Brief Encounters

Title: A Picture Perfect Holiday
Author: Z.A. Maxfield
Length: 51 pages
Publisher: MLR Press
Genre: m/m YA contemporary
Rating: A

Blurb:
Photography club president Caleb loves football standout Christian Munez. He knows it’s an old high school chestnut, but if being a cliche is wrong, he doesn’t want to be right. They’ve been in school together since the fifth grade but having brothers on the same soccer team provides Caleb with a great opportunity to get to know Christian better. What he finds out – about Christian’s home life and his future plans – could end his hopes forever. Or they might be the beginning of something wonderful.

Review:
This delightful YA story begins with our hero, Caleb, watching his high school crush from afar. Christian is the Quarterback in the football team and Caleb has worshiped him ever since he rescued Caleb from bullies in the 5th grade. Caleb knows that Christian is probably straight but finds a way of getting to know him a little better and in the process hopes that they may become at least friends.

There was much to like about this short story which has a thoroughly likeable character in Caleb who shows some character growth whilst still retaining his optimism. Caleb is the epitome of ‘out and proud’ and has never hidden his sexuality. He has a supportive and somewhat rowdy large family (we don’t see much of Caleb’s family on page, but I was still able to get the idea of what his family life must be like through the occasional remark from Caleb – another plus point in favour of the story), and a great friend in Erin whose snarky comments and occasional advice showed how she cared for Caleb without ever being interfering (another plus point). He knows his crush on Christian is hopeless, but still tries to get to know him a little better. Christian’s life is very different to Caleb’s and it’s here that we see some growth in Caleb’s character as he realises that although being gay is difficult, so are some of the pressures and problems that Christian is experiencing. This was done with a light, deft touch which never demeaned Caleb’s experience as a gay teen, but still gave him lots of food for thought, especially when he considered how things must look from another’s point of view.

Another part I liked a great deal was that the characters spoke and acted like the teenagers they are. Caleb is an intelligent guy but he still makes mistakes as does Christian. My favourite parts of the story were where Caleb and Christian were trying to talk to each other. The conversations were a little stilted, almost painful to read, and exactly how I would imagine two teenage boys would speak when they are both rather embarrassed and unsure what to say.

Finally, I loved the way the story ended and it filled me with a huge warm glow. The end is a rather large HFN – or even an ‘there’s going to be a whole heap of trouble ahead but in this moment everything is perfect’ ending, but that was OK by me. YA books are never wholly convincing when everything is wrapped up tight because the age of the characters, so I was happy to leave Christian and Caleb on their first tentative steps together.

Overall, I would highly recommend this story to those readers who are looking for an intelligently written YA story with a great character in Caleb.