Siblings Robin and Ruby first appeared in Karl Soehnlein‘s 2000 Lambda Literary Awardwinning novel, The World of Normal Boys. This sequel is set about seven years later, in 1985. Robin is spending the summer in Philadelphia, living with his friend George and trying to maintain a long-distance relationship
with Peter, his graduate student lover back in Pittsburgh.
George has gotten Robin a job waiting tables at a “New U.S.” (Upscale Southern) restaurant, where Robin—the only white-skinned employee—is working to save money for school, although his barely competent performance keeps his employment in jeopardy. Robin has just learned he‘s been bumped up from the waiting list to acceptance into a senior-year semester studying acting in London.
Then—under Peter‘s accusation that Robin‘s behavior is “too unexamined”—the relationship falls apart. Ruby heads to the Jersey shore for a weekend with her nerdy boyfriend Calvin, leaving a cryptic message about running into an old friend from her troubled past. Her subsequent disappearance on the eve of the anniversary of a family tragedy leads to a search reverberating with memories and past emotions, as Robin and George find a possibly long-unacknowledged attraction stirring.
Soehnlein has created very believable characters in Robin and Ruby and it‘s a pleasure to encounter them again. As in his previous novels, including You Can Say You Knew Me When (2005), the author is adept at capturing the feeling of the time period. Although the main characters are in their late teens, the novel contains material that might be inappropriate for some young adult readers. This enjoyable novel is recommended for most fiction collections.
Reviewer: Michael Colby
Librarian, Shields Library