As Far As You'll Take Me by Phil Stamper (ARC Review)

Title: As Far As You’ll Take Me
Author: Phil Stamper
Type: Fiction
Genre: YA, Contemporary, LGBTQ+
Publisher: Bloomsbury YA
Date published: February 9, 2021

A complimentary physical copy of this book was kindly provided by Raincoast Books in exchange for an honest review.

Marty arrives in London with nothing but his oboe and some savings from his summer job, but he’s excited to start his new life–where he’s no longer the closeted, shy kid who slips under the radar and is free to explore his sexuality without his parents’ disapproval.

From the outside, Marty’s life looks like a perfect fantasy: in the span of a few weeks, he’s made new friends, he’s getting closer with his first ever boyfriend, and he’s even traveling around Europe. But Marty knows he can’t keep up the facade. He hasn’t spoken to his parents since he arrived, he’s tearing through his meager savings, his homesickness and anxiety are getting worse and worse, and he hasn’t even come close to landing the job of his dreams. Will Marty be able to find a place that feels like home?

⤖ My Review ⬻

I have to say that I absolutely love the pastels as well as the general style of the cover for As Far as You’ll Take Me. It makes me so happy to look at it! I will say, though, that the colours might be a bit too light or bright for the vibe that I got from As Far as You’ll Take Me while reading it.

This book touches on mental health matters…and there are also a lot of emotions that come out of the writing and that the reader may feel (depending on the reader of course). Those of you who have been following this blog for some time and are more familiar with me will know that I felt all the feels…obviously. Haha.

Marty is so so brave for leaving home at such a young age, not just to get an apartment down the street somewhere, but crossing the Atlantic to start a new life! I for one was not brave enough to leave home at that age. I felt honoured to go on this adventure with Marty as well as being privy to his development as a character.

I won’t say more on that because, as always, I don’t want to accidentally give something away and take away from your own experiences when reading As Far As You’ll Take Me! What I can say is that this book is about family, friendship, travel, self-love.

And lastly, while I felt a lot of emotions during my reading of As Far As You’ll Take Me as well as feeling joy at being able to cross the Atlantic with Marty and experience England (in an almost vicarious way), I didn’t really click with Marty…but I think that in this case, it was okay, and the book still worked for me.

I don’t think that we have to always know exactly what a character is going through in order to appreciate them and their growth (and this obviously goes for our fellow humans too). And with that, I’ll let you choose whether you want to pick up this heartwarming and heartbreaking contemporary or not!

⤖ About the Author ⬻

Phil Stamper grew up in a rural village near Dayton, Ohio. He has a B.A. in Music and an M.A. in Publishing with Creative Writing. And, unsurprisingly, a lot of student debt. He works for a major book publisher in New York City and lives in Brooklyn with his husband and their dog. His debut novel THE GRAVITY OF US came out in 2020, but he’s no stranger to writing. His self-insert Legend of Zelda fanfiction came with a disclaimer from the 14-year old author: “Please if you write a review don’t criticize my work.” He has since become more open to critique… sort of.