For the Heart of Phillip in Q&A with S.L. Danielson

Oct 27, 2010 Elisa Rolle added it · review of another edition

In a way or the other all three men of this novel have their problem and they are not exactly the hero type.

When the story starts Phillip is 12 years old and he is already full of problem: he is a maniac depressive and bipolar, he is under medication and convinced that no one will ever want him, not as a friend let aside as lover. Moreover he is a cronic undecided, he is not able to choose between one thing or the other, between one man and the other, and in the end, he doesn more damage than g In a way or the other all three men of this novel have their problem and they are not exactly the hero type.

When the story starts Phillip is 12 years old and he is already full of problem: he is a maniac depressive and bipolar, he is under medication and convinced that no one will ever want him, not as a friend let aside as lover. Moreover he is a cronic undecided, he is not able to choose between one thing or the other, between one man and the other, and in the end, he doesn more damage than good.

Andrew is the 10 years old boy who befriends 12 years old Phillip. When they meet, Phillip has just started to realize that he is gay, but Andy is still too young; he sees Phillip as a big brother, his best friend, and he is very jelaous of him. Andy is a bit spoiled, I had the idea that he was a much wished child, and his parents even adopted before having him. When he arrived, his stepbrother was almost an adult, and so Andy grew up like a single child, with all the spoiled attitude of one. Nothing was denied to him, and no one: when he saw the possibility for Phillip to be separated by him, he “decided” that he was gay and that Phillip had to be with him.

Robert is the 16 years old guy same age Phillip met one summer. Gay like Phillip, and virgin like him, it seemed natural for them to be together. But they didn’t consider Andy, and of course Andy didn’t take it very well. In a way, Robert was not a bad guy, but I think he was too much naïve: once he realized that Phillip was not free, and he would never be, he should have let it go. Instead Robert focused on Phillip like he was his only chance at love.

I really don’t understand what Andy and Rob see in Phillip. While I can understand Andy’s fixation, given his past history with Phillip, I think Rob in a way chose to ruin his life. He had even the chance to start over, he found a good man who loved him, but he had always this idea that Phillip was the real love of his life, and sincerely Phillip has never once behaved like a good boyfriend.

On the other hand Andy did everything possible to lure Phillip to him, I think he even seduced him (if I read that part correctly), to then cheating on him as soon as they were finally together. Not only that, Phillip instead of leaving, or asking for a reason, cheated him back. And if someone wants to be finicky, he did that even before the material act, starting to think to another man.

All these ups and downs on the lives of these three men can only be justified by the fact they are really young, and I think also spoiled: all their parents, instead of trying to instill them a little of common sense, were always ready to support them in their mistakes, because they loved them, either because they were worried about the consequences of not to.

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Jun 05, 2011 Julie Hayes rated it it was amazing

At the age of twelve, Phillip Marnier has three strikes against him—he’s overweight, he’s bi-polar and he’s manic depressive. Being six foot tall only helps to keep him in the radar of his taunting peers. Then one morning, while riding his school bus, Phillip meets a new boy, two years his junior—Andrew Bradley-Horner—and his life will never be the same.

Phillip and Andy become fast friends—the first true friendship the troubled older boy has ever experienced. When Phillip hits puberty, he thinks At the age of twelve, Phillip Marnier has three strikes against him—he’s overweight, he’s bi-polar and he’s manic depressive. Being six foot tall only helps to keep him in the radar of his taunting peers. Then one morning, while riding his school bus, Phillip meets a new boy, two years his junior—Andrew Bradley-Horner—and his life will never be the same.

Phillip and Andy become fast friends—the first true friendship the troubled older boy has ever experienced. When Phillip hits puberty, he thinks his meds aren’t working, ‘cause things don’t feel the same, including what he feels for Andy. His perceptive mother tells him to be patient, it will come to him. When Phillip leaves Andy behind for high school, the younger boy is worried that he will lose his friend; he meets and becomes good friends with a young girl named Rachel, although she can never take Phillip’s place in his life.

When Phillip’s family takes him on a forced family vacation, he meets Robert Marshall, who actually goes to school not far from them. They become very close very quickly, and when each confess to liking boys, they share a first kiss together and become boyfriends. When he returns home and tells Andy his news, Phillips isn’t prepared for the other boy’s reaction. With time and gentle persuasion, Phillip finally gets to the heart of the matter—Andy is also gay and he has feelings for him. Quite the dilemma. And thus begins the start of a pattern which is fated to continue for a very long time.

Together they negotiate their high school years. Phillip leaves for college first, and Robert is right there with him. When Andy graduates high school and arrives as well, the triangle continues. Life is a definite rollercoaster, filled with highs and lows, and drama galore. Who will emerge the winner, possessing the heart of Phillip?

This novel spans sixteen years in the life of Phillip Marnier, and it has all of the drama of a soap opera. Phillip isn’t your typical hero—he has problems up the yin yang, and yet he has two supposedly hot guys fighting over him like two dogs over a bone. Frankly, I don’t know why, but that is immaterial. They do. This fight goes back and forth for years, as Phillip vacillates between them, although in the end, he invariably follows his heart. The trouble is, I think he also has a split personality, and he can never decide what he wants until after he ends up with something else.

The characters are certainly not stereotypical; if I had to choose my favorite character, it would have to be Andy. But on the whole, I also want to slap all of them. They cry sometimes at the drop of a hat, and their morals are certainly questionable. Add accidental fatherhood to what is already a train wreck, and there is a big mess to be sorted out.

SL Danielson’s style is not ornate or elaborate. As she once confessed to me, it is derived from doing a lot of report writing. It’s succinct and to the point. She deals with emotions, rather than descriptions, preferring to get to the heart of the matter—her characters, their emotions and their reactions. I have to admit the parents got on my nerves, being way too involved for adult men to put up with, but hey, I am willing to guess there are parents like these. And face it, when it’s your kid, you’ll take his side and protect him at all costs.

So, pull out a box of Kleenex, settle yourself in your easy chair, have a drink handy, and enjoy the story for what it is—a story of love, exploration and discovery. And fighting for the heart of Phillip.
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Jul 01, 2010 S.L. added it · (Review from the author)

Shelves: i-wrote-it

From Amos Lassen:

Phillip has known that he is gay since he was 13 years old. Because he is shy he did not have much luck meeting people but along came Andrew, another shy guy. They became fast friends and Andrew fell in love with Phillip. Sounds good, right” Hold on, Phillip had already fallen for someone else, Robert and this caused Andrew to stop being friends with Phillip and staying away. Phillip and Robert continued with their relationship and even spoke of getting married. Again, something ...more

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