[I received a copy through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.]

An interesting, if sometimes uneven collection (like every collection in general, I’d say) of essays from queer people regarding religion and faith, acceptance of LGBTQ+, and how organised religions and individuals alike have both progressed and still need to progress in that regard.

Many of these essays resonated with me, not because I am a believer, but precisely because I’m not anymore: I was raised a Catholic, but could never reconcile religion with all the intolerance (whether snide and discreet or absolutely blatant) it tends to teach. There was always, for me, a clear contradiction between “Jesus is love” and “…but only for people who correspond to the official credo (aka usual cisgender, heterosexual, and if they’re white, it’s even better). Not that these essays have given me renewed faith in any belief whatsoever, but it was good to read about how other people lived this, whether they retained or found their faith again, and especially when it comes to ministers (several of the writers in this collection are or were ordained). While there’s a depressing side to it, considering there’s still a lot of work to be done, there’s also much hope in here for society to change in the future.

I do wish there had been more input, though, from people coming from other faiths than the Abrahamic religions. The book’s synopsis does mention “Is it possible to believe in God and be gay?”, so I don’t know if that was to be read as “strictly God in its Islamic or Judeo-Christian acception” or not. I’d still have been interested in additional perspectives. What about Hinduism, Shinto, Wicca? Do monotheistic religions really have a monopoly on intolerance when it comes to LGBTQ+?

Conclusion: 3.5 stars

I picked this audiobook up on a whim. I needed something to listen to while I was working and the synopsis sounded interesting. I saw some good reviews from people that I know and thought I’d give it a whirl. I have heard a lot of praise over the years for Lisa Lutz. In the end, hopefully this book is not indicative of her work in general or I don’t think I’ll pick up another.

To put it simply this was a book with a good idea that was made to be completely nonsensical. The story features approximately five narrators along the way and all of them are basically identical. I didn’t find anything that separated the characters from one another in personality or behavior. They also introduce us to too many other characters. Half the time I had no idea who we were talking about because they mention about fifty people but only ten of them are actually important so I have no idea who anyone else is.

There’s also a lot of filler in this book. Most of the first half of the book was loooooong conversations about teenagers hooking up, who was popular, and what everyone was wearing. I swear, if Gemma went on one more rant about her outfit I would have screamed. And it just went on and on and on. Literally nothing happened for several hundred pages except sex, clothes and parties.

I don’t mind a book that’s a slow burn but this was a snail’s pace. I didn’t even realize that the revenge plot was in motion until about four pranks into it, and Gemma blatantly calls it out. I remember thinking, “Oh, we’re already in motion with this? I had no idea!”

Ms. Witt was utterly useless. She acts like she stumbles on some deep, dark secret. But it must not be too big of a secret because eight different students tell her about it and at least half the staff knows about it too. This secret is also supposed to be indicative of an embedded institutional attitude of “boys will be boys”, but it’s only been going on for five years and when the rest of the staff find out about it they are horrified. So I would hardly call that an institutional issue.

Also, I have no idea why this was portrayed as some horrible abuse on women. Yeah, the boys are talking about their sexual conquests, pitting the girls in a contest that they don’t know about. It’s not right, it’s gross, but teenage boys are functioning at a maturity level of barely above caveman. You can force feed them as much feminism as you like, he’s still going to act like a rabid animal. Because he is. There was a single instance in the book of a girl being coerced into a sexual act she didn’t want to perform, the rest of the girls were either in a relationship (or thought they were, lying for the win) or were completely willing. So, shouldn’t the real lesson here be that randomly hooking up with boys gave them fodder to act like animals and girls should value themselves more than that? That’s the message I would want my daughter getting. The only valuable thing that Mr. Witt does in this book is tell the girls that they don’t have to perform sexual acts unless they want to, and all the girls act like this is some shocking revelation to them. That’s rather sad if that’s true of teenage girls these days.

Finally, the ending was completely ridiculous. It went to a place that made no sense at all. The girls had already won. They had made an end to the contest. They had punished the boys involved. But then we go to the absolute extreme anyway. Why? You already won. It’s not smart to keep fighting a war that has already been won. And in the end the girls complained a lot about the boys not taking responsibility, but they ended up doing something far worse and took no responsibility either. This book did nothing to further any conversation about bullying, feminism, or sexual relationships between teenagers. It was just bad.

Building trust is a process and does not work overnight. It comes with years of togetherness, however, if you are determined to build a lasting relationship, there are small instances that can open opportunities to build trust.  However, nurturing a long distance relationship is a different ball game altogether and only trust can help you build togetherness when you are miles apart.  Here at some insightful tips to grow your trust.

