Been Here All Along by Sandy Hall

After reading Sandy Hall’s novels, A Little Something Different and Signs Point to Yes, and being rather disappointed by them, I was not too optimistic about her soon-to-be-published novel, Been Here All Along (coming August 2016).  Sandy Hall has a tendency to rush her novels, while at the same time creating far too much drama in her character’s lives.  This new novel will be here in August 2016, but I received an advanced reader copy.

Been Here All Along is very similar to Hall’s other novels in terms of characters, writing style, and plot development.  Gideon is a self-described nerd.  He’s running for class president, head of the yearbook club, and incredibly smart.  His best friend Kyle is a basketball superstar, dating the head cheerleader, and an all-around popular guy.  To outsiders it would appear that they live perfect lives, but each of them is harboring a secret they do not want anyone else to know, including their best friend. 

This book has one large difference from Hall’s other two novels.  The romantic relationship it focuses on is between two male characters, Gideon and Kyle to be exact.  It was a pleasant surprise to find a book with a gay relationship in it because they are so under-represented in our libraries/bookstores.  I have found there to be less of a stigma on these novels in the kindle world, especially among free kindle books, but their presence is severely lacking on physical shelves.

Despite the difference in the romantic relationship, the rest of the novel follows the same plot outline as her other books.  There is simply too much happening and too few pages to contain it.  While attending an author event one night at work I heard a quote that stuck with me.  The author said that, when writing a novel, you write, and write, and write and then when you think you’re done, you cut the content in half.  It seems like Sandy cut the length of her novel, but forgot to decrease the intense amount of drama happening.

Rather than focusing on one or two specific conflicts within the novel Halls tries to give each characters two or three conflicts to deal with, which ends with the reader being overwhelmed.  Every time a conflict would be resolved two more conflicts would pop up in its place.  Without spoiling the novel, I think that this book could have done without Ruby’s (Kyle’s girlfriend) over-the-top dramatic reactions and annoying interference.  She was an unnecessary character in this novel.

I can say with great confidence that I would never spend money on one of Sandy Hall’s books.  I wanted to like these books, I really did, but I just could not get past the immature, run of the mill plots and the subpar writing.

2/5 stars.