Be Straight with Me" by Emily Dalton, narrated by Kate Rudd, is a powerful audiobook that explores the complexities of friendship, love, and self-discovery. Kate Rudd's narration adds a nuanced and emotive dimension to Dalton's coming-of-age story, capturing the essence of the characters and their evolving relationships. The audiobook provides a compelling listening experience, immersing the audience in the intimate and often tumultuous journey of the protagonists. Dalton's narrative, coupled with Rudd's skilled narration, creates an emotionally resonant and thought-provoking audiobook that invites listeners to reflect on the intricacies of identity and connection.

When I finished her memoir, I looked up her author website and found this lovely quote/excerpt:
"I partly wondered if I had an addiction to reliving the past."

I loved this look into her past, and how the story was saturated with a tone of bittersweet nostalgia as the narrator reminisced. It was a very clear narrative, but it felt like a reflection on memories that are a bit tinged by the effects of time. Max and Emily's relationship was unique, sweet, complex and simple at the same time, and it broke my heart more than once. It was real. I'll admit I wanted things to work out for Max and Emily so badly. They clearly had a connection and loved each other on a level not everyone is lucky enough to experience firsthand.

I absolutely loved watching Emily grow as a person, and witnessing her trying to figure out over and over again who she is and what she wants out of life. And as we settled into the last couple chapters of this book, I felt a strange sense of peace and gratitude for her and what she had experienced up to that point. Thank you to the author for creating such a beautiful memoir full of verse that is so exquisitely genuine and painfully heartfelt. The writing was extraordinary.

The narration was perfect for this memoir. So full of emotion. When Emily's heart was breaking you could hear it in the narrator's voice, and that was everything to me as the listener. Thank you to the narrator for the honesty in her voice, every perfectly placed inflection, each moment of voice cracking, and the almost screaming lines of this book.

Some of my favorite quotes are from this book now, and I definitely plan on reading it again in the future.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced listener's copy.

4.5 I really enjoyed this memoir. It was very sad but also really made me feel like I was part of it all. I loved learning about her relationships and the way she felt through it all. She really spoke from the heart with a lot of emotion. This was the first memoir I’ve ever read and I can’t wait to read another. I highly recommend!

I am not sure how to rate a memoir. They are always personal and rating feels weird. Be Straight With Me is by Emily Dalton felt like I was having a long conversation with one of my close friend. The book is sad, raw, with so much love. I am grateful that I could read this. Thank you NetGalley and publishers for providing me with a copy!

The storytelling was so compelling and real. Emily was so candid and her story unlike any other that I've read. I was so curious about the outcome that I couldn't put it down. I would recommend this book to those in any relationship questioning sexuality, commitment and boundaries. A different kind of love story, told with grace and candor. beautiful.

This was a very fascinating book. I can't believe it's a memoir and a debut novel as well. Thanks to netgalley I have received an arc of this audiobook and it was amazing point blank.
The way that Emily described her love for her gay best friend and how the relationship unraveled.
they are best friends but somehow that line became blurry. *i can relate *
That fine line between best friend and lover is very complicated and confusing. This was just a great quick listen yet again it was hard hitting. I loved it

This book was really not for me. I have it in book form, too. So, yes get how this kind of relationship could happen, but it can’t really be a love story. I got bored, sorry, and should have checked in earlier.

Nice people who just did not get themselves until later. Well written.

This is a memoir of Emily Dalton and her relationship with her friend Max, who has recently come out as gay. Max and Emily have a very strong relationship, though it didn't start off that way. They didn't get along until later in their relationship. One Halloween they are dared to make out. Their relationship takes a turn from there. After some time, Max discloses that he has actual feelings for Emily. As time goes on, they get closer and closer and really dive into this secretive relationship of theirs leading to them taking it to levels one would never expect a straight women and gay man to take together. They go back and forth with moving forward with the relationship. At points during their schooling, they find themselves apart but still longing for one another. Emily is more inclined to make a commitment, though Max just isn't ready as he isn't quite sure what this all means to him as a gay male. These two really show us that love goes much deeper than two genders that are seen as belonging together go.
When I first started listening to this book, I have to admit, I was a bit confused. The farther I got into it, the more I loved what a beautiful original love story this was. Love doesn't just exist between two same gender or two opposite genders as we are taught. Love is just love. Two people fell in love with each other based on their experiences together and personalities. They traveled together, experimented together, and grew together. I really think it's a beautiful story. I'm not so sure that I can completely understand how this relationship occurred, as its confusing to me that someone who identifies as gay can fall in love with a straight female. Then again, it's not something I've ever experienced.
Thank you Netgalley and Emily Dalton for the opportunity to read this audio book. I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

