Genre: Historical, Romance
LGBTQ+ Category: Gay, Neurodiverse
Reviewer: Maryann
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About The Book
Growing up in a 1950s mining village in the English midlands is hard for someone like Joey, who’s known he was different since he was a kid. All he wants to do is run wild on the hills, watching nature and indulging his love of art. All his parents want is for him to settle down: marriage, a home of his own, a steady job down the mine, and not so much as a whiff of art college. But none of that appeals to him.
Everything changes the summer he turns eighteen, when the travellers come to town. They’re here for the local farmer’s beet harvest, but the villagers resent them and Joe’s mam won’t even let him speak to them. Dirty, lazy, good-for-nothing layabouts, she calls them. But when Joe meets Billy on the hill behind the village, the man isn’t dirty at all, just good-looking, good-humoured and surprisingly kind. Best of all, Billy shares his love of the natural world.
Unbeknown to his family the two become friends, and then more than friends. But when the farmer’s barn burns down and Joe’s brother Rob puts the blame on Billy, Joe must decide whether to stay loyal to his family, or grow up fast and risk everything he’s familiar with to help the man he’s come to love.
The Review
Joseph ‘Joey’ Cooper has just turned eighteen, and his family has forgotten his birthday. He feels like he no longer has a place in his family, as if he’s become invisible. He lives with his Mam and Dad, older brother Rob, and sisters Meg and Molly, and there’s a baby on the way. As much as he gets treated like a child, he still does many of the chores that help keep the home running.
Joey didn’t do well in school except for biology and art. He loves to draw, but there’s no money for Joey to go to college to study it. He’s destined to work in the mines, just like his brother and father and grandfather. But working in the mine is not for him.
When Joey is done with his chores, he enjoys spending time on the hill overlooking the hustle and bustle and noise of the village. He loves nature too – it’s quiet, and he loves being alone, where there’s no one always talking at him.
One day, when he goes to the village with his Mam, he sees a group of people that his mother calls “gypsies.” She warns Joey to stay away from those “dirty, lazy, good for nothing gypsies.” But Joey sees them differently. They’re colorful, fun, and filled with laughter, especially one dark-haired young man who caught his eye.
That afternoon, after his chores are done, Joey heads for the hill to think about the young man he saw. He dozes off while lying in the grass, and wakes up when someone kicks him. Looking up, he cant believe he’s seeing the gypsy man.
The young Irishman, Billy Doyle, brings something new into Joey’s life. It’s not just a friendship – a special chemistry sparks between them. Billy introduces Joey to a life of traveling, working in the fields and how a man can live on his own and take care of himself. But he also tells Joey about the hardships and harsh treatment that come with being a gypsy.
As their relationship grows, trouble is just around the corner. Joey will have to dig deep to find the courage to stand-up for what is right.
Fiona Glass brings to life this small village in England in the 1950’s. I recommend reading “Author’s Note” that explains the sources she used to create this wonderful, and at times sad, coming of age story. The author also discusses the word gypsy and the stigma that it reflects in this story.
I really felt for Joey. He had low-self esteem and often had dark thoughts. He was often told that he didn’t know how to take care of himself, when in essence he did. Just doing the chores and taking care of the family when his Mam gets ill shows that he know how to be responsible. His parents treat Joey like a child, and then want him to marry and move out – he’s a burden to them because he’ wa’s different. And yet he still struggles with the loyalty he feels toward his family.
Then Billy Doyle shows Joey how to really come alive and live the life that he wants.
Run Wild, Run Free is a short story, but Glass packs it with emotion, leaving the reader with so many things to think about. Well worth the read.
The Reviewer
Hi, I’m Maryann, I started life in New York, moved to New Hampshire and in 1965 uprooted again to Sacramento, California. Once I retired I moved to West Palm Beach, Florida in 2011 and just moved back to Sacramento in March of 2018. My son, his wife and step-daughter flew out to Florida and we road tripped back so they got to see sights they have never seen. New Orleans and the Grand Canyon were the highlights. Now I am back on the west coast again to stay! From a young age Ialways liked to read.
I remember going to the library and reading the “Doctor Dolittle” books by Hugh Lofting. Much later on became a big fan of the classics, Edgar Alan Poe, Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker and as time went by Agatha Christie, Ray Bradbury and Stephen Kingand many other authors.
My first M/M shifter book I read was written by Jan Irving the “Uncommon Cowboys” series from 2012. She was the first author I ever contacted and sent an email to letting her know how much I liked this series. Sometime along the way I read “Zero to the Bone”by Jane Seville, I think just about everyone has read this book!
As it stands right now I’m really into mysteries, grit, gore and “triggers” don’t bother me. But if a blurb piques my interest I will read the book.
My kindle collection eclectic and over three thousand books and my Audible collection is slowly growing. I have both the kindle and audible apps on my ipod, ipads, and MAC. So there is never an excuse not to be listening or reading.
I joined Goodreads around 2012 and started posting reviews. One day a wonderful lady, Lisa Horan of The Novel Approach, sent me an email to see if I wanted to join her review group. Joining her site was such an eye opener. I got introduce to so many new authors that write for the LGBTQ genre. Needless to say, it was heart breaking when it ended.
But I found a really great site, QRI and it’s right here in Sacramento. Last year at QSAC I actually got to meet Scott Coatsworth, Amy Lane and Jeff Adams.
