Another tale of good-looking men in gyms, the modern way to check out a guy before asking him on a date. Steven has moved back to the town he left fifteen years previously, when he was a chubby unloved kid, the butt of school jokes. He tries out the local gym and is astonished to find his school nemesis behind the desk, who clearly doesn't recognise him. Since Steven now goes by his middle name, Lane shows him around as a stranger. After meeting some friendly locals Steven tells Lane who he is, and Lane confesses that back then he was gay and trying to hide it, and jeered at others to take attention from himself.

Steven works for a software firm and has to face the fact that his transfer to Pennsylvania brings him near to his parents again. They haven't returned his calls in ten years. But Steven brings another problem, one that can stop him having a personal life, and he wishes that he didn't find the new kinder Lane so attractive.

Modern relationships bring modern dilemmas and in POSITIVE RESISTANCE we meet interesting people, from gay couples to a straight couple who enjoy their company, and in various situations we get to ask ourselves, how would we react? Steven's father is a preacher who cannot cope with having raised a boy who was gay. Does the fact that the two parents cut off their son, mean that his mother doesn't love him?

We also get an interesting take on modern sports training. A physical therapist says that coaches work kids for as much as their bodies can take, and when they crack the coaches drop them and move on to the next kid, leaving college-age young people with permanent muscle and joint injuries already.

Andrew Grey writes kindly of men with image problems or rejection due to their sexuality or health, and in this short romantic novel POSITIVE RESISTANCE we come to understand some of the issues facing the gay community today. This is a positive read for the wider community, refusing to excuse or demonise anyone - except those who harden their hearts.

Book Summary

Blobby Bobby and Lane the Pain. A thousand years ago, Lane spent his time in high school tormenting Robert Stephen Phillips to the point of tears. Stephen thought he'd left all of that behind, including his extra weight and his horrid nickname, when he came out to his parents. But now Stephen's been transferred back to his hometown and will once again have to face his disapproving parents and childhood nemesis. Imagine Stephen's surprise when Lane turns out to have changed from school bully to persistent, attentive suitor. If Lane the Pain can hear Stephen's most painful of intimate details and still want to pursue a relationship, is it possible that Stephen can reconnect with the family that turned on him years ago?

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