This was an interesting book. I kept thinking why are you doing this to yourself, yet I can see how it could happen. I didn't care for the story in prose. It felt choppy to me. The ending was pretty anticlimactic. I kept thinking ok it's over, which doesn't tell you how great a story it was, but it still wasn't over. Then when it was over I wasn't fully prepared for it to be over and it felt it was rather abrupt. I had to go listen to the end again.

The narration was good on this one. Although it's super slow at regular speed, I had to put it at 2x to not want to scream, but that seems to be a norm.

This is an honest review in exchange for the audio copy.

Really interesting book written in a captivating way. I enjoyed it a lot and would love to read more books like this.

Be Straight With Me by Emily Dalton is a memoir told in verse that documents the author's romantic relationship with her gay male friend in college. The memoir moves swiftly and skillfully puts the reader into her experience attending a remote private college in Vermont in the 2010s. Though my experiences in college differed, I identified with Dalton's relationship experiences and ruminations. The narration was a little flat, but the story captivated me and I wanted to keep listening to find out what would happen. I really enjoyed listening to this fascinating, authentic, atmospheric memoir.

Thank you Andrews McMeel Audio and NetGalley for providing this ARC.

Emily Dalton’s memoir explores her relationship with her college best friend, Max. Their love for each other blurs the lines of gender and sexuality. Emily alternates between her life at Middlebury college and at home in Connecticut. I usually enjoy listening to memoirs but this one didn’t do it for me, I felt like I was listening to someone read from their diary. I have a feeling I would have enjoyed the book more if I had read it and not listened to it.

An interesting memoir which as an audio, does not sound in verse as the book version states. Emily Dalton is trying to discover her sexual orientation although leans toward straight more so than not. Typical college student, she takes on various relationships, gay and non-gay. She falls in love with Max (who is gay) and a great portion of the story focusses on him. Filled with stories past and the emotional roller-coaster ride readers can relate to in their own lives, this was an easy and entertaining read.

I’m definitely not poetry reader but thought I would give the book a try. I am really glad I did. This has to be one of the best love stories I have read in a while. This was gave me the same warm feeling I got from Paper Town and Fault In Our Stars. Star crossed lovers who have so much against them but try hard to overcome every obstacle. This was very well written and shared so much emotion, I couldn't stop reading it.

3.5 stars

I really enjoyed the audio for this book. It was short, but not too short. There were a few times with the flashbacks to Emily’s youth that was a little confusing but I caught on quickly. It honestly might have been the audio version and ran together quickly.

Overall I liked the story, it brought out different emotions for me. I felt for Emily and Max, it’s almost like they couldn’t be apart but couldn’t fully be together either. I also felt like Max kept his sexuality as an excuse and led Emily on at times. Either way it had to be a hard for both of them, because I do feel they truly loved each other.

I have to admit that I have developed a love for audio books over the past year or two. Which is PAINFUL for my physical book loving/sniffing self to admit. Yes, I sniff books, don’t judge me. But especially since the onset of COVID-19, as a healthcare professional, my time significantly decreased and my need for some form of relaxation significantly increased so audio books have become essential to me.

When Be Straight With Me popped up in my recommended feed I… was hesitant. Memoirs are so far out of my wheelhouse/comfort zone that I am pretty sure the zip code is somewhere around the 90210 area when compared with my east coast self. Not only is it not entirely my favorite, Be Straight With Me was written in second person POV which is something I don’t think I’ve ever read before and I wasn’t sure I would like.

First off, the voice actor, Kate Rudd, was an EXCELLENT choice to narrate this story and she did an absolutely stellar job. So much of the success of an audio book is the actor chosen to narrate and Kate was the perfect person for this.

Here’s the thing. First, second, or third person POV… I have learned it truly doesn’t matter if I am engaged and invested in the story. That, without a doubt, can be said about Be Straight With Me.

It is hard to sum up my feelings on this book (yeah, I know, not exactly the best thing for a book reviewer to admit, but there it is) because the depth of the story was profound and personal.

Emily meets Max at the beginning of her sophomore year of college. She hates him and he acts like a jerk intentionally and they basically spar with each other. But, as sometimes happens, the fighting becomes a point they actually enjoy rather than a true battle. And a friendship is born.

But it isn’t the typical friendship because of their constant banter, which is something I truly love, but also because as they grow closer an unusual physical attraction develops between them. Why unusual? Well, see, Max is gay. Not bisexual, not pansexual, not demisexual, not any other color in the LGBTQ+ rainbow. He is gay.

But he loves Emily. And he loves her with a depth that manifests into a sexual relationship with them. This, as you can imagine, causes all kinds of confusion between both of them. And, although they enter into a relationship, there isn’t a full discussion on this. Brief mentions, yes, but never do the two sit down, soberly, and discuss how this can possible work.

Of course, it doesn’t. There is a back and forth where the flame between them flares and smolders, but they always seem to come back to one another. Even when… they sleep with other people. Now, that being said, I just need to add that there is an event where I believe date rape occurred with Emily while she was working on the dude ranch over the summer. She never said it, but I think it is worth mentioning as a possible trigger warning.

Back to the book. Emily and Max eventually try threesomes, which are epic failures, to try to make sense of the twisted convolution that is their relationship.

However, eventually, real life sinks in and certain truths can’t be denied. After college and after jobs are secured, Max and Emily drift apart and Max finds love with a man.

And Emily? I think in the end, Emily—who always hated being the only blonde in a family of gingers, who hated the curls of her hair, who never really felt comfortable just being Emily—finally fell in love with Emily.

A fantastic memoir that spans the author’s college years and mainly revolves around a complex relationship. Although this particular situation was unique, I think we can all agree that the college environment is ripe for intense and ambiguous relationships and I thought many of the feelings and experiences were extremely relatable. The book was described as a “memoir in verse” and I’m not sure if it was just because it was on audiobook, but the verse part didn’t really come through for me- if you’re not a fan of poetry, I wouldn’t let that deter you from picking this one. It’s also a quick read- the audiobook is right around three hours. If you’re looking for a beautifully written memoir that will make you nostalgic for college in a bittersweet way, I’d highly recommend this one!

I rarely read/listen to memoirs but the cover and description were intriguing: A straight girl and her gay best friend fall in love. It was quite a roller coaster of a relationship. Lots of emotions felt throughout, you can feel the happiness when things were going well and the agony and despair when things weren’t going well. Loved the poetic writing and narration was perfect. #netgalley #bestraightwithme

This verse memoir documents Emily Dalton’s defining college-era relationship with a gay man, Max. After an unexpected friendship, Emily and Max are surprisingly attracted to each other and find themselves in a whirlwind relationship involving drugs, threesomes, and much confusion.

I found the structure in which Emily speaks directly to Max as she reflects in their relationship very compelling. I found it interesting to see two people stumble through a confusing sexual experience in which the mere presence of attraction and romantic love was the conflict. Both Max and Emily seemed to hold back and resist their love for each other at different parts in the story.

I have not read a memoir about this particular topic or experience before, so I enjoyed following the story. I probably would not, however, include this book in my classroom, since it is so blatantly about Dalton’s experiences with sex and drugs. If you are a fan of memoir and like examinations of sexuality, though, I would recommend it. I appreciate that the Dalton does not provide any clear answers to why this relationship happened. I think that provides a more realistic picture of the fluidity of sexuality.

This is a beautifully written and very moving book.
I found myself riding the emotional waves along with Max and Emily.

I had to take some time at the end to just absorb and process it all.

Very good.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.