Stop lying
You may be tempted to lie because you do not want to hurt their feelings and instead you choose to speak what she/he expects to hear. But have you ever thought about the consequences when the truth is out. You will not only lose your  self-respect before your partner but will also jeopardise your relationship.  Openness is vital for nurturing your closeness.  Your value system is at display in such crucial events and it makes sense to share the truth at the first appropriate moment rather than putting it off or covering it with a lie. Remember an ideal partner will prefer to be supportive rather than aggressive at any situation. The hurt may lead to some strain in the relationship but it may tie some knots of resilience and trust for a greater understanding and care.

Listening skills
Constructive communication is key to your relationship.  Good listening skills shows your respect and concern for your partner.  After a hard day’s work,  it is good if you have someone to listen to your woes. Therefore train yourself to become a good listener by not interrupting or concluding the talk before letting your partner finish his/her point.  This also leads to constructive argument where you can understand each other to find an ideal solution.

Share your weakness
This is another piece of wisdom to grow trust.  When you share your weakness, it shows you are letting down your guards to build togetherness. This "we zone" of openness where you do not shy of your shortcomings will help strengthen your long distant relationship. So do not hesitate to share your pain when your senior reports your mistakes. Friendship is the core of any relationship and sharing your fears as well as your dreams is an integral part of it.

Exploring sexuality
Sex is an important part of a relationship, however, it becomes difficult to maintain the passion in long distance relationship. However, technology has made visual communication easy and also made inroads in the adult toy industry. The evolution of life size dolls for ultra-real life like sexual experience can help your partner de-stress sexually in your absence and can also be used for threesome. The TPE sex doll will also help explore the dark desires that each one nurtures during their growing up period. This too promotes closeness in the relationship.

Planning your future

When you make long term plans together, it signifies your partnership is integral to your life. It can be as insignificant as discussing your look for the next party and it can be as important as your career planning. They play a pivotal role in keeping the fire burning.

Some decades ago, there were hardly any cases of divorce or separation. Marriage was considered a holy institution imbibing truthfulness and openness for lasting relationship. However, the truth is that given the fast paced life and changing priorities, we need to not only work on our communication skills to understand and build trust but also to give space to each other and spend time together.

قصتي الساخنة كانت مع سكس حيوانات شو اروع مواقع عربية لمشاهدة افلام نيك حصان وبنات مع كلاب تملك صدر رهيب و جسم نووي حيث تتظاهر بالتسول و تمارس الدعارة و تمر على المحلات و انا كنت اعمل في احد المحلات بائع لما دخلت تتسول و انا عيوني لم تفارق صدرها الجميل الواقف . و لما انتبهت الى اني انظر الى صدرها مسحت و قالت هل اعجبك فقلت نعم و انتصب زبي بقوة ثم عرضت عليها ان تمارس معي الجنس هناك في المحل و هي طبعا توافق لانها قحبة و انا اغلقت عليها المحل و اختفينا في الغرفة الخلفية بعدما تاكدت انه لم يلاحظ دخولها اي احد و مباشرة اخرجت لها زبي كي تمص و ترضع و كانت تدخل زبي في فمها و تمصه مص ساخن جدا

حين دخل زبي في فمها احسست بالحرارة تتوزع فيه و تسري في كل جسمي و انا مع سكس حيوانات شو اروع مواقع عربية لمشاهدة افلام نيك حصان وبنات مع كلاب تمص الزب بقوة و تلعب بخصياتي و انا واقف ائن بقوة اه اه اه ارضعي اه احححح ادخلي زبي كاملا و رغم ان زبي طويل الا انها كانت تبلعه حتى ارى شفتها العليا تلامس عانتي . ثم طلبت منها ان تخرج لي بزازها و كان حجمهما مثير و بياضهما رهيب و وضعت زبي بين بزازها و بدات انكح الصدر و امسكهما و هي ما زالت تمسك نهديها و انا ادفع زبي بقوة بين البزاز فيختفي و اشعر بمتعة جنسية قوية و كبيرة مع سكس حيوانات شو اروع مواقع عربية لمشاهدة افلام نيك حصان وبنات مع كلاب لها صدر كبير و جميل جدا و لحمها طري و لذيذ .

ثم سخنتني و هيجتني و انا قلت لها الان سانيك كسك الساخن و ارتمينا على الارض و فتحت لي رجليها و رفعتهما و تركتني ادخل زبي في تلك الحرارة اللزجة الجميلة و انا انيك سكس حيوانات شو اروع مواقع عربية لمشاهدة افلام نيك حصان وبنات مع كلاب و نياكة و كنت انيك و العب بصدرها الرائع و اقبلها من شفتيها قبلات ساخنة نار و هي توحوح اه اه اه اه .. ثم بدات ببطئ احرك لها زبي في كسها و استمتع مع احلى سكس حيوانات شو اروع مواقع عربية لمشاهدة افلام نيك حصان وبنات مع كلاب و هي تفتح رجليها و كلما تقع عيني على عينها تضحك معي و انا احاول ان المسها في كل جسمها و اتحسس عليها بلا توقف و امسك ثدييها و اضمهما و العقهما و طبعا زبي ما زال يتحرك في كسها .

