Rainbow Reviews

BOOK BLURB:
It’s June, 1972, and the Vietnam war overshadows Ed Sorenson’s life. Barely out of high school, and there’s nothing ahead of him except war and death. On a whim, he packs up his old station wagon with California in mind. He invites his friend, Sammy, to join him on his journey, never expecting the other man to jump at the chance.

The station wagon barely makes it as far as Nevada. It dies on the shoulder during a freak summer thunderstorm, trapping the two young men, and giving them no choice but to face the secrets they’ve been hiding, the fears they’ve been harboring, and the desire they can barely keep at bay.

BOOK REVIEW:
This is a wonderful tale of the love that dare not speak its name, or at least not until the two people who share the same attraction are stranded together in a broken down car in a rainstorm. Even then, fight and flight responses have to be conquered before truth can shine forth.

This description from the story, “there would be a miscue, and Sammy's teeth would catch against his lips, or their noses would knock together, or Ed would take a breath just as Sammy claimed his mouth” is a perfect description of the first fumbling attempts at intimacy. Ms. Espinoza is to be congratulated for making this story appear so real. I could feel the pounding rain, hear the thunderclaps and see the flashes of lightning.

I thought we were heading for a “happy for now ending” with the draft to Vietnam looming over both men, but the author provided an epilogue that advanced the story by a few months, which removed the “for now” element giving us a most satisfactory “happy ever after” instead.

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