Martin Wilson (2) (1973–)

Welcome to this book review !

This book was super profound, I loved the writing style ! I wanted to read a more psychological book for a while and I heard about this book. People told me it was good or seemed good, so I brought it and I am really happy I did buy it ! It was sad, but happy, I loved the self discovery in this book and the fact that you could see a brotherly bond being repared. I loved seeing Alex ( the younger brother who tried to commit suicide), discover more about himself, show more accepting himself and how much he hated the pity he could see in everyones eyes since the incident. When I fist started reading it, I thout that James(older brother) was such a douche, like really you don't tell someone, just after they tried to commit suicide, about how stupid they are and a "nutcase"... But as the story advanced you could see everything behind it, the blurry lines in the story became thicker and clearer, making you understand the action each character made. It was overall an amazing book, I loved it and plan on reading it a couple of times again, in the future !
I totally recommend this book !

-Bookarina :) show less

It's always a treat for me when I find a book like this one. What They Always Tell Us is a strong, moving story about growing up. James and Alex are brothers living in Alabama, James just wants to get out of the state, while Alex just wants his life to be normal again. The book begins in James' senior year and Alex's junior and we follow them throughout the school year. Martin Wilson splits his story between the two bothers by using alternating chapters with each brother's point of view. In show more many ways, Wilson's book reminded me of several other extremely well written and thought provoking gay YA books, especially Peter Cameron's Someday This Pain Will Be Useful To You. Wilson doesn't try to sugar coat his story, which follows James as he struggles with his high school friendships, girlfriends and fears about college; and Alex, who must come to terms with his own budding sexuality, a deep depression he tries to overcome and the fears that accompany him when he goes to school. Wilson draws his characters as vivid, real people and I found both James and Alex to be sympathetic people that I identified with. I think that all parents, and teenagers, should read books like Wilson’s because it’s easy to forget that everyone gets depressed, especially in high school. What They Always Tell Us embraces this fact in an uncompromising manner and is better for it. I look forward to reading more of Wilson’s works. show less

What They Always Tell Us is about two brothers stranded on the divide between being "They" - adults - and "Us" - kids. James is a senior and Alex is a junior and both are struggling to see what their lives will hold for them past high school in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Alex (and his entire family, really) is recovering from a sort-of suicide attempt which has disconnected him from his so-called friends and his brother. Two events help to ignite Alex's interest in life again - he accidentally show more befriends Henry, the strange 10-year-old who lives across the street, and James' friend Nathen strikes up a friendship through encouraging Alex to join the cross-country team at school. Narration alternates between Alex and James in long contemplative, chapters as they are slowly drawn together again by the mystery surrounding Henry's parentage.

Wilson depicts the feelings and excitment of first love that blossom between Alex and Nathen as well as any author I've read - in this case it just happens to be between two boys. I found the lack of overwhelming angst surrounding the relationship refreshing without being too terribly unrealistic thanks to the boys' realization that they cannot let anyone know about their relationship maybe ever, but certainly not until they leave Alabama. The limited knowledge of the characters was also well conveyed - we never really know the motivations of several secondary characters just as James and Alex wouldn't be able to know their motivations; this means that even though the ending is basically happy, the loose ends aren't all tied up. I did think the secret of Henry's parentage was pretty obvious, but found that a minor flaw. It takes a few chapters to get to know the brothers and to care what happens to them, in part because Wilson's writing keeps us slightly removed. The quiet plot is definitely not action-packed, but this would be perfect for introspective teens and young adults. Overall, I found this highly enjoyable although it's not for every reader - I'm actually surprised it doesn't appear to be on any of the mock award lists I've been looking through. show less

Sam Walsh went missing three years ago, presumed kidnapped and gone without a trace. His older sister, Beth, believed he was dead. His best friend, Josh, was wracked with guilt that maybe he could have done something to stop him from being taken. They both worried that they somehow contributed to Sam's disappearance. But when Sam is found alive, their worlds change all over again. While Sam is indeed Sam, his experience and his ordeal have changed him. As Beth and Josh deal with relating to show more the new Sam, Sam also needs to find a way to adapt to his own new reality. And then there's the age-old question: Do we talk about everything that happened as a means of processing it, or do we keep it all bottled up with the hope that we can just move past it? And the answer may be somewhere in between--a happy medium that is different for all three of them.

Told from the perspectives of Beth and Josh, this is a powerful and poignant story about love, regret, growing up, secrets, trauma, and simply dealing with the realities of life. This is likely to be a challenging read for some, especially considering the truth of what happened to Sam. But the author deals with the subject matter in a real and raw way, while demonstrating a sensitivity to Sam and to the others affected and impacted by the ordeal. There is no quick fix here for anyone. And sometimes we have to open doors when we know we won't like what's on the other side because if we leave the door closed, what's there will simply continue to haunt us. There's a lot for these teenagers to deal with in this story, but there's also a strength that each one of them demonstrates that I can only say is inspiring and instructional. show less