Very short and frustrating in its writing style ( )

This second story picks up right where the first one left off. Luke can still hardly believe that he has a boyfriend and is head over heals for Cameron. They are really sweet together, and if that was all there is to it, they'd be fine.

There is only one problem: Cameron wants to come right out and confront 'the world'. He is proud to be Luke's boyfriend and is not willing to hide. He believes facing any adversaries together is the right thing to do, and lets his idealism take over.

Luke knows only too well how this will end. He has been living it for years, and knows the bullies have ways of getting back at them that Cameron has no idea about. Luke wants to err on the side of caution, and almost lets his fears stop him from being who he is. After all, it is not just him any longer, Cameron is in danger as well.

This story shows the basic conflict in a teenager's world: be honest and stand up for who you are or be practical and survive. It is not just like that in a teenager's world, of course, but for most of us that stage of our lives is when we fight the first major battle about who we are and what we believe in, and how we come to define ourselves. Luke and Cameron, with two opposing points of view, have the chance to learn from each other, then go on together. It was a joy to watch them learn and grow, even if it was a very emotional read.

If you enjoy coming of age stories, if you want to find out want it might be like to be a gay teenager trying to make his way in the world, and if you want to know what if next for Luke and Cameron, you will probably like this book as much as I did. I cannot wait for the next one!



NOTE: This book was provided by the author for the purpose of a review.
( )

Bring it on. 'Cause like it or
not, I'm bringing love into
these hallways"

Love is overflowing in here.
Coming out has never been
easy thing to do. With those
disgust and humiliation. But
seeing your favorite couple
conquering those shits.
Walking with no trace of fear
or shame but with pride
instead. That character's
development was so
empowering. Just ignore those
narrow-minded bastards and
be yourself. And also the full
support of their friends Dan
and Mitchell and Luke's
family was very
heartwarming. And of course
I haven't forgotten those hot
kisses and they were like:
"We did that" "We did" and I
was like: Yeah you did that
(and fainted again). ( )

Considering I liked a lot the previous one, Love Is in the Title, there is no wonder I liked also this one; again, despite this being a short story, the feeling was of something bigger, of a whole novel concentrated in little more than 40 pages.

On the contrary of many coming of age stories, Love is in the Hallways is not a pink glasses/fairy tale perspective, there isn’t roses falling down around Luke and Cameron, and fellow students cheering at them like the next homecoming couple, there is instead ostracism from the usual suspects, and friendship from who was already best friend. Luke and Cameron don’t have an easy path in front of them, but high school is only a stage, college could be better and most important, they have the support of good friends and above all family. Happiness is possible and it’s just around the corner.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005JK6K4Q/?tag=elimyrevandra-20

Love Is in the Hallways is the second novelette in RJ Scott's Love Is in the... young adult series which follows brand new teen sweethearts, Cameron, the captain of the football team, and Luke, a math geek. This is basically the next chapter in their relationship. In my opinion, there was less romance in this one than the first one. Cam and Luke only have a couple of scenes alone together, and only one in which they really talk and get close. Instead, the story mainly tackles the issue of bullying at the high school level, particularly of gay students. The kids at school have known for a long time that Luke is gay, but Cam just recently came out and most of his fellow teammates aren't taking it very well. Cam wants to walk down the hallways holding hands and letting it be known that he and Luke are boyfriends, but past experiences with bullying make Luke reluctant. He'd rather keep their relationship on the low-down until they graduate, but he can't quite bring himself to explain his reasoning and feelings on the subject to Cam which leads to some mild friction between them. It didn't quite feel like there was as much of a wrap-up to this story either. As with real life, there are no hard and fast answers for Cam and Luke. It ends on more of a tacit agreement that they will be there for each other no matter what and that their respective best friends, Dan and Mitchell, will back them up and help protect them from the bullies. I really liked how supportive Dan and Mitchell were even though both of them appear to be straight, and that Luke's mom is there for him too. It looks like the bullying storyline will continue with the next novelette in the series, Love Is in the Message, so maybe there will be more of a resolution there.

Overall, Love Is in the Hallways was a pretty enjoyable read even though I would have liked a little more romance. This is probably one of the more sensual young adult stories I've read. Cam and Luke graduate from the sweet, tentative kisses of the first story to a passionate make-out session, including high sexual tension and sexual contact, though fully clothed. There is also some fairly strong language. I was slightly disappointed that the technical aspects of the writing didn't appear to be as strong as in the first two RJ Scott books I read. Some of the narration didn't seem to flow as nicely as it could have, and I detected a number of typos such as missing words. Both could be a little distracting, because I was putting effort into figuring out what was meant rather than immersing myself in the story. I didn't feel it was bad enough to warrant taking off more than the one star, and like I said before, it was a pretty good story anyway. I'll be looking forward to seeing what happens for these two young men next. ( )