What do you think?
Rate this book
When I Go I Go
A gay, coming of age, romance
When you'll do anything to protect your family from a monster, sometimes that means you'll have to give them up.
Being a closeted gay teen is never easy, but it’s worse when your family are right-wing, religious zealots.
But when Myles Maxwell-Fox’s father is elected UK Prime Minister, Myles strikes a plan to leave home after first coming out to the press in front of 10 Downing Street.
He wants to start living his life; to oppose his father’s family-values agenda; to search for the boyfriend taken from him two years before; and the most important reason – a secret reason …one not for Myles to tell.
When you'll do anything to protect your family from a monster, sometimes that means you'll have to give them up.
Being a closeted gay teen is never easy, but it’s worse when your family are right-wing, religious zealots.
But when Myles Maxwell-Fox’s father is elected UK Prime Minister, Myles strikes a plan to leave home after first coming out to the press in front of 10 Downing Street.
He wants to start living his life; to oppose his father’s family-values agenda; to search for the boyfriend taken from him two years before; and the most important reason – a secret reason …one not for Myles to tell.
256 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 2, 2021
18 people are currently reading
38 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 21, 2021
I really didn't know what to expect from this novel, as it is so different from what I normally read. I got hooked in the first chapter and wanted more after the last chapter. The story was set in a culture with which I'm unfamiliar and I came away a bit more enlightened. All the characters were interesting and I wish the author had time enough to give us more background on them. The story is told through the letters that Myles is writing to Raif (the villain) about his life as a gay man. At times it was painful to witness the abuse and heartache that 16 year old Myles had to withstand simply for being true to himself. He was such a fragile individual and you just have to cheer for every step forward he takes. Yes, he's a wounded character and a bit unstable due to very tragic circumstances. And yet he finds the courage to carry on and open himself to love, friendship and found family. He is a hero in this story.
January 9, 2022
Poignant, clear, messed up, emotionally charged across the board.
Starting out with a sort of warning that something terrible will happen/has happened in the life of the protagonist, the finely balanced style of this narrative leads the reader through some of the worst, and best, in one gay youth's story.
Pain and anger alternate with joy and sweetness, two separate times in the life of one person are played side by side on stage and behind the scenes, through letters to someone who brought great pain into his life, offered to the reader between immediate recounts of the "present."
It took me a moment to become accustomed to this style, but the anticipation of darkly foreshadowed events and the highly relatable retelling of living through everything kept me turning the pages, gripping the book as I was forced to inhale everything described so clearly, living in the reality portrayed.
Excellent!
Terrible!
Wonderful!
!!!
Starting out with a sort of warning that something terrible will happen/has happened in the life of the protagonist, the finely balanced style of this narrative leads the reader through some of the worst, and best, in one gay youth's story.
Pain and anger alternate with joy and sweetness, two separate times in the life of one person are played side by side on stage and behind the scenes, through letters to someone who brought great pain into his life, offered to the reader between immediate recounts of the "present."
It took me a moment to become accustomed to this style, but the anticipation of darkly foreshadowed events and the highly relatable retelling of living through everything kept me turning the pages, gripping the book as I was forced to inhale everything described so clearly, living in the reality portrayed.
Excellent!
Terrible!
Wonderful!
!!!
October 30, 2023
When I Go I Go
By Damian Jay Clay
Published by the author 2021
Four stars
This was not at all what I expected. Yes, it’s a coming out and coming of age story, but it’s also a portrait of homophobia, both at the turn of the century (THIS century) and today in a post-Trump world. It is a moving, gripping story.
“When I Go I Go” is presented as an epistolary memoir, written by thirty-six-year-old composer and conductor Myles Maxwell-Fox, to someone named Raif. Myles clearly hates Raif, and we don’t know why he’s writing to him. As the chapters flow from Myles’ pen, we learn about Myles’ life now, and we learn about his life twenty years ago. Each page reveals some important detail, both the ugly and the uplifting, that sheds light on Myles in all his complexity.
There’s an operatic quality to the narrative, and by that I mean both romantic and tragic. That’s the surprise here: the plot arc is a long one, and it doesn’t follow the straight-forward young-adult notion of a brave young man throwing off the shackles of an oppressive family. This book is steeped in British class division and politics, and the path to its ending is more twisted than expected. The masterful stroke is Damian Clay’s use of Myles as the sole narrative voice—the lighthouse on the cliff that guides the reader through stormy seas. Myles is not an instantly likeable man, nor is he particularly noble. He is painfully human, and it is his self-awareness that makes him compelling, and keeps us turning every page until we know how it ends.
By Damian Jay Clay
Published by the author 2021
Four stars
This was not at all what I expected. Yes, it’s a coming out and coming of age story, but it’s also a portrait of homophobia, both at the turn of the century (THIS century) and today in a post-Trump world. It is a moving, gripping story.
“When I Go I Go” is presented as an epistolary memoir, written by thirty-six-year-old composer and conductor Myles Maxwell-Fox, to someone named Raif. Myles clearly hates Raif, and we don’t know why he’s writing to him. As the chapters flow from Myles’ pen, we learn about Myles’ life now, and we learn about his life twenty years ago. Each page reveals some important detail, both the ugly and the uplifting, that sheds light on Myles in all his complexity.
There’s an operatic quality to the narrative, and by that I mean both romantic and tragic. That’s the surprise here: the plot arc is a long one, and it doesn’t follow the straight-forward young-adult notion of a brave young man throwing off the shackles of an oppressive family. This book is steeped in British class division and politics, and the path to its ending is more twisted than expected. The masterful stroke is Damian Clay’s use of Myles as the sole narrative voice—the lighthouse on the cliff that guides the reader through stormy seas. Myles is not an instantly likeable man, nor is he particularly noble. He is painfully human, and it is his self-awareness that makes him compelling, and keeps us turning every page until we know how it ends.
April 11, 2022
Wow, oh my God, what a beautiful story.
I've read many gay stories before this one. Holy smokes what terrific story. Yes, there is sadness and hurt on many levels. In few parts of this story the fear many gays have is revealed. It's a very moving book even through some of the difficult parts.
I've read many gay stories before this one. Holy smokes what terrific story. Yes, there is sadness and hurt on many levels. In few parts of this story the fear many gays have is revealed. It's a very moving book even through some of the difficult parts.
December 27, 2022
DNF
First of all, I didn’t finish this book. I got as far as 55%. The story had a promising beginning but after that it was so borrrrring I couldn’t stand it. I can’t believe the same author wrote this 2nd book in the series. The first book was so much more interesting and never lagged.
First of all, I didn’t finish this book. I got as far as 55%. The story had a promising beginning but after that it was so borrrrring I couldn’t stand it. I can’t believe the same author wrote this 2nd book in the series. The first book was so much more interesting and never lagged.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews