The Thing I Didn’t Know I Didn’t Know (Russel Middlebrook: The Futon Years #1)

I’m starting my review with a short personal experience with this book. I liked the first 1/3 of the book, but then kind of lost interest in the next 1/3. I always take the book I’m currently reading with me to the laundromat on Thursday afternoons. Lo and behold, one Thursday evening I realized that I’d left “The Thing I Didn’t Know” at the laundromat. I reasoned that it probably happened because I had lost interest in the book. Was I surprised a week later to find the book pretty much untouched in the laundromat. I picked it up, took it home, recapped and continued reading.

How glad I am that I reconnected with this book. Something happened in that week during the absence of the book. because I really liked the book to completion. Russel is an adorable character; very relatable and his encounters so realistic. I loved his sexual encounters with Boston, Felicks and of course Kevin – especially their meeting at the “stinky picnic gazebo” .

Then there’s the inimitable Vernie & how their friendship came about; His room mates Gunnar & Min; his jobs at the Bake + as lifeguard; his coining of the comparisons of Unstoppable Career Drive versus Passionate Aimlessness; the “Seattle scene”………… I so loved this book when I finished it, that I immediately ordered the sequel “Barefoot In The City of Broken Dreams”.

I can not recommend this book strongly enough! If you like exceptional romance novels with an edge, then buy this book NOW and hopefully you will enjoy it as much as I did. I will also certainly re-read it again!! Bravo Brent Hartinger! Long live Russel Middlebrook!!

I watched Geography Club on Netflix and it left me wanting to know more about the characters. Did Russel and Kevin end up together? What happened to Min and Gunnar and Brian? I poked around Amazon and found Mr, Hartingers’ books. I didn’t even bother to read any reviews – I just hit BUY on all 4 of this series. Was I disappointed? Not by a longshot. The books are written in the first person by Russel. He knows WHO he is but doesn’t quite know WHAT he wants to be. He’s a little lost in the career search as well as the love department. He’s still in love with his high school boyfriend but the boyfriend has moved on. Will they meet again? Will Russel ever figure out what his path in life will be or will he continue to struggle? Along the way we learn more about his two best friends and meet some new people who come into Russels’ life. Those characters are well thought out and play important roles in Russels’ struggles to find his path. I loved Mr. Hartingers’ writing style. He’s very descriptive, funny and leaves you wanting to get to the next book.

The Thing I Didnt Know I Didnt Know

By Brent Hartinger

Five Stars

I think this may be the best thing Brent Hartinger has ever written.

I have loved all of the Russel Middlebrook books; but I confess that by the last one (Elephant of Surprise) I was finding myself yearning for somethingbut I wasnt sure what. Maybe I just wanted Russel to grow up.

And thats what Brent did.

In this wonderful new book, The Thing I Didnt Know I Didnt Know, Russel is out of college and living with his best friends Gunnar and Min on a houseboat in Seattle. But this isnt high-school Russel; this is twenty-three-year-old Russel, still with his wry take on the world, but now filled with new uncertainties about his future and his lack of a love life.

See, Russel has a sex life, just not a love life.

Oh, yes, this is not a YA book. Russel uses Grindr (not named, but please) for hookups; the f-word is said aloud, rather a lot. And while Brent is not prone to getting graphic, there is clearly stuff going on that we never heard about in high school. You go, Russel!

Russel, however, is not happy. Not even content. He has two stupid jobs in order to pay back his student loans and pay his rent to Gunnar for his room in the houseboat. He has no idea what he wants to do or where he sees his life heading. He misses his old boyfriend Kevin something fierce, and envies the apparent focus that both of his best friends seem to have in their lives.

Russel is not perfectone of the reasons Ive always cared so much about him. He can make some pretty selfish moves, and hes not so deep that he cant be shallow (see what I did there?). There is something endearing about Russels consistant self-awareness, his willingness to admit when hes wrong, or inadequate or simply dumb.

The thing I loved most about this book is when Russel saves a life, and thereby opens a door to a world where older people are as interested in him as he is in them. He begins to learn from them things he never learned at home.

Which brings me to the one thing that makes me unhappy in this book; Russels family. In spite of his protests that they love him and he loves them: My parents were good peoplethere is no real evidence that his parents are remotely interested in him or interesting in their own right. This is hard for me for two reasons. I adored my parents, and, Republicans though they were, they were my anchor all through the early years as an out gay man. They supported my relationship (singular, going on 39 years) and were always there for me. Secondly, I am easily older than Russel Middlebrooks parents, and as the father of two college-age kids, it just makes me sick to think that my kid might think of me the way Russel thinks of his mother and father.

Thing is, I know plenty of people of various ages whose relationship with their families is no better than Russels. So I cant really fault Brent for thisonly acknowledge that it bums me out.

But there are older people who make a difference in Russels new, undirected life, and Brent handles this with warmth and clever plausibility (even when were talking about Bigfootdont ask). As Vernie, a character developed with great clarity and wit, says to Russel: Everyones life is cinematicyou just need to know when to fade to black.

There is much of the old Russel Middlebrook books in this new one. But I am so glad to meet the new grown-up (not necessarily improved) Russel who stole my heart years ago. I see great things in his future, and with luck, so will Brent.

Russel Middlebrook is now 23 and navigating his way through the awkward life of a young gay man. Fans of the series will slip seamlessly back into Hartinger’s warm narrative which presents a more mature Russel, but one that is still absurdly questioning what life is truly about.

It is refreshing to read a story that confronts the often awkward stages between coming out and settling down as a mature gay person. Issues such as hook ups, sex, relationships and finding drive in life are all handled by Russel, but not always well. Which is what makes this book so appealing, because nobody is perfect.

This book is both cosy and challenging at the same time. If you have enjoyed the previous books in the series I highly recommend you read this.

Brilliant Book. Really enjoyed it. Was laugh out loud funny while being honest and moving at the same time. Brent Hartinger has taken a character and a world and matured them, I wondered if I would like this book having previously loved the other books that are written for a younger audience. I shouldn’t have doubted. He is the same old Russel, just older and in more mature situations. I couldn’t put this book down and when I finished it I found myself really missing it. Can’t wait for the next one!

The description of Seattle is so wonderful and detailed it really made me want to buy a plane ticket. I really think anyone will love this book. It makes you happy.

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