24th out of 54 books
—
56 voters
Strings Attached (Strings Attached #1)
by
Nick Nolan
Closeted teenager Jeremy is sent to live with wealthy relatives after his mother enters rehab. Struggling to fit into the posh world of Ballena Beach, Jeremy joins the high school swim team, dates a popular girl, and begins to think he may have landed in paradise ? until his great aunt Katharine starts to dictate his every move?and a late-night phone call insinuates that h...more
Paperback, 320 pages
Published
March 9th 2010
by AmazonEncore
(first published April 19th 2006)
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Jun 21, 2012
Rosei Constance Rothee
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
favorites
I fell in love with this book! Wow! What a ride!
Plenty of mystery, gay youth angst, opulent atmosphere and what I require
in my reading...love. The love has got to be there or I hang it up.
Writer Nick Nolan weaves a terrific story which is as fun as it is smexy!
(That's smart and sexy! {:^D) The characters feel real and I fell in love with them myself!
Thank you author Nick Nolan!
This was a splendid read!
(I feel GREAT!)
Plenty of mystery, gay youth angst, opulent atmosphere and what I require
in my reading...love. The love has got to be there or I hang it up.
Writer Nick Nolan weaves a terrific story which is as fun as it is smexy!
(That's smart and sexy! {:^D) The characters feel real and I fell in love with them myself!
Thank you author Nick Nolan!
This was a splendid read!
(I feel GREAT!)
This is one of the best books I have ever read! I was quickly drawn into reading about Jeremy Tyler and completely sucked into the storyline, reading the entire book over the next couple of days. There is so much I loved about "Strings Attached", from the characters to the setting. I am glad that I was drawn t read this book after the beautiful cartoon artwork on the cover caught my eye.
When his mother is sent to rehab for alcohol addiction, closeted teenager Jeremy Tyler is sent to live with his dead father’s relatives. In a matter of a few days, he goes from poverty in Bakersfield to the posh world of Ballena Beach. While struggling to fit in, Jeremy joins the high school swim team, dates a popular girl, and begins to think he’s landed in paradise – until is great aunt Katharine begins to make demands, playing him like a puppet. Then a mysterious phone caller insinuates that...more
In Strings Attached [AmazonEncore, 2010] Nick Nolan weaves a complex tale from the prologue on. Seventeen-year-old Jeremy Tyler moves from a cramped and grubby hovel in Fresno, California, to the opulent—with a capital “O”—setting of Balena Beach. Although he descends from a wealthy family, he has never known wealth, himself; however, he is blessed with exceptional good looks and an innate talent for swimming.
Suddenly immersed in privilege, including a “Mr. Belvedere”-type butler to smooth the w...more
Suddenly immersed in privilege, including a “Mr. Belvedere”-type butler to smooth the w...more
Until I haven’t read this book I was thinking that the “strings attached” of the title was a way to refer to emotional links, and in a way it’s like that since Jeremy, the 17 years old who is the main character of this coming of age novel has never had the safety you usually find in a family while you are growing up: his father died when he was only a little baby, her mother has an alcohol problem that prevents her to be a real role figure, and they are living far from any relatives. Considering...more
Strings Attached attempts to take a classic tale mixed with a teenage coming of age story, throwing in a splash of mystery and danger, some sexual tension, and a happy ending to tie everything up. The result is mostly successfully and the story is a very enjoyable to read. It has an engaging storyline, likable characters, interesting dilemmas, and a flowing writing style that is easy to read. On the other hand, the writing is overly descriptive in some parts and the style changes partway through...more
I just wrote a long review and then accidentally erased it, so I'm going to go with list form, here.
The things I loved:
Luke Daniels, the narrator on the Audible version. If you can, listen to this one. He's hands down the best narrator I've ever heard and I enjoyed the book even more because of him.
Nolan's characters. You don't know whether you love or hate them, and your opinion of each one of them changes many times throughout the book. They are damaged and a little selfish and, with the excep...more
The things I loved:
Luke Daniels, the narrator on the Audible version. If you can, listen to this one. He's hands down the best narrator I've ever heard and I enjoyed the book even more because of him.
Nolan's characters. You don't know whether you love or hate them, and your opinion of each one of them changes many times throughout the book. They are damaged and a little selfish and, with the excep...more
Jeremy's mother is an alcoholic, and when a bender from hell lands her in rehab, Jeremy goes to live with his exceedingly rich great-aunt. Moving from poor to posh is tough enough, but Jeremy is also struggling with his sexuality and some unanswered questions about his father's death. It may seem a bit convoluted but Nolan weaves these stories together in such a way that they form an in-depth backdrop for a coming-of-age story.
