Marty leaves Kentucky to start a new life in London, away from his small town religious upbringing and his parents. He's determined to be a new person, stepping outside his comfort zone and not hiding himself.

This story takes you through Marty's first few months in London and flashes back to his time in London a year previously, He meets a new group of friends, gets a boyfriend and travels through Europe. But is he happy?

I enjoyed reading this but didn't get as drawn into the story as The Gravity of Us. I will still be recommending this though and ensuring people read it. Thank you for the early copy.

Marty was such a relatable character, I understood all of his anxieties and they were so well described. He has to deal with all of his anxieties, but he also wants to be adventurous and try new things, which was very relatable, and seeing how he grew as a character was great!

This book also covered a lot of different issues, from anxiety and disordered eating to being gay in a religious family, and it handled them all very well without taking away from the main points of the story.

The friendships and relationships were also realistic, as they weren't perfect and a lot of things went wrong but that made it so much more lifelike. I didn't really understand all of the musical references but I did like how the group had a big common interest that tied them all together.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book!

I highly enjoyed Phil Stamper's space-race YA romcom 'The Gravity of Us', so I was incredibly excited to read his new novel 'As Far As You'll Take Me'. As a music nerd (clarinet) and (up until very recently) Londoner, I loved the focus on a group of passionate musicians trying to make a living in our wonderful capital city. Marty is from Kentucky, a conservative small town, coming to London for a summer music programme at a prestigious academy... Or at least that is what his very religious and judgemental parents believe. In reality, Marty flunked his audition and has plans to stay in London more permanently than expected, both to escape the torment from his parents and controlling best friend Megan and to embrace his music career and sexuality on his own terms.

Marty is a really sweet protagonist and I loved reading about his growth in his sense of self across the novel. He has some challenging moments, related to his sexuality and body image, but it is heartening to see him shed a number of toxic relationships to make his own way in the world. There are some friendships/romantic relationships which add to Marty's insecurity. For example, front and centre is an intense romantic relationship with music student Pierce. It is difficult to read about a character as lovely as Marty make less than ideal choices but this is why his character arc is ultimately satisfying for the reader.

Overall, this is an adorable story about identity and forging your own path. The story paints a vivid portrait of what makes London such a great city. Some of the descriptions felt a little too detailed, reading as someone who knows the city and woodwind instruments well, but it is clear this book will be able to appeal to a wide range of people. A sweet book with a key message which will be enjoyed by its young adult audience.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher who provided an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3.8/5 stars.

TW: eating disorders, forced outing, homophobia, anxiety.

As Far as You'll Take Me is a raw intense book about our main character Marty trying to make a new start in London, away from his small town and parents who aren't accepting of his sexuality. It depicts his anxiety incredibly well, as something that surrounds him and every move he makes, and encompasses the struggles of a gay teenager trying to make a place for themselves and grow.

Marty was a sweet main character, I really felt for him and his struggles and anxieties. He was very relatable, ambitious but fearful, shy but wanting to make new friends and try new things but afraid of the fall if he takes the risk and jumps. Even if I was disappointed with him for jumping into a relationship, I understood him. I enjoyed reading about him, and his passion for music. I know nothing about music so it all went over my head, but I liked reading about his choices in music and how he connected to others through music. It felt very genuine.

There were some parts that fell flat, like Pierce. A lot of the book was focused on him, since Marty was focused on him, and I personally didn't care much for him. Some of his journeys in London felt almost cringey, though as a Londoner I may just be more cynical when reading about the city. Nonetheless, it was cute reading about Marty's fascination with the city and how at home he felt in a place that was accepting of him. I think the whole novel really showed what it's like to grow as a teenager, to make your own decisions and find your own family.

Release Date: Expected Expected 9th February 2021

Genre: Contemporary Fiction / LGBT



Marty doesn't think he's the protagonist in anyones story. But now he's getting his own story. After months of meticulous planning, he's heading across the world to London to stay with his cousin under the guise of reauditioning at his dream music school ... but he isn't coming back. With an overly religious family who can't quite accept him, questionable friends and anxiety that is almost crippling him, there's nothing for him there.

After a deadly combination of jetlag and infatuation leaves him crushing on his cousins best friend within minutes of arriving, Marty is finally ready for adventure. He's got his Oboe, he's got a cute boy, a team of musicians who are slowly becoming friends ... and a glimmer of hope that might finally be in sight. But boys suck, families suck, and anxiety sucks, so it's not going to be easy.

'As Far As You'll Take Me' is told from two points of Marty's life - his current adventure and old journal entries from the last time he tried to follow his dreams - slowly filling out all the pieces of this wonderful character who was so very easy to fall for the more we got to know him. The story was slow in places and looking back, not very much happened but when reading I was so wrapped up in what Marty was thinking or planning next that I just didn't notice at all. There were so many things about this book that I saw coming, which to begin with kind of threw me out of the story - but this isn't a murder mystery, it's about life. And the way this was written made me feel like I was a friend, quietly watching Marty ignore countless red flags as people so often do and wait for him to wake up and see the truth.

This was a truly warming and uplifting tale about acceptance, love, and self-discovery in all it's forms with an ending that left me bursting with pride.

Sometimes, the best reinvention is finding yourself.



RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐



TW: Homophobia / Anxiety / Eating Disorders

Thank you to Netgalley and Phil Stamper for an ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

I really loved Phil Stamper's first novel, the gravity of us, and when I heard this one I was super excited but also nervous that it wouldn't live up to my expectations. Well, I'm happy to say this exceeded them! From the discussions of mental health that really resonated with me to the cute and fluffy protagonist who is literally one of the most loveable characters I've ever read, this was the perfect second novel and I'd give it 6 stars if I could.

This book is a middle grade book of a teen looking for acceptance after coming out to his parents. This book didn’t say anything new but could be valuable to a teen or preteen reader.