This
Time Around,
by Mark A. Roeder, is the continuing saga of famous rock star, Jordan
Potter, lead singer of Phantom, and his boyfriend, Ralph Rogers, an
ordinary person and huge fan of Phantom. Jordan and Ralph met and fell
in love in the prequel, Do You Know That I Love You: Boyband, in Roeder’s, Gay
Youth Chronicles.
After
touring with the band, Jordan and Ralph take a much-needed vacation and
go to Verona, Indiana. They stay with Ethan and Nathan on the Selby
farm. Ethan and Nathan were friends of Jordan’s late father, Taylor
Potter, and are able to tell Jordan about the father he never knew.
Jordan visits Verona to reconnect with grandparents who aren’t even
aware he exists. Jordan’s estranged mother never told Taylor or his
parents that she was pregnant with Taylor’s baby. Taylor’s parents
turned him away at a time when he desperately needed their love,
acceptance, and support. It was a combination of hatred, fear, and
nowhere to turn for guidance that precipitated Taylor’s suicide,
leaving his parents with feelings of tremendous loss, regret, and
guilt. Their prejudice prevented them from knowing their son because he
was gay.
As
Jordan explores his father’s past, he comes across a homophobic
evangelist, Jerry Wellerson, who wants to abolish gay youth centers.
Jordan feels that his own father and his father’s boyfriend, Mark
Bailey, might still be alive if such centers existed when they were
young. Jordan uses his celebrity—he is the “prince of rock and roll”—to
strive for the continuation of gay youth services and preserve gay
rights.
Jordan,
Ralph, and their friends cannot understand why anyone would be against
an organization that helps kids. Teenagers, especially gay teens, are
at high risk for experimenting with drugs, alcohol, and other harmful
behaviors, some of which can lead to accidental death or suicide. Young
people need places to turn when they do not have the support of
parents, friends, teachers, or society.
Roeder
tells a great story in This Time
Around. We get to revisit Ethan, Nathan, Nick and Sean, as well
as other characters from previous books. All books in the Gay Youth
Chronicles tie in nicely with each other, but each book easily stands
on its own. This Time Around
is a heart-wrenching story about parents who are unable to forgive
themselves for bad decisions made in the past, a boy who wants to have
a relationship with his long lost grandparents, and a fight for gay
rights against an evil man who uses religion to discriminate against
gays. It is also a story about a community that comes together to fight
for what is right, what is best for the common good, and hopefully
stamp out prejudice.
I
highly recommend this book as it offers romance, action, suspense, and
hope that out of evil can come some good for the benefit of all
humanity. Roeder not only tells an interesting story and has loveable
main characters; he makes many valid observations about the world’s
view of homosexuality from a religious aspect. One hopes religious
fanatics will see the light and stop using misinterpretations of the
Bible to justify bigotry. The Bible says, “God does not create
abominations;” therefore, gays are not abominations…since God created
gays. I appreciate the message that Roeder strives to get across in all
of his novels. He makes many valid points. Don’t miss This Time Around.
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This Time Around
by Mark A. Roeder
Paperback: 228 pages Writers Club Press; (March 25, 2003)
ISBN: 0595273610
Editor's
Note: Cheri Rosenberg is one of our most prolific reviewers. Please let
her know what you thought of this and other of her reviews. She can be
reached at this email address.
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