As Far as You'll Take Me

By Phil Stamper

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'A beautiful tribute to every queer kid who's ever had to leave their home in order to find one' - Leah Johnson, bestselling author of 'You Should See Me in a Crown'
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From the author of The Gravity of Us comes a heartfelt coming-of-age story about finding your chosen people. Perfect for fans of Becky Albertalli

Marty arrives in London with nothing but his oboe and some savings from his summer job, but he's excited to start his new life--where he's no longer the closeted, shy kid who slips under the radar and is free to explore his sexuality without his parents' disapproval.

From the outside, Marty's life looks like a perfect fantasy: in the span of a few weeks, he's made new friends, he's getting closer with his first ever boyfriend, and he's even traveling around Europe. But Marty knows he can't keep up the facade. He hasn't spoken to his parents since he arrived, he's tearing through his meager savings, his homesickness and anxiety are getting worse and worse, and he hasn't even come close to landing the job of his dreams. Will Marty be able to find a place that feels like home?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
• Release date: Mar 4, 2021
• ISBN: 9781526630735

Phil Stamper

Phil Stamper is the bestselling author of The Gravity of Us, As Far as You’ll Take Me, Golden Boys, Small Town Pride, and other queer books for kids and teens. He currently works in author development for a major book publisher in New York City, where he lives with his husband and their dog. Visit him at philstamper.com.  

Reviews for As Far as You'll Take Me

[gadosiahe · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A good and interesting read, As Far As You'll Take Me takes a lot of bold steps away from the typical queer, YA romance/coming-of-age story. Addressing a lot of the issues around growing up gay in a heavily religious and deeply homophobic small town, Stamper makes sure to add a fresh twist to this and all the other heavy topics As Far As You'll Take Me takes on. The way the book handles anxiety and an eating disorder, the pressures of moving to a new place removed from any support network, and the concerns of a first relationship with a more experienced partner is breathtaking. The plot is interesting and refreshing, and the characters are generally well fleshed out. The sheer number of side characters does mean that they don't all get quite enough "screen time" (or page time, I suppose) to feel like the reader really gets to know them. There seems to be some erratic shifts in how the main character is characterized, especially in regards to his anxiety and social interactions. In one moment he is escaping from a store, pub, or party because he can't handle the interactions and anxiety, and the next he is comforting a friend in public with no trace of his anxiety or imminent panic attack left. Similarly, his emotions regarding the love interest seem to jump around a little, and the romance story line itself seems a bit erratic. It honestly feels less like a problem with Stamper's writing and more like edits to the book took out scenes or narration that might have better connected some of the chapters and events. Still, as far as a love letter to London and classical music performance disguised as a queer YA romance novel goes, this one is pretty good. 4.5 out of 5 stars, and still recommended for those Anglophiles or music and band geeks among us.

[muddyboy · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A young adult novel geared for a pretty narrow audience - that being young members of the L, B, G, T, Q community who are struggling to find there way in life. Marty is seventeen and lives in a small town in rural Kentucky. and is not feeling the love from the locals and his family. He plays the oboe and gets a chance to go to London to look for opportunities there. There is, of course, a love interest that quickly grows in England. So here is the problem for me. The main character is too neurotic, blushes too much, hugs too much, cries too much etc. His personal drama crowds out the story for me.