The Christmas Throwaway by R.J. Scott
Silver Publishing
Contemporary M/M
ISBN: 978-1-920468-44-6
Reviewed by Lisa




He isn’t a runaway, he is a throwaway.  Thrown out of his home because of who he is, gay.  The scars to his seventeen year old mind are as strong as the multitude of scars on his body.  Zachary Weston has only known life as being a big disappointment to his retired army father.  The last four years particularly brutal and unforgiving at home, yet it doesn’t compare to being kicked out a week before Christmas with only the clothes on his back and a miniscule amount of cash.  For a naïve, innocent teen the past seven days have been an eye opening nightmare.

Officer Ben Hamilton is fresh out of college and in his first year on the force.  He’s idealistic enough to hope that he can make a difference.  The small town of Hill Valley has always been home to Ben, his immediate family and his many friends.  As bright as Ben is, everyone thought he’d become a cop in the city, but Ben knows that he will be happy and content as a police officer in Hill Valley.

Sleeping on a bench in the church graveyard on a snowy Christmas Eve Zach is awakened by an insistent voice telling him to get up.  It’s a snap judgment call for Ben to take Zach to his mom’s home instead of the town’s small police station.  Numb with cold, gaunt from lack of food and generally dirty all over, Zach is stupefied that Donna Hamilton doesn’t bat an eye when her son brings him home.  Zach expects to be thrown out every time he takes a breath, especially when he tells them he’s gay.  Of course, that idea is immediately shot down when Ben tells Zach he’s gay too.  All it takes is a helping hand for things to turn. Trust is the first step but who is going to take that first step?  It matters on both sides.

The Christmas Throwaway is the Happily Ever After tale that everyone wishes for.There is a sense of compassion and hope against overwhelming odds – a teen that’s all but given up, holding on by a thread.  Told with a skilled and delicate touch, The Christmas Throwaway manages to give readers that ‘feel good’ story without falling into overkill or maudlin, unrealistic tripe.  Zach is the real deal with his emotions everywhere at once, while Ben is the knight in shining armor without seeming too good to be true.  The fact that there’s chemistry between them only adds to the tension and it too is tastefully handled here.  The Christmas Throwaway will give you that heartwarming glow, promise.  I Joyfully recommend The Christmas Throwaway!