'Language Lessons' by Jay Bell takes a look at Joey, a 17 year old young man, who hasn't experienced and doesn't understand the necessity of being in love. He flits around, somewhat irresponsibility, dwelling on the superficial things in life, not caring about the consequences. Joey thinks he has it all, but having everything on a temporary basis, eventually catches up with you.
At first, I didn't like Joey at all. I thought he was a conceited, shallow, little ass! He certainly was a master of manipulation. He did, however, redeem himself by reuniting two guys who had deep feelings for each other. This made him take pause and think about his own life. I actually began to feel sorry for him as it began to dawn on him that having someone special in your life might not be such a bad thing.
Phillip was absolutely adorable! I loved his mixture of honesty and innocence and the way he had Joey doubting his 'methods'. I didn't feel too sorry for Joey as he whined:"I don't know what to do!" I really liked Joey's mom. She was very insightful. I was both amazed and amused when he asked her for advice about how it felt to be in love. It was very touching. His friend, Maggie was great at giving him advice too, although I imagined that she was probably busting at the seams trying not to laugh at his predicament which he would have so richly deserved. And, of course, I liked 'the first time' between Joey and Phillip, especially since Joey, for the first time, was more interested in Phillip's needs than his own. Sweet Phillip was so adorably naive about carnal matters and Joey was so infinitely patient with him. When Phillip asked: "Uh, how do we decide which one of us is the girl?" I had to giggle, but was proud of Joey for the way he handled the whole scene.
'Language Lessons' is a brief, but meaningful, story which looks into the trials and tribulations of teenage boys discovering what it means to be in a relationship. It was funny, serious, endearing, frustrating and, best of all, it had a happy ending. For a quick, but entertaining and purposeful read, this story will be just the thing.
