A Family Saga in a Changing America

The Warners, a central Texas family, lived through a changing America from the 1960s to the 2000s. This saga follows the problems of the family trying to adapt. The main character is Justin. He discovered early that he was gay. His mother Lacy helped him adapt, and Julian went on the Harvard and to a relationship with Phillip.

Julian’s parents lived through the Vietnam War. They wrote to each other during the conflict and when his father arrived home, they married. The marriage wasn’t smooth. His father solved his emotional problems with a series of affairs while his mother directed her dreams of higher education into dealing with her son.

In addition to the struggles during the Vietnam War, there are the problems of Mexican immigrants, the changing political culture, and the rise of minorities. The Warners are typical Texans, but their views of the changes and their struggles reflect the lives of many Americans.

If you lived through this period, it brings back memories. If you’re interested in how your parents of grandparents lived, this is an interesting look back. This characters in the novel were well rounded and believable. The author had a good understanding of the period and managed bring a complex time to life.

I received this book from St. Martin’s Press for this review.

I love St. Martin's press and the excellent quality of books they publish. This is one of those rare books that I did not connect with--my problem, not the writer's. I would not wish to rate this lower than it deserves, just because I failed to connect with it, so I would prefer to admit my defeat and allow other readers to assess the book on its merits.

The review forces me to assess a star rating, so I will give it 4 stars, because I don't want to lessen it for other readers.

This is a well-written familiy saga which explores discrimination, racism, adoption, same sex relationships, and other topics. The characters are well developed. I received a free copy of this book from the publishers via Netgalley. My review is voluntary.

Wow! "Lone Stars" by was an incredible novel. This book was rich with honest examination of parenthood, human flaws and strengths, being gay, relationships, motivation to do better than our parents, and the underlying current of our ancestors. Was interesting and engaging at every page. I highly recommend this book. Thank you NetGalley, Justin Deabler, and St. Martin press for the early reader addition. all opinions are my own. #StMartinsPress, #LoneStars

Lone Stars is a multigenerational story of love, pain, equality, and struggle. The story takes off with Julian Warner discussing what he and his husband will do when their son asks about Julian's family. With a series of flashbacks from the moment his mother hit adolescence, to marriage, and child bearing years, we see the story of love and pain. A world torn apart through war and the struggle for acceptance. This story is a heavily drawn character study on the Warner family and their story in American history. We touch upon tough subject matter including; the Vietnam War, immigration, same-sex marriage, and religion. A beautifully told portrait of an American family.

This is a lovely big hearted novel about a family which will linger in your mind. Lacy was the smartest girl in town; her mother, who had a secret, wanted her to be pretty. Aaron was the smartest boy in his town as well but when he doesn't make it into medical school, he finds himself drafted. These two become unlikely pen pals during the Vietnam war and then, on the day Aaron finally gets back to the US, they marry. Their son Julian watches their marriage fall apart even as he discovers his own sexuality. He too is the smartest kid in town and ends up at Harvard, where he meets and ultimately marries, Phillip. That's the outline but what's within is the story of a woman whose intelligence is squashed by the system pushing her out of a Phd program, a troubled man who finds solace in cheating on his wife, and a son who spreads his wings. Lacy does everything she can for Julian and after he graduates for the gay kids at the high school where she teaches. This opens with Julian reflecting on the son- Pabl0- he has adopted with Phillip. I would have skipped the prologue, which to my mind didn't add because it removed the tension from their effort to have a child but no matter. I loved these characters, especially Lacey, loved the small things (the Ren faire!), the big things (what we hide from ourselves and others). Deabler is a terrific storyteller and I found myself unable to put this down. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. I loved this one and highly recommend.

Lone Stars is a gripping and thoughtful debut novel about how our histories and our families impact our future. 4 generations of a family, living in and shaped by Texas, current events, faith, prejudice, and determination. The stories intertwined wonderfully, often taking my surprise. The characters were complicated, weighed down by life and expectations, each generation learning and growing from the one before.