سكس كلب

ثم سخنت اكثر حتى بلغت ذروة الشبق و زبي في الكس و حركاتي صارت كلها لا ارادية لانني مثل المجنون و مكهرب جدا و زبي كان يدخل و يخرج بسرعة قياسية ثم احسست باحلى رعشة جنسية في حياتي لما شعرت ان زبي سيكب و المني يتحرك نحو فتحة الزب . و بدات اكب و اكب و اقذف بكل حرارة داخل كس المتسولة و هي تقول ما هذه السرعة حبيبي لم نشبع من النيك و انا اقول لها الامر ليس بيدي و كنت اقذف و اصيح اه اه اح اح اه اه اه و زبي في كس سكس حيوانات شو اروع مواقع عربية لمشاهدة افلام نيك حصان وبنات مع كلاب كسها نار و بزازها صواريخ .

ما احلى النيك من الخلف في سكس حيوانات عربي منقبة سورية تتناك من كلب فى عيد الحب xnxx مع شرموطة محجبة طيزها كبير و جميلة جدا و قد وجدتها في شباك اصدار جواز السفر في البلدية و كانت واضحةانها قحبة و شرموطة من خلال الماكياج الكثيف الذي كان في وجهها . و بما انها ساعدتني و وقفت معي فقد تبادلنا ارقام الهواتف و تطورت علاقتنا و انا اعمل في المحكمة و مثلما ساعدتني ساعدتها مرة اخرى و اصبحنا مثل الاصدقاء المقربين و كنت اريد ان انيكها و ادخل زبي في طيزها الكبير و انتظرت الى غاية عيد العشاق اين وجدتها في حظني و انا اعبث في فردتي طيزها الكبيرتين و الطريتين و هي تلعب بزبي الواقف الجميل

و كنت اقبلها من فمها و شفتيها الكبيرتين و ابوس بوس ساخن جدا و ادخلت يدي من تحت كيلوتها لالمس لها طيزها الكبير و الفلقتين الطريتين جدا و اان اواصل تقبيلها م نالفم و زبي انتصب حتى لم يعد له مكان داخل البنطلون . ثم رميت امامها زبي الواقف ليمسكه  وتنطلق في احلى سكس حيوانات عربي منقبة سورية تتناك من كلب فى عيد الحب xnxx و اجمل مص و انا اصبحت هائج جدا و ادرتها و وضعت زبي على فلقتي طيزها امام الفتحة  ورميت من فمي اللعاب ثم ادخلت زبي في فتحتها الجميلة لينطلق النيك الساخن جدا و هي تتغنج اه اه اح اح على مهلك زبك مؤلم اه اه اه و انا اكمل ادخاله حتى ادخلته كاملا في طيزها

و اعجبني الامر كثيرا و انا من خلفها اصفع لها طيزها في كل مرة و اضربها و ارى اللحم يرتعد كانه هبر و انا ادخل زبي عبر الفتحة  وانيك نيك ساخن جدا في اجمل سكس حيوانات عربي منقبة سورية تتناك من كلب فى عيد الحب xnxx مع محجبة شرموطة و مطيزة جيدا . و كنت مثل الذي يمتطي الحصان حيث ان طيزها الضخم جعلها تحمل جسمي و انا لست سمين بل معتدل و ركبت فوق طيزها و ادخلت زبي للخصيتين بقوة كبيرة و و هي تتغنج اه اه اح اح ا على مهلك زبك مؤلم اه اه اه اخرجه ارجوك اه اه اه و لم تكن تتالم بل كانت تتشرمط حتى تسخنني و تشعرني برجولتي  و فحولتي في سكس فانتاين عربي ساخن جدا

و ظلت حرارة النيك تزيد و ترتفع كلما كان زبي يحتك عبر خاتم طيزها و احشاءها حتى اخرجت المني الذي كان مخزونا في خصيتاي و كبيت كل حليبي داخل طيزها و احشاءها و انا اصرخ اه اه اه اي اي اي اي و الشهوة تخرج مني ساخنة و جميلة جدا . ثم اخرجت زبي الذي ذبل انتصابه و تغير حتى لونه و طلبت منها ان ترضعه و لكنها ضحكت و قالت خذه لاختك ترضعه و صفعتها و مسحته على وجهها و كانت رائحة طيزها فيه و هكذا مر على احلى سكس حيوانات عربي منقبة سورية تتناك من كلب فى عيد الحب xnxx مع احلى محجبة شرموطة