Yzabel / July 25, 2012

The Christmas Throwaway by R.J. Scott

My rating: [rating=3]

Count on me to read season-themed stories at the exact opposite time of the year. I’m just like that. On the other hand, past midnight was still a good moment to give in to the sudden urge.

Short of his 18th birthday, Zach is thrown out of his home by his father after years of abuse, for the ‘crimes’ of being gay and not wanting to follow the career path said father has always laid out for him. As he finds shelter on a bench in a churchyard, dreaming of the perfect Christmas he never had, he is woken up by police officer Ben Hamilton, who decides to bring him home and shelter him, at least until he’s an adult in the eyes of the law. Zach is welcomed by Ben’s family, particularly his caring mother and spunky little sister, and slowly comes to realize that there may still be something ahead for him—that the dreams he had discarded could still come true someday. Far from the dire straits of his life on the streets, he can now face his fears, heal from his wounds, psychological and physical, and think about how to help his own little sister, who still lives his abusive father. All the while, Ben and his family and friends are here to help him and provide him with support, until the feelings between both men finally blossom for good.

I found “The Christmas Throwaway” to be a lovely story. Probably not too close to reality (unfortunately: there are such young people thrown in the streets in such circumstances, and our world could sure do with more gentle people like Ben and his family), and a little too sweet to my usual taste, but I didn’t really care about that in the end, which means suspension of disbelief worked well enough nonetheless. Anyway, what I wanted when I picked this ebook was a Christmas story (the whole ‘Christmas spirit’ and ‘Christmas miracle’), and it was exactly that. Zach was an adorable young man, nice and polite, who had been kicked so much that he was left with little to no self-confidence, and seeing him rebuild that little by little, thanks to the presence of friendly fellow human beings, was a very positive sight; I couldn’t help but root for this character no matter what. Ben did what so few people would (as evidenced by his brother’s initial reaction of instant wariness), and remained throughout the story a strong shoulder on which Zach could lean; at the same time, he also behaved very responsibly, refusing to take advantage on Zach’s frailty to get into his pants.

The one thing I really regret about this novel was its second part, which felt rushed and too short. The first part deals with the Christmas days themselves, and shows us how Zach gradually manages to open up and feel at ease with this nexw ‘family’ of his. But the rest of the book dealt with what happens over the span of the next two years—Ben clearly waiting for Zach to sort his problems before making a definite move—until finally getting to the part where both men can be fully together, physically as well. To be honest, by this point, I had mostly forgotten about any potential sex scene, because the emotional side was so cute and enjoyable that I wanted to see more of it. I think this story would have benefitted from more development here, giving the reader more time to see Ben and Zach’s relationship evolve once Zach had started not only rebuilding himself, but also making progress in his new life.