Review: The Bravest Thing by Laura Lascarso

Title: The Bravest Thing

Author: Laura Lascarso

Length: 226 Pages

Category: New Adult, Contemporary

At a Glance: I loved this novel. It was not an easy read, but it was so incredibly well done and just an amazing story from start to finish.

Reviewed By: Sammy

Blurb: High school junior Berlin Webber is about to reap the fruits of his hard work and land a football scholarship—if he can keep his sexuality a secret from his best friend, Trent, and their homophobic coach. Then Hiroku Hayashi swerves into the high school parking lot on his tricked-out motorcycle like some sexy comic book villain, and Berlin knows he doesn’t stand a chance.

Hiroku is fleeing his sophisticated urban scene to recover from drug addiction and an abusive relationship when he arrives in Berlin’s small Texas ranch town. Initially sarcastic and aloof, Hiroku finds in Berlin a steady, supportive friend who soon becomes more. As Hiroku and Berlin’s romance blossoms, they take greater risks to be together. But when a horrific act of violence tears them apart, they both must look bigotry in the face. While Berlin has always turned to his faith for strength, Hiroku dives into increasingly dangerous ways of coping, pushing them in opposite directions just when they need each other most.

Two very different young men search for the bravery to be true to themselves, the courage to heal, and the strength to go on when things seem darkest. But is it enough to bring them back together?

Review: Hiroku has come back from the edge of an addiction that was both dangerous and all consuming, not only to drugs but also to a man who doled out pain that Hiro felt certain he deserved, and often craved. Now he’s starting over in a small Texas town where homophobia is a driving force that is not only unhidden but almost gloried over. The high school he attends is a little bit of hell on earth, and there is only one thing redeemable about it, and that’s the star of the football team, Berlin Webber.

Berlin has been fighting the fact that he is gay for a long time, but when he spots the new guy dismounting his motorcycle in the school parking lot, he knows he is in big trouble. He is drawn to Hiro like a magnet to iron, and hiding his sexuality from his violently homophobic best friend, Trent, is going to be nearly impossible. But he must, or he will lose his chance at a football scholarship, and his best friend to boot. If only life were not so difficult. If only Trent was not hell-bent on making life a misery for Hiro. If only Berlin were strong enough to stand up against the bullying and violence his friends have perpetuated over the years. If only Hiro could trust that he was worth Berlin’s attention and affection. Unfortunately, the world is not built on “if onlies”, and things are about to come to a head in this small Texas town. When they do, both Berlin and Hiro will not walk away unscathed.

Every once in a while a novel comes along that is so very important, so visceral and real that it almost hurts to read it. Make no mistake, author Laura Lascarso does not pull her punches in her novel The Bravest Thing. She presents a story that is both heartbreaking and violent, but oh so very, very important. Before I enumerate the riches to be found in this novel, and convince you as to why you should make it one of your top reads for 2017, let me tell you that this is a hard fought happy-ever-after. It is bloody, angry, violent and far too real to be a comfortable read, but it is also that veracity which makes this novel so outstanding and essential to read. There will be things in this novel that may be triggers for some, but I cannot state more emphatically how essential it is that we not shy away from the subject matter this author bases her novel on, and how critical it is for us to remember that the events in this novel happen every day around us. Okay, let me step down off my soapbox and tell you what makes this book so incredible.

First, the main characters, Hiro and Berlin, are just amazing together. The wariness of the wounded and hurting Hiro coupled with the sweet and solicitous tenderness of Berlin is a match made in heaven. Their story is one of resilience and triumph. The struggle is real for both these young men, and the things they must endure to remain in each other’s lives is often heartbreaking, but they make it, they do, and that moment when they can stand tall and independent yet so in love is just incredible. Admittedly, you are emotionally wrung out by the time we get there, but trust me when I tell you that the journey is so worth it.

This author creates such realistic characters. She allows for there to be others who will help Hiro and Berlin along the way. She creates a loving father for Berlin, and parents who are forgiving and caring for Hiro. But she also makes the school environment, the small town horror show and homophobia, front and center in this novel, and it never ever relents. Hiro and Berlin must go through hell in order to find their piece of happiness, and know that your heart will be lodged firmly in your throat throughout most of this novel. I found myself hoping that somehow they would remain unscathed by the hate and violence that surrounded them, but if that had happened, I am afraid this author would not have been true to her vision or to her characters. Instead, she builds into each boy a core of iron, an indomitable strength that might waver but never fails. She gives hope in its purest form, and allows that to undergird the pain Berlin and Hiro experience.

I loved this novel. It was not an easy read, but it was so incredibly well done and just an amazing story from start to finish, and I highly recommend it to you. The Bravest Thing is one of the outstanding novels of the year.

You can buy The Bravest Thing here:
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