It’s Spring Break, 1978, in a mid-sized Pennsylvania town. At the woods that divide an upper class neighborhood from a middle class one, Reid Conniff surprises Everett Forrester as he is masturbating. Reid joins in.
The 17-year-olds are opposites. Reid is a “townie,” shy, studious, reflective, and mediocre at long-distance running, a solitary sport. Everett is rich and privileged, outgoing, spontaneous, and good at lacrosse, a team sport. Everett calls Reid his long-legged “giraffe;” Reid sees Everett as his horny “monkey.”
Reid goes to the local public school; Everett goes to a distant private school. Thus, they are separated except for the occasional weekend. Overjoyed by the prospects of a long-term relationship, Reid dives headfirst into the desire, longing, and weight of first love. Reid and Everett keep their developing, but mostly long-distance, relationship alive by phoning, writing to each other, and sending packages.
Every Time I Think of You is told from Reid’s point of view. He is anxious about whether Everett returns his feelings. He worries about when they’ll see each other again, whether Everett is fooling around at his school, and when they’ll manage to have sex. Everett is more experienced with sex and loves having sex in unusual places where they might get caught. Sex scenes are infrequent; the sex is explicit but not lurid.
In a freak accident only minutes into a lacrosse match, an opponent deliberately collides with Everett, paralyzing him. Reid researches the injury and convinces Everett’s father to put Everett into a special rehab facility. After they spend the summer apart, Reid visits the self-pitying Everett, who tells Reid that they need time apart and that Reid should let him go.
Every Time I Think of You explores permanent injury from the perspective of someone who loved the injured person before the injury. The author examines the effect on and the obstacles to the relationship. The author also describes the sexuality of a paralyzed person in a realistic and sensual way.
Receiving the 2012 Lambda Literary Award for Best Gay Romance, Every Time I Think of You displays writing and plotting well above the typical or stereotypical gay romance. Each year there are thousands of new self-published books, but it’s difficult to identify the gems. Every Time I Think of You is one of those gems. I recommend Every Time I Think of You for all libraries that have significant LGBT collections.
Reviewed by: Larry Romans, Librarian
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN