Reviewed by Valerie

TITLE: Almost Like Being in Love

AUTHOR:  Steve Kluger

PUBLISHER:  William Morrow Paperbacks

LENGTH:  370 pages

RELEASE DATE:  October 6, 2009

BLURB:

A high school jock and nerd fall in love senior year, only to part after an amazing summer of discovery to attend their respective colleges. They keep in touch at first, but then slowly drift apart.

Flash forward twenty years.

Travis and Craig both have great lives, careers, and loves. But something is missing …. Travis is the first to figure it out. He’s still in love with Craig, and come what may, he’s going after the boy who captured his heart, even if it means forsaking his job, making a fool of himself, and entering the great unknown. Told in narrative, letters, checklists, and more, this is the must-read novel for anyone who’s wondered what ever happened to that first great love.

REVIEW:

Can you ever go back and recapture the first love of your life? Travis is sure going to find out because he’s never fallen out of love with his high school sweetheart, Craig. Almost Like Being in Love chronicles their early love then follows Travis on his cross-country road trip twenty years later to find Craig and discover if they have a shot at a second chance. This darling rom-com is perhaps best described as quirky, as it’s told in part through journal entries, letters, emails, and even court documents. It’s a laugh-out-loud story that could easily have been titled A Crazy Little Thing Called Love instead. 

Travis and Craig meet at boarding school in Tarrytown, NY, but only know each other peripherally until their senior year when Travis falls off a ladder into Craig’s arms. A meet-cute for sure. Then, after Travis helps Craig with an English essay they become fast friends, although they’re both crushing on the other. By graduation, they’re deeply in love, enjoying baseball, Brigadoon, and kisses in the rain. But it’s too late to alter their college plans and Craig is off to Harvard while Travis is headed to USC almost 3,000 miles away. Promises to stay close fall apart – long distance relationships can be difficult and painful.  

The narrative jumps twenty years to 1998 where Travis has fulfilling work as a history professor at USC but a frustrating love life, unable to forget Craig. He decides to hunt down his former love and see if there’s still a spark. His road trip across the country goes awry when his car breaks down close to home, so he ends up hitchhiking from Los Angeles to New York with the help of memorable characters along the way, including A.J., a woman Travis’ best friend, Gordo, falls in love with over the phone when they work together to bail Travis out of jail. Meanwhile, Craig has settled into a comfortable life in Saratoga Springs, NY, practicing law with his best friend/law partner, Charleen, and playing house with Clayton, his live-in boyfriend of twelve years. When Travis finally arrives, his life is turned upside down.  

The book is filled with a standout cast of well-developed characters who figure into numerous side plots that add to the book’s interest. Gordo, A.J., Charleen, and Clayton are all prominent, as are Craig’s precocious eleven-year-old client, Nick, and his father, Jody, who become like family. The Broadway references and baseball trivia are prolific, so if you’re a fan you’ll find the book extra special. Don’t worry if these aren’t your interests, though, as you won’t feel alienated. 

If you’re in the mood for something a little different and completely entertaining, I encourage you to give this gem a try. I’ve read this book three times now and it’s been equally humorous and enjoyable each time. The epilogue six years in the future provides a satisfying HEA.

RATING:   

BUY LINK: 

Amazon