The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester

I don't remember if I found the recommendation for this novel in a search for young adult or adult LGBTQIA+ fiction. As a 58 year old gay man who came out in the late 80's, YA fiction about coming of age doesn't seem like it would be a natural fit, but I have no shame or qualms about devouring this genre now that I discovered it, or insecurity about being deeply moved by the works in this genre. I know I am not alone in my experience, and TMHLLOSS broadened and deepened my understanding of MY community. It can be for anyone that is still open to teachable moments, and it does so not by pontificating, but by so fully breathing life into Sam, that I with my limited intersectionality (caucasian(ish) cisgen gay neuronormative (probably?) male) identity could really walk in the shoes of Sam, a preop transgen gay nuerodivergent individual, pronouns they/them. All of the characters representing the full spectrum have depth, even if they are not the focus, even the pre-judged straight white male jock popular boy.The mystery is engaging, it will be especially for those that have a taste for the occult ala "The Sixth Sense." Even though I had suspected the culprit early on and knew them by the beginning of the final act, the lack of surprise at the reveal did nothing to curb my desire to race to the end because I really cared what happened to the characters and needed to see the satisfying resolutions to their arcs and mini arcs. The interweaving of the plot and character development is deftly handled and paced.This novel is for the YA readers in the alphabet mafia looking to see themselves represented. It is for the older generation of queers who experience this representation with a bittersweet mixture of envy for the YA experience we didn't get to have and awe at the never-ending expansion of understanding of the queer experience. It is for the ally who really wants to understand the nuances of the different identities. It is for most of us who have little understanding of the Neuro divergent experience. And it is even for those few, amazing, beautiful, compassionate souls whose emotional IQ already encompasses this diversity, because it is a beautiful, thrilling, moving occult/mystery/thriller/romance.

I read this book as part of the #transrightsreadathon 2023."To me, family is breath; it’s trusting the person beside you to demand your right to air in a world that would take it from you."This is the story of Sam Sylvester, a nonbinary teen who moves with their father to a new town to escape a transphobic violent attack. Sam is obsessed with people who die too young, and coincidentally moves into the house of a boy who did just that. Sam and their new friend, Shep, work together to solve the murder and help heal the town (and themselves) in the process.This book was like seeing my youngest child come to life on the page! Sam is an autistic, nonbinary, asexual 18 year old with a hyperfixation on the macabre (my Apex is 15, but this could BE them). Sam was so well-written, so well-described, that my heart genuinely broke for them. I cried more times than I'd like to admit, both in sadness and joy as Sam learned to trust and love and embrace themself.And let's not forget the murder mystery crime-solving thread throughout. The build-up to the reveal was dramatic, tinged with supernatural elements and premonitions.All in all, it is a spectacular read. I've already loaned my copy to my teen!⚠️ There are some self-harm references and retelling of a traumatic, violent hate crime.

A wonderful, comfortable book that I'm sure Texas and Mississippi will be racing to ban. But if you aren't afraid of new ideas buy this for your pre teen or teen or, as I did, yourself. You'll smile.

Great YA book. Diverse characters and a quick , interesting read. Mystery, suspense and romance. I would recommend it for sure.

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.Book: The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam SylvesterAuthor: Maya MacGregorBook Series: StandaloneRating: 4/5Diversity: Autistic Adopted Non-Binary MC, Black characters, Latina characters, Bisexual character, Non-binary character, Aro-Ace characterRecommended For...: young adult readers, mystery, thriller, contemporary, LGBT, queer, autism, transPublication Date: May 3, 2022Genre: YA Mystery ThrillerAge Relevance: 15+ (language, bullying, death, homophobia, abelism, racism, attempted murder, alcohol consumption, gore, biphobia, parental death, cancer, romance, alcoholism, child neglect, domestic violence)Explanation of Above: There is some cursing in this book. There are scenes and mentions of bullying, homophobia, biphobia, abelism, and domestic violence. There are mentions of death, racism, attempted murder, parental death, cancer, alcoholism, and child neglect. Alcohol consumption is shown and there is a scene with vomit gore.Publisher: Boyd Mills PressPages: 352Synopsis: Sam Sylvester's not overly optimistic about their recent move to the small town of Astoria, Oregon after a traumatic experience in their last home in the rural Midwest.Yet Sam's life seems to be on the upswing after meeting several new friends and a potential love interest in Shep, the pretty neighbor. However, Sam can't seem to let go of what might have been, and is drawn to investigate the death of a teenage boy in 1980s Astoria. Sam's convinced he was murdered--especially since Sam's investigation seems to resurrect some ghosts in the town.Threatening notes and figures hidden in shadows begin to disrupt Sam's life. Yet Sam continues to search for the truth. When Sam discovers that they may be closer to a killer than previously known, Sam has a difficult decision to make. Would they risk their new life for a half-lived one?Review: Overall, I really enjoyed this read. I thought it was a really good mystery book with a bit of spook factor in it. The book is about our main character Sam who just moved to a new town after an incident of intense bullying and more at their former town. They move with their father and life seems to be going good until they find out about a 30 year old mystery that Sam feels needs to be solved. The story follows their investigation into the mystery while also getting new threats in their seemingly better town. I really liked the story overall and the character development is where this story shines the most. The book also had really good world building.But I did have a couple of issues. The book took a bit to pick up the pace and it was a bit confusing in the beginning. The book also was very wordy and repeated a lot, which caused a bit of my confusion as well.Verdict: It was good! Highly recommend!

As an autistic, non binary, asexual person I don’t often come across characters that I can really relate to. This book gave me that comfort and acceptance.While I am not particularly into the supernatural, the story of Sam was still a fairly captivating read and I loved the characterization, the family dynamics depicted, the friendships and the unconventional romance with no unnecessary drama.Interesting for anyone who would like to be able to grasp a little better what it’s actually like to walk in the shoes of someone like the main character, while reading a gripping murder mystery.And of course, for fellow beings living at the intersection of neuro-gender-sexuality-diversity who might not usually feel seen and understood.

I'm not a huge thriller/mystery reader, but for me, this had a perfect balance between a YA contemporary and a mystery. I could try to review this as objectively as I can, but I can't, because I have never seen a main character who is autistic, non-binary AND asexual before, just like me! So you'll understand that was AMAZING to see. I loved the autistic rep as well, it was different from what we usually tend to see in a really good way. And I absolutely adored Sam's dad - a Black single parent who adopted them when they were 7. The mystery was also actually interesting to me, which isn't always the case.