For fans of:
- Mafia vibes
- Escapist stories that take your mind off everything going on in the world
- Pop culture references
- Will-they-won’t-they romances
Review:
“Boys, man. They’ll be the death of me.”
What a difficult book to review! I feel like I read two different stories, to be honest – the first thirty percent of this was engaging, poking fun at some of the mafia stories out there and showed Matt, who isn’t out to his family or friends, trying to navigate his sexuality and fumbling all while keeping his friendship with Jason a secret. Then there was the other half of the book that was just out of character, the tension cranked up to one hundred percent and some things happening that made absolutely no sense, even in this nonsensical world.
There are quite a few plot holes concerning the world building and logic – so go into this with a heavy suspension of disbelief. I had a hard time believing that Matt, who has been groomed to eventually become the leader of the crime family, would just up and leave with someone he doesn’t know and follow them to a restaurant in the middle of nowhere.
There’s lots of back and forth between Matt and Jason and whereas I enjoyed that will-they-won’t they drama in the first half, in the second it was just redundant. Matt would wonder whether he could trust Jason, then describe him as friend, then as his first love, then back to acquaintance who he didn’t know how he felt about – that could have definitely been edited and made more cohesive to fit the inner journey Matt goes on.
Despite that, I enjoyed Matt’s character and the overall plot of him navigating this life that he doesn’t want to lead and how to live up to his father’s expectations while envisioning an entirely different future for himself. His struggles with understanding whether he wants to be like Jason or be with Jason also reminded me a lot of a few Netflix movies out there and gave me a good chuckle.
There’s also something to be desired when it comes to characterisation and some of the conversations just translated as stilted – I know that these guys are supposed to get to know each other but the way they were talking was as if they were reading from a script. I did like the popular culture references and the two geeking out over their shared love of books, video games and movies!
While I wasn’t too happy with the rushed ending and the characters doing a 180 just to give the protagonist a happily ever after, I still appreciate that Matt manages to make his own way in the world. I just wanted so much more from this book in the end – more world-building, more in-depth personalities, more finetuning of the romance. Nevertheless a quick and easy read, The Friend Scheme shows a lot of potential and will certainly keep your mind off the current news cycle!
The Friend Scheme is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of July 28th 2020.
Will you be picking up The Friend Scheme? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
Part thriller, part romance, The Friend Scheme is another twisty #ownvoices YA novel from Cale Dietrich, author of The Love Interest.
High schooler Matt’s father is rich, powerful, and seemingly untouchable—a criminal with high hopes that his son will follow in his footsteps. Matt’s older brother Luke seems poised to do just that, with a bevy of hot girls in tow. But Matt has other ambitions—and attractions.
And attraction sometimes doesn’t allow for good judgement. Matt wouldn’t have guessed that when he makes a new friend, one who is also carrying a secret. The boys’ connection turns romantic, a first for both. Now Matt must decide if he can ever do the impossible and come clean about who he really is, and who he is meant to love.
