Like a Love Story (Review)

Like a love letter to 1989, Madonna, activism, and the queer community of New York City, Like a Love Story is both a story of hope and advocacy, and a story of sorrow and sickness. 

Like a Love Story follows Judy, whose uncle is dying of AIDs; Art, the only out gay teenager at their school; and Reza, whose life is fraught with fear of what his sexuality means for his life and his future.

“The most important four-letter word in our history will always be LOVE…Love is our legacy.”

This story is anything but sugar-coated and is an emotional ride from beginning to end that succeeded in making my eyes misty, a difficult feat after reading so so many hard-hitting books. Discussions of what it’s like to be HIV positive, to live as a gay man during the AIDS epidemic, and the difficulties of coming out in a world that is almost completely against you may be overwhelming at times, but are brightened by heartwarming moments that explore what different kinds of love (friendship, family, romantic) can mean and look like. This book has a lot to say, both expressly and implicitly, about a number of identities and acceptance, but also about how the world these three teenagers live in is harder, and yet, not so different than our modern world. Sure, things are better, now…but they could be more so. 

Like a Love Story shines a light on, not only a time period which is not often written about (especially today and certainly not for younger audiences), but also gives an in-depth perspective that may have never been explored before. Unfortunately, the perspective of a gay Iranian boy represented by an own voices author is difficult to find. 

“Hate is just fear in drag”

The investment you feel in these three characters’ lives carries the story through some of its weaker moments. This is a long book for its genre, but it uses every page and sentence for a purpose, despite it taking some time to get past everything that is somewhat spoiled in the inside flap (synopsis skimmers beware). Honestly, the writing style paled in comparison with the thematic impacts of this book, sometimes becoming a bit too repetitive, other moments thick with inner monologue, and lacking descriptions during high-intensity action (like protests) or when more clarity was needed to distinguish the passage of time (which becomes slightly confusing at times). Nevertheless, these are only minor flaws in an overall extremely powerful and well-crafted novel.

I rated Like a Love Story 4.5 out of 5 stars.