A three-generation narrative of a Texas family told as Julian Warner, the son from the third generation, prepares to adopt a baby with his husband. I love both family narratives and historical fiction, so this appealed to me on both counts. It was a fast, engaging read with characters that generally felt fully fleshed-out, though a few felt a bit underdeveloped (mostly Julian's dad).

Content warning w/minor spoilers: has homophobic slurs and one scene of homophobic violence (narrated after the fact by characters not involved, so not terribly graphic). It's otherwise generally a positive depiction of queer family, though, and not a Bury Your Gays book, so that was a nice break from still-too-common tropes in fiction.

At first, the pace of this epic, multi-generational story as it moved through the early generations caused me to lose interest a little, but they were important to understand the lives that eventually led to Julian. By the midpoint, I was so enmeshed in the family that I cheered for every choice that led to success and lamented every decision that led to failure. I cried when lives and marriages fell apart, but the ultimate note of hopefulness that the book ends on made the entire rollercoaster worthwhile. A really stunning story.

Another outstanding debut novel this week. Deabler’s protagonist is a gay man who grew up in conservative Texas. Julian mother doted on him, recognized his intelligence, and homeschooled him for his early years. His father, a Vietnam veteran, had girlfriend after girlfriend and the marriage finally ended in divorce. Justin struggled with his sexual identity, but entering Harvard early, he could finally become the person he really was. In the introduction, we are introduced to Justin and his husband as they welcome a new baby to their home. The book, at times, was uncomfortable as the reader became emotionally involved with Julian, but in the end, it is a triumph on standing up for who you are.

I loved this book! It’s very well-balanced. A lot happens to the characters, but it never feels excessive or overloaded. You never feel like the author is piling things on just to pile things on. I also love that even though this spans 60 years of American history, everything in it still feels completely relevant to today. It reminded me a lot of The Heart’s Invisible Furies & I think anyone who enjoyed that would enjoy this book too.

I received a free electronic ARC of this excellent novel from Netgalley, Justin Deabler, and St. Martin's Press. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this novel of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. Justin Deabler writes a tight family saga with protagonists you feel you know. Some of them, I'm afraid to say, I'm probably kin to. This is a debut novel, but you won't know it by the stories here. Justin Deabler writes with heart.

We follow four generations of the Warner family through the ins and outs of central Texas from the late 1960s through the 2000s. We see the Vietnam War through the eyes of Texas boys. We live it, through the rise and fall of the first air-conditioned events stadium, the Houston Astrodome, the growth of and the sudden death of Enron, the loss of the space shuttle Challenger, the rapid growth of Houston. Especially, we see the problems with the border of Mexico, the efforts we must make to help immigrants settle into life as we know it here in the U.S., and the inroads made through these years into finding equality for our minorities, the LGBT community, immigrants, and women in our world today. This is a book to savor, with protagonists who matter to you immediately, going through life challenges that we have each faced ourselves, in one degree or another. It is a joy to watch as the world begins to adapt to a more liberated community of folk. There are days you might need a microscope to see progress, but we ARE finding our way to a more equal standard.

I'm still parsing through all of my thoughts on this one a bit, but overall I really enjoyed this debut by Justin Deabler; I think this would a really interesting book to discuss with a book club. I love a good multi-generational family story and this one definitely delivered on that front. I was quickly sucked into the story and trying to figure out where it would all lead. In particular, it made me think a lot about how we are shaped by our parents'/family's pasts, even the parts we may not know about. There were some parts of the family's story that I was hoping we'd eventually get more clarity on - but perhaps that was the point, that some things will remain somewhat unknown? I was completely engrossed for the majority of this book but then there was something about the ending that left me a bit dissatisfied - and I'm still trying to figure out what exactly it was.

