Group Review: Us Three by Mia Kerick

In his junior year at a public high school, sweet, bright Casey Minton’s biggest worry isn’t being gay. Keeping from being too badly bullied by his so-called friends, a group of girls called the Queen Bees, is more pressing. Nate De Marco has no friends, his tough home life having taken its toll on his reputation, but he’s determined to get through high school. Zander Zane’s story is different: he’s popular, a jock. Zander knows he’s gay, but fellow students don’t, and he’d like to keep it that way.

No one expects much when these three are grouped together for a class project, yet in the process the boys discover each other’s talents and traits, and a new bond forms. But what if Nate, Zander, and Casey fall in love—each with the other and all three together? Not only gay but also a threesome, for them high school becomes infinitely more complicated and maybe even dangerous. To survive and keep their love alive, they must find their individual strengths and courage and stand together, honest and united. If they can do that, they might prevail against the Queen Bees and a student body frightened into silence—and even against their own crippling fears.

So, every now and then, here at BMBR, there comes a book that we love so much we can't help but rave about it. One Unicorn will read it, wax lyrical and more of us jump on the bandwagon - then we start fighting over who gets to review it. When the glittery DM's come out ya know we're in for trouble. So. In the spirit of compromise we settle the situation by doing a group review. When Justin told us how fabulous Us Three was of course we all wanted to read and review. The afore mentioned compromise has resulted in this post. Enjoy.

Breann's thoughts;

What a story. What a wonderful, beautiful story.

The chemistry between Zander, Nate and Casey was off the charts. They fit together so perfectly, whether it was two of them together or all three of them together, I could feel all the emotion flowing between them. What they had was unexpected for the boys. While they were working together, this strong and solid bond was forming and they had no idea. They had no idea that they could have two people in their life that meant so much to them, that without all three of them there, it just wasn't the same. Just two would have never worked.

The bullying was heavy. It was intense and gut-wrenching. The poor boy, who is just trying to get by, just won’t be left alone. The mean girls won’t let him be. It’s incredibly brave of him to return to school after the horrible things that were done to him. I loved, absolutely loved, how Nate and Zander were there for Casey. They were both there but in completely different ways. They helped in their own way, and both were equally loving and effective in their efforts.

Casey, Nate and Zander’s characters were written flawlessly. Flawlessly, I tell you! They were three very distinct and different people. Their dialogue and choices were true to who they were every single time. The way they comforted and loved each other was different for each of them and I could see their individuality shine through in every scene.

Us Three is one of the best books I’ve read this year. It wasn’t an easy read, but it was definitely beautiful and honest. There were some horribly difficult moments and some romantic and sweet moments. It was intense, but completely worth it.

Justin's thoughts;

What can I say about Us Three? I had very high hope going in but at the same time I had reservations about a YA ménage book. Let me just say that this was a slam dunk. Mia Kerick did an amazing job telling the story of three completely different young men who became friends and then discovered something more between them.

This is a love story. It is told from each of the three MC’s points of view, using different story-telling techniques. The format was interesting and unique and gave me insight into each characters' thoughts and feelings. I felt like I really got to know each of them in a personal way and I was drawn immediately into their story.

As with any book involving bullying, this one may be difficult for some to read. The bullying in Us Three is vicious - and surprisingly the bullies are girls. As extreme as it was, I still found it believable and realistic. In the year 2014 some suggest bullying is no longer a problem and that schools and teachers will not tolerate this sort of behavior. Unfortunately, bullying does still exist and in some instances even to this extreme.

I don’t want to spoil this for anyone so I won’t say more but I highly recommend this book.

 




Jo's thoughts;

I hesitate normally on deciding to read ménage books. Lets face it, a lot of the time it is just an excuse to read a book about multiple beautiful people putting tab A’s in multiple slot B’s, yet when an author gets the choreography and story right I will own the fact that I have enjoyed them. It is just rare for an author to convey the intimacy I need to feel an attachment for the characters. When I found out this was a YA book I was even more hesitant but on a friends recommendation I read the book and I am so thankful.

Mia Kerick’s portrayal of Casey, Nate and Zander’s lives and how they intertwine just broke me. It is a wonderfully weird combination of heartbreak that rips into you, while still being so beautifully sweet. Ms. Kerick creates these lonely, broken souls and weaves a story showing you how they fit together to complete each other.

The bullying aspect also really stayed with me. I honestly believe we let our “friends” destroy our souls much more than we ever let a significant other. We get so lonely for companionship and acceptance that we keep moving the line of what we would put up with until you no longer recognize who you are and what you would do to fit in. It is horrible to want Casey to not trust, to not have hope, to not forgive and yet……

Lori's thoughts;

When I think of menage, or a relationship of three, I think of smokin' hot sexy times and not-a-lotta plot. This may be unfair because I've not read much in this sub-genre and it's never really appealed to me. When J started talking about this great book he'd just read I had to give it a go though - and I loved every minute of it.

It is a beautiful story, with fabulous characters. Characters that you don't think will work together, yet the chemistry between them is amazing. I don't think I could even pick a favourite because they all brought something special to the story.

The bullying storyline was sensitive and had a twist in it - it wasn't just your typical jock bullies. I'm wracking my brain trying to think of something bad to say about this, but I can't. It's one of those books you start and just can't put down. Mia Kerrick is a new to me author, I can guarantee I'll be reading her stuff again.