as agoraphobic, it bears a resemblance.
If you read Kelly Jensen’s Let’s Connect, you’ll remember Robin as the man Dan met on a dating app. Dan was looking for love but Robin, knowing he couldn’t leave home, was seeking an online companion to talk to, connect with, and help him feel less isolated. Ultimately, he and Dan weren’t compatible and Dan found love elsewhere. He and Robin have remained occasional text and email friends, and later in a pivotal scene, Dan proves to be a loyal and supportive friend. Robin also stays connected through his best friend and co-worker, Barrett. And then there’s single dad Sean – a mosaic artist (how cool is that?) – and his son, Kaleb, who live next door. Seventeen-year-old Kaleb spends a lot of time with Robin and has become a good friend. He runs errands for Robin and serves as his “window on the world.” Robin doesn’t see Sean much, for obvious reasons, but on occasion they talk through the tall privacy fence dividing their back yards. That’s about all the interaction Robin can handle. He likes Sean – wants Sean – but that won’t be possible unless he can leave his home and yard.
Robin’s journey is beautiful and exciting. Once he begins to break through his social anxiety, he opens up to Sean and is surprisingly candid. Their friendship develops slowly and gently. Eventually, Robin takes the monumental step of leaving the house through the front door. In his own way, Sean challenges Robin to make greater progress. Sean is eternally patient and his gentleness warmed my heart.
I melted when Robin and Sean finally came face to face. The intimacy of the moment was profound. It’s been a long time since a book made my heart skip a few beats, and just the simple act of them holding hands brought me to that point. I became a puddle of feels.
Jensen has a way with words I find endearing: “His balled up socks offered silent remonstration.” Her descriptive prose has a lyrical quality. Her dry humor is evident in Robin’s dating profile. He answers the question, “What is the most interesting thing about you…” with an eighty-one word commentary on his sock collection. Her world building allowed me to walk beside Robin as he ventured outside onto the streets of Philadelphia. For the first time in years, he enjoyed the aroma of food cooking in restaurants and was assaulted by the smell of car exhaust; he listened to traffic noises in awe; he felt grounded to the sidewalk beneath his feet.
Robin’s struggle with his panic, sadness, and loneliness seems insurmountable. He’s a sympathetic character whose desire to break free of his self-imprisonment and deal with the causes for it are heartbreaking. With the help of Kaleb and Sean, though, he’s able to become the man he wants to be and find the love of his life. I highly recommend Let’s Go Out.
RATING: 
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