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If There's A Heaven Above by Andrew Demcak
It's the early 1980's and Matt is on the cusp of adulthood in the flickering shadows of Los Angeles' Gothic music scene. He dives into a pulsating world of death-rock music, sexy musicians, and strung-out groupies in leather bondage pants and vampire makeup. Through the faded glamour and glittering whirlpool of alcohol and drugs, Matt moves from one good time to the next, searching for something more.
Then he meets Patch: shirtless, tribal-tattooed, wearing cut-off jean shorts still damp from an afternoon at the beach. Patch is a punk-rock Adonis who wears his dark hair spiked up and whose blue eyes are bloodshot from too much late-night fun. Patch doesn’t say much when they first meet, but his body speaks to Matt’s on a cellular level, pure chemistry. To Matt, Patch's tattoos tell him they are part of an invisible tribe, the night people.
But one night is all Matt gets with Patch before he disappears into the neon-washed streets. Matt sets out to find him again, sure Patch is "the One." Along for the ride are his friends Annie and Suzy, one straight, one gay. Wearing too much Aqua-Net and torn fishnets, the girls cruise L.A. in a white Mustang whose seat belts are perfect beer bottle openers. The ultimate Goths, they adore Siouxsie and the Banshees, paint their eyes with kohl, and vow to help Matt in his quest to hook up with Patch.
Will Matt be able to find Patch in L.A.'s drug-soaked clubs? Will one night be all he gets with the man of his dreams? If there's a heaven above, will Matt ever find it?
This book was one of 51 nominees for the American Library Association's 2014 Rainbow List. Add your review of "If There's A Heaven Above" in comments!
3 comments:
Hi - Thanks for the post! I hope you enjoy If There's a Heaven Above!
-Andrew D.
Book Review: If there’s a Heaven Above by Andrew Demcak - If there's a heaven above - A Small press gem! It’s the 1980′s. 18 y/o gay goth Matt lives in the ‘burbs near LA with his mom and step dad. Works at May Company. Spends his free time with his gothy girl bff’s getting fucked up, listening to music, buying stuff, going to clubs.Interesting, upbeat writing, and if you were around in the 80′s– or know a lot about 80′s music (specifically the band Love and Rockets), you’re gonna be pretty jazzed. The writing in general is very good– you can tell that it might secretly be a just little bit autobiographical, and that the author might’ve been smirking a little (at himself) as he wrote it. Some of the plot devices kind of bugged me– but now that it’s been a couple weeks I’ve forgiven them. I saw Demcak read at a Radar reading and he’s a delight. Check it out!
You might also like my new YA novel, Ghost Songs, from Harmony Ink Press, 2014. http://harmonyinkpress.com/coming-soon-ghost-songs-by-andrew-demcak/ It has good reviews all over the web!
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