SuitabookNow or Never
Bruce Hart, Carole Hart
- Reading
- Read alongside a conversation about boundaries and unequal experience in relationships. Pause after emotionally charged developments, and allow time to discuss the abrupt ending without assuming the couple’s future is settled.
- Themes
- First love and return: Jessie is still affected by Michael’s earlier departure when he comes back and asks to re-enter her life, possibly as a friend. The situation is presented through powerful feelings and conflict, but whether the story ultimately approves of renewed romance or prioritises separation is unresolved.
- Age, experience and sexual history: The book addresses age, experience and sexual history; the detail of how it is developed remains unclear. The age difference and sexual relationship are part of the situation; the book’s critical or approving treatment of that dynamic cannot be determined.
- Recovery and rebuilding: Michael returns after struggling with drugs and a damaged career, seeking to rebuild his life and career. The book?s stance on this remains unclear.
- Worth knowing
- Before reading, consider whether the reader is comfortable with a relationship beginning when Jessie was fourteen and Michael seventeen, references to sex, drug-related difficulties, sprinkled foul language and an ending that may leave questions open.