Let's Hear it for the Boy by T.A. Webb

Review: Man freakin' alive! T.A. Webb's Let's Hear it for the Boy is powerful and compelling. The impact is like a one-two punch and it's one I won't soon forget. It's not very long, but what it contains will take a lifetime to process—at least that's how I was left feeling.

Matthew's recitation of his memories of Patrick pulled me right in; no build up, just right there, right now. Even though I had a good idea of where the story was going to to—I was warned that there would be tears but that it ended on a positive note (she knows me well my friend does)—it still did not lessen the impact. I was totally caught up in Matthew's story; not only in relation to his love, but also in how he got to where he was, how part of his life was dedicated to Auntie Social.

And then there's the scourge of AIDS and HIV; how a generation lost their innocence in such a horrific way. I've read other stories, watched documentaries, read the news and yet I was always on the outside. But with T.A. Webb's Let's Hear it for the Boy being on the outside was no longer possible. It's immediate and utterly visceral and completely and heartbreakingly stunning.

This is one of those books that will stay with me for a long time to come—and for that I'm very glad.
And now T.A. Webb is now on my favourites list and I've already made good headway on acquiring his other books. Gotta love it!

If there's one book you read between now and whenever, I highly, highly recommend that this book, T.A. Webb's Let's Hear it for the Boy, be the one. I don't think you'll regret it.

RATING: 5 out of 5 stars and VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! 

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Story Description: Auntie Social is the biggest, baddest drag queen in Atlanta—she knows what she wants and she gets it. She’s tough, merciless, and top dog. That’s what Paul Stewart, reporter for the Journal, had heard, and all he expects when he’s assigned to interview the legend.. But nobody really knows the person behind the make-up.

What if…what if the person behind the sarcasm and music was more than just a man in a dress? What happened in his life that, thirty years later, made him a successful CEO, a philanthropist, and a legend in the gay community? Thirty years and almost a million dollars raised for people living with HIV/AIDs, yet still no one knows the real story.

Until one night, one man breaks through the shell, and Matthew Trammell—Auntie Social—opens the door he closed many years ago and lets his secrets spill out.

Pain is like rain, it covers your skin and soaks in bone-deep, but it eventually recedes and allows fresh things to grow.


Buy links:
Amazon.ca / Amazon.com