My Review of Skyler Phoenix by Damien Benoit-Ledoux

My Review:

★★★

I’m giving this book a solid 3 stars. I absolutely loved the book’s first half when Sklyer is dealing with the situation with the Tisdales and Cam. There were solid emotional beats, and the story felt realistic. I am from the South, and this is precisely how anyone in the LGBTQIA+ community would be treated. I was a snotty mess when he watched Prayers for Bobby with his foster dad, Stephen, and siblings. It adds some nuance to the story. Not everyone who is a Christian is completely irredeemable, and the best way to help them is to educate them. I definitely feel like Stephen could change and did change. Whether he will stay that way once his wife regains control of him remains to be seen. It also broke my heart when Skyler had to say goodbye to his siblings.

Then we get to the middle of the book when Sklyar meets his third foster family, the Kelleys. This was okay, if not a little too good to be true. I did immensely enjoy Dale and Liara. I love that their relationship is so open and the way they talk to CK and Skyler, and how supportive they are. It’s from about the point in the story when Skylar starts going out with Kalin that things begin to fall apart for me. I do like Kalin, and they make a cute couple, but the story seemed to stumble here and made the last bit of the book feel like it lasted forever, and I ended up losing some interest in the characters. Some of the dialogue, especially once Skylar makes it to the Kelley household, is a bit much. Teenagers do not talk or even act in some of the ways described.

I did listen to this as an audiobook, and the narration was a bit much at times. It was hard to decipher between many of the male voices, which seemed very stereotypical surfer dudes. The female voices came out as overly Valley Girl in most cases. Giggles were also a little weird.

Overall, I did enjoy this book and took many great moments from it.

Please don’t just take my word for it. We all have different likes, interests, and opinions. Check out the book at the link below and read the blurb to form your own opinions. 

Buy the book: https://books2read.com/skylerphoenix

Blurb:

Skyler finally had it all, but for the third time, the state had taken everything away from him.
It wasn’t his fault, though, or was it?

If only he hadn’t been so stupid…
If only he hadn’t been so careless…
If only he hadn’t fallen in love with his best friend, Cameron.

Now, sitting in the social worker’s SUV, he stared at his new house and the strangers standing on the front steps. His life had been an uphill climb, and now he had to start over.

Again.

One day, he might call them family, but he had finally learned his lesson.
This time, Skyler wouldn’t be stupid.
This time, Skyler wouldn’t be careless.
And no matter what, he definitely, absolutely, wouldn’t fall in love with another cute boy.