4/5 stars

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

CW: racism, sexism, homophobia, death

I want to thank St. Martin’s Press for the digital netgalley copy of Lone Stars by Justin Deabler in exchange for an honest review.

I have loved being able to find local historical fiction to enjoy this year, and this one especially stood out with a LGBTQIA+ theme. In it, the author outlines a multigenerational family history alongside the many social topics that affected them. Viewpoints of immigration, racism, and discrimination ultimately lead to the coming-of-age story of a gay young man in the South. The synopsis mentions that “by uncloseting ourselves - as immigrants, smart women, gay people - we find power in empathy.”

The author notes on GoodReads that he wrote this story based on his own journey to learn more about his Texan family. I think Justin summarizes the overlapping theme of his story the best in his own words: “Immigrants who cross national borders to find a better life. Queer people and misfits, who can’t live where they are born and so they leave for safer lands.” He also says that he in adulthood is “only now beginning to appreciate how much we live in the echoes of all that came before us.”

I think this debut novel is powerful and provides representation that is always needed. 4/5⭐️

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for gifting me a digital ARC of this book by Justin Deabler - 4.5 stars for a great debut!

This story traces Julian Warner's life as well as the generations before him as he becomes a parent and thinks about what legacy he will impart on his child. We see the struggles of each generation - as immigrants hiding their true origins, a promising PhD candidate forced out of her dreams because she was a woman, and a gay teenager desperate for escape from his small town. As we see the generations pass, the author imparts the pertinent historical events happening at the same time giving more glimpses into how such events shape us.

I really enjoyed this book. Some people may pass it by because of its LGBTQ+ classification; this book is so much more than that. It's a family saga seeped in history and well worth a read. I loved Lacy's character and her desire to do whatever she could to see that her son succeed. It's also a story of regret and grief. A great debut novel - looking forward to more from this author!

The book was very well written, but after a few chapters, I found I wasn't connecting with the characters so I did not finish the book.

I guess I should have read the description a bit better, but I gave it my best shot and got to 55%. Then I closed it and said, “self, you don’t have to finish this”. When a book makes you feel uncomfortable and anxious, I have to call it quits.
I am a 64-year-old grandmother, have two nephews that are gay and I respect their choices. But I do not want nor need to read about, observe or inquire of their personal sexual relations. This story crosses that line. The first half of this book is good, it starts out with Lacy and Julien’s early life, then about 50% in, it takes a dive and that was it for me. I even started flipping thru trying to see if it got better and I couldn’t find it. Sorry, this one comes in with 2 stars since the first half of the book is really not bad but then there should be a gay sexual alert in the description due to the content.
I think this story had potential if the author could have just stayed with the family saga and the trials and tribulations of immigration, but it tipped over into politics and intimacy. Quick turn off for me.
I was given the opportunity to read an ARC from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for my honest unbiased review. This one comes in with 2 stars.

4/5

***Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a copy of Lone Stars in exchange for an honest review***

I really liked this book. I am a sucker for historical fiction, especially when it has LGBT+ themes. This book was done in a masterful way and handled a wide arrange of social topics well.

From racism, sexism, homophobia, and blatant forms of discrimination, this book followed a family and their collective histories. Although a lot of the issues were tackled very lightly I satisfied with how they were presented (the author did not include unnecessary drama).

This book was an outstanding read and I would recommend it.

A beautifully written elegy of family and home, and a moving ode to generational inheritance, both positive and traumatic.

Not everything worked, ultimately, but the emotions run so high that it doesn't particularly matter. I didn't get enough development of Aaron, for example, to make the payoff to his arc satisfying. (This is one of very, very few times I'd advocate for a longer book, but a couple more chapters exploring Aaron, Phil's parents, and maybe even Clay would have done wonders for their characters.)

But again, the connection I had to the emotions present made any misgivings seem small.

I enjoyed this debut novel. I look forward to this author’s future work.

I connected with each character and appreciate that the novel ended on a positive note. I recommend ghat everyone should read this book.