This Is Not A Love Story by Suki Fleet
This book was one of the most brutally painful that I have ever read but at the same time it was beautiful.
I can't even imagine living on the streets, the cold, the hunger and the absolute fear.
The two boys in this story have found each other and together they are surviving.
For Julian this means selling his body so that Romeo doesn't have to face the ultimate horror. Each time he gets in to a car, Romeo is scared he won't return. He loves Julian and wants to be his in every way.
When he was abandoned by his mother and left to fend for himself, he made several street friends but Julian is the one that saves him every time.
I guess you have to survive however you can and they have several people who help with scraps of food, a bath when needed and on the odd occasion a warm place to sleep.
When things go from one bad situation to another, Romeo finds himself helpless without his friend. What happens next is the inevitable descent into drink and drugs that I'm sure many homeless people find is the only way to cope with their lives.
When the love between the two boys moves to the next level, I know in the story they are both very young but it never felt wrong reading it. It was sympathetically written and I may have cried once or twice for these poor boys.
I wish this was just a work of fiction but sadly it happens.
5 out of 5 stars.
Sue x