LitPick Review
When Jacob Smithson starts class at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Boarding School for Boys, he is skeptical about the calming effect it's supposed to have on his temperament. Jacob already doesn't like his roommate, Mike; he doesn't intend to study; and he anticipates trouble right from the start. Jacob doesn't know just how much trouble he'll be in, however, until, during mass, his eyes meet those of Avery Dendritch. His attraction to the altar boy is almost instantaneous and the two are swept up in a romantic whirlwind. Rumors spread throughout the small school as the two boys try to keep their fledgling relationship under wraps. The pressure is grating on Jacob, though. How long can he hold it together when everything starts falling apart?
Opinion:
As a straight young woman, I was wondering how I would receive a novel centering on homosexual young men. My fears were soon quelled, however when I started reading Without Sin. It was terribly interesting and by the end I felt that I was really emotionally invested in the characters. It was also realistic; I felt I could relate to Jacob's plight though I myself have never been through something similar. My one complaint, however, would be the amount of blatant sexual content throughout the course of the story. I'm not sure I would have been comfortable had the novel been about a heterosexual couple either. It was too much at times. That said, reading this book was an adventure, one I recommend others take as well.
