Homosexuality
The interesting thing about the way homosexuality is pursued as a theme in this short book is that it is not the main issue or really any issue at all. By virtue of the very fact that is a love story taking place between two young men—barely older than boys, really—in which the none of the most pressing conflicts is homophobia or closeting, homosexuality is allowed to become nothing more significant narratively than just another part of the love story. This treatment of same-sex love thrives in its neutrality to the point it becomes at best almost tangential to the way the romance plays out. By becoming no more integral to the point than heterosexuality would be in any boy/girl love story, the theme of homosexuality ironically dominates precisely because it is not essential.
Long Distance Relationships
Technically, the thematic issue that is most integral to the narrative is the difficulty of long-distance relationships. Or, to be more precise, the concern about the potential for what seems destined to become a long-distance relationship to withstand the pressures of geographic separation. Nick is about to head off to college a year before Charlie and this circumstance produces the anxiety which drives the narrative. The entire book is constructed around these concerns and anxieties which never actually reach the stage of completion. Whether or not the relationship actually can withstand distancing ultimately winds up remaining to be tested.
Relationship Paranoia
Strangely enough, many of the fan reviews directed toward the