If The Decisions We Make has done anything, it’s proven to me that RJ Scott has definitely found her place in the YA LGBT genre. All the angst, agony, and emotion that make their way into her adult M/M romances translate beautifully with her teenage characters as they struggle to find a place to belong and build a path to happiness on the often turbulent journey to adulthood.
When the Walker family opens its heart and home to a lonely and hurting young boy, it also opens the door to a new life for Daniel Keyes. Being an only child and an orphan who is suddenly thrust into a boisterous but unconditionally loving and accepting family, Daniel has a difficult time adjusting to, let alone finding, his place within the fold. His new foster-brother, Jamie, becomes Daniel’s best friend and protector and, as the boys grow into young men, the object of Daniel’s love and desire.
As Daniel and Jamie work to discover who they are, accept who they are and what they mean to each other, and suffer the consequences of the decision they make to reshape their already close bond into something beyond friendship and family, the pain and sacrifices they’ve made could tear them apart even before they’ve had the chance to discover where they might go. It soon becomes clear to the boys that you can’t decided who you fall in love with, but you can decide whether that love is worth the cost.
This is a story that challenges perceptions in the reader and encourages some introspection into the definition of family and what is or isn’t taboo, when two young men who are brothers in every way but biologically toe the line between loving each other and falling in love with each other. RJ Scott handles the subject skillfully and is sensitive to the emotions and issues and ultimate support of a loving family whose concern is the welfare and happiness of its two youngest sons.
This is a story that challenges labels—whether it’s jock or piano prodigy or being physically branded with a single word that hatred uses to discriminate—and encourages overcoming those barriers to be true to oneself.