If you had asked me before reading this book if a murder-mystery cum...more
If you had asked me before reading this book if a murder-mystery cum...more
Yeees let's start the book off with the Evil, Drug Abusing, Whorish Mother trope. Let's Do This. This will in nooo way make the reader hate the author. Nope. Not at all. All women are whores you see. WHORES (except you, pure reader, who paid good money for this drivel)
I think I got about three pages in.
Here's a clue, don't start your novel off by shredding the mother of the MC's child. I didn't even have a reason to care about him when he started throwing her sexuality in her face. If I were her...more
I think I got about three pages in.
Here's a clue, don't start your novel off by shredding the mother of the MC's child. I didn't even have a reason to care about him when he started throwing her sexuality in her face. If I were her...more
3.5 for wanting to know what happens to Jeremy. 2.5 for the writing. Reading the afterword, I now see why some scenes felt gratuitous, and others didn't seem to jibe with the rest of the chapter. Descriptions were inserted to follow a Pinocchio storyline, and to change it from YA to an adult book. I think it would have worked better as a YA book for me. Plus the endless descriptions of what every single person was wearing! It felt like filler.
But I did debate about buying this after my prime me...more
But I did debate about buying this after my prime me...more
Great characters and "gay wish fulfillment".
The only down side is that the ending is fumbled. On one hand the author abruptly resolves the major plot-lines off screen then spend a chapter or two having the characters discuss what happened. It makes the book feel like a movie of the week that ran out of budget. On the other hand the author drags out the final chapters of the book to make room for a sequel.
The characters are believable and realistic. The main character and his teenage friends ac...more
The only down side is that the ending is fumbled. On one hand the author abruptly resolves the major plot-lines off screen then spend a chapter or two having the characters discuss what happened. It makes the book feel like a movie of the week that ran out of budget. On the other hand the author drags out the final chapters of the book to make room for a sequel.
The characters are believable and realistic. The main character and his teenage friends ac...more
Good story and good characters, but that's the only positive thing I can say about it, I'm afraid. It was so clearly a debut that it was almost painful. The sudden switches in perspective made me cringe. The story would've been better if told from only one viewpoint. I hardly ever knew how Jeremy felt, or what he thought about certain things. He told his aunt that he loved her more than anyone yet I never got that impression from the story itself. I thought she was a stuck up bitch, set in her h...more
Why this book?
I just happened to see this one on the Brilliance press release (along with its sequel), and I thought it sounded like something I might enjoy. It wasn’t quite what I expected, but it definitely falls in on the “like” side of things.
Characters Make the Story
While, there is a lot going on with the plot in this book, I was drawn to the characters. They made me want to keep reading. I adored Jeremy. What teenager hasn’t felt pressure or been afraid of who they are? It’s a little diffe...more
I just happened to see this one on the Brilliance press release (along with its sequel), and I thought it sounded like something I might enjoy. It wasn’t quite what I expected, but it definitely falls in on the “like” side of things.
Characters Make the Story
While, there is a lot going on with the plot in this book, I was drawn to the characters. They made me want to keep reading. I adored Jeremy. What teenager hasn’t felt pressure or been afraid of who they are? It’s a little diffe...more
Jeremy Taylor is the hero of this tale of coming out, dealing with a troubled family and greed. the story starts with Jeremy living with his alcoholic mother who gets sent to rehab and he is sent to live with a wealthy grandmother who he has had little contact with since his father was killed. Then the story turns into a roller coaster ride of a ya novel. It is refreshing to see a gay teen who has confidence in himself and at the same time questions his sexuality. The book was a light engrossing...more
Mar 01, 2011
Beth Bedee
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
contemprary-fiction,
young-adult
I got this book for free on my Kindle through a promotion on Amazon. I enjoyed the story, but initially had some issues with the dialogue. There is an afterward by the author at the end. I gained so much more of an appreciation for the book and the author's passion after reading it. This is the story of a 17-year-old boy who's been through the ringer with his family. His sexuality is in question to him, but the reader knows he's gay all along. There's more to the story than just his coming into...more
Life for Jeremy Tyler has been nothing but misery and broken promises. His father was killed in a car accident when Jeremy was two years old leaving him to live alone with his alcoholic mother in poverty. At age 17 Jeremy came home from school to find his mother almost dead in a drunken stupor. He is sent to live with his extremely wealthy great-aunt and her husband Bill. Jeremy's life is turned upside down by the rags to riches way of life. Jeremy soon finds out that even the wealthy have thei...more
While the modern day retelling of Pinocchio is an interesting concept worthy of exploration, what Nolan has achieved here is only Pinocchio is the simplest of forms. He knows the words and the formula but not the poetry and the magic. He fails to present a character that the reader can really fall in love with as each of them are either stereotypes or too fickle and undecided to make much of an impact. Then he strings together a number of clichés and some of the worst foreshadowing you’ve ever s...more
Jun 05, 2010
Sara
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
free-kindle-book,
read-on-kindle
This was an interesting read for me. I felt that the character development was a bit lacking for Tiffany and for Reed (both of whom I see as pretty important parts of the story). I haven't ever read a coming of age story about a gay teen, so it was an eye opener. I can't be sure how much of the book was exaggerated as I found the scene with Coby at the cabin a bit over the top. I also thought that the Pinnochio theme was obvious and forced which I didn't appreciate. Not sure if I'll read the fol...more
Some passages are so creatively and beautifully descriptive that I could close my eyes and taste the saltiness of being on the beach, etc. Believable main characters, and engaging story, especially the first half. The end seemed hurried and too "neat," as though the author was running out of space / paper and must found ways to tidy everything up quickly.
It's the story of a gay teen who refuses to admit that he is gay. Would be great if aimed at a YA audience, but the amount of adult content takes it out of the running for my middle school library.
Overall, though, I really enjoyed the story line and the characters, even if I did want to shake sense into a few of them at times.
Overall, though, I really enjoyed the story line and the characters, even if I did want to shake sense into a few of them at times.
This was a pretty good book.
I was hooked from the beginning because the main character is instantly so likeable.
I have never read a book before from the point of view of a gay teenage boy so I didn't know what to expect.
It had a pretty good ending which always makes me happy, but the dialog between the teenagers was a little grating.
I hope they really don't talk like that, these days!
I was hooked from the beginning because the main character is instantly so likeable.
I have never read a book before from the point of view of a gay teenage boy so I didn't know what to expect.
It had a pretty good ending which always makes me happy, but the dialog between the teenagers was a little grating.
I hope they really don't talk like that, these days!
... I started off enjoying this book, but quickly lost interest. I couldn't relate. The main character was a gay man and I don't ever have an issue with homosexuality, I just couldn't connect with it. All of the supporting characters were gay males, and I tried numerous times to connect with the story. I read half the book before I reached my limit. *sigh*
Life is short, I can't force myself through a book I can't relate to :) On to the next!
Life is short, I can't force myself through a book I can't relate to :) On to the next!
I really liked this one! Not so much a romance as a coming of age story with a little bit of a suspense plot. When his mother ODs, a teenage boy is sent to live with rich relatives; while accustoming himself with his new situation (including school, friends, girls, boys...) he also comes into a position to unravel the mystery behind his father's early death at about the same time he realizes his own danger. There are allusions to Pinocchio, which the author explains in great depth in the afterwo...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Dec 31, 2011
Ann (Noumena12)
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
lendable-ebook,
permanent-collection
Not my normal book...needed to read it to complete the Decembe 2011 Goodreads Challenge...just in time! While it kept my attention, I'm glad I was able to get it from the Amazon lending library!
Aug 18, 2012
Nichole (Dirty H)
marked it as abandoned
I read about a third of it, plus some flip-aheads. Frankly, the writing is bad. Not only is it bad, but it's smug. Nick Nolan thinks he has written a Masterpiece and the arrogance of it shines through every page. There was only so much I could stomach.
I flipped ahead to his little "afterword" where he explains how subtly and deftly he weaved in references to Pinnochio. Yes, Nick, you were very subtle. Like a freight train.
The book really suffered from a lack of editing. I had to fight the urge t...more
I flipped ahead to his little "afterword" where he explains how subtly and deftly he weaved in references to Pinnochio. Yes, Nick, you were very subtle. Like a freight train.
The book really suffered from a lack of editing. I had to fight the urge t...more
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Nick Nolan was born in a suburb of Los Angeles, where he was employed for far too long in retail while working his way through college. After graduating with a degree in Psychology, he ran a residential treatment program for homeless and mentally disturbed gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender adolescents. He still lives in LA with his partner of 20 years and their beloved dogs.
--from the author'...more
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