Genre: Contemporary
LGBTQ+ Category: Gay, Non-Binary, Trans MTF
Reviewer: Maryann
About The Book
Landon Griffin has everything going for him. He’s a high school senior on the brink of receiving a football scholarship, his dad is running for mayor of Madison, Texas, and his future with his girlfriend looks bright.
But his simple life shatters when feelings spark for a guy he’s never met. Giving the stranger the codename Mystery Boy, Landon hesitates to step out of his comfort zone to solve the mystery. Living in a conservative town, he struggles to hide his new obsession while trying to figure out where he fits within the spectrum of sexuality.
Can he dodge the constant questions from his friends and find answers before the escalating anxiety becomes too much to handle? Land On Me is Matthew R. Corr’s debut novel, akin to the drama of Christopher Rice and the coming-of-age brilliance of Alex Sanchez.
The Review
Landon Griffin is eighteen and a senior at Madison High in Texas. He lives right across the street from school, and it makes life easy for that last exciting year. He is this close to getting a football scholarship that will help him immensely. Then Peer pressure, long time friends and changes in Landon himself force him to face the reality that his world is changing.
He has a girlfriend, Lauren, who he cares about. There’s his longtime friend Dan, who Landon notices changes in, and is not sure what to do about them. There’s Tasha, who oversees the school paper and encourages Landon to write entertaining stories. And then there’s Steve, who Landon made an effort to make friends with until a tragic incident.
Curtis Griffin, Landon’s father, is the superintendent at Madison High, and is also campaigning to be mayor. He not only has plans for himself but for his son’s continuing education. Landon and his father still suffer, in their own way, a great loss just six months before.
To make his senior year even more complicated, a new kid Landon dubs “Mystery Boy” appears at school. Landon finds himself mesmerized by this new individual. He can’t seem to stop thinking about Mystery Boy and becomes intent on finding out more about him. Mystery Boy seems to be a couple years older than Landon, and Landon has been warned by his father to stay away from this person.
The rumors start flying all over school about the stranger. The more Landon finds out, the more eager he is to start a friendship with Mystery Boy, and then life takes him on a roller coaster ride.
“Land on Me” is a debut novel by Matthew R. Corr, and it wasn’t what I expected. It’s an easy read, with many emotional moments, mostly centered on a coming-of-age struggle. Landon Griffin realizes that his friends have changed, and he is changing too. He’s a good kid, but he’s still naive about many things in life, and he never want’s to hurt anyone’s feelings.
He’s caught between being a teenager and adulthood, and it clouds his decision making, which sometimes causes more issues than it solves.
Corr’s novel dives deep into many issues concerning young adults. He uses a dream sequence with Landon that involves the church and his father, and expresses so much of his fear. He also makes it clear that eighteen year olds, on the cusp of becoming adults, can’t always live in their parents’ shadow. It was great to see the support and understanding that teachers showed toward Landon as he deals with his issues.
I haven’t read too many YA books but I found “Land On Me” to be a very entertaining, coming-of-age story that has the beginnings of an interesting mystery. Landon Griffin’s story has a lot of potential – I read the sneak peak for the next upcoming story, and I can’t wait to see how it all develops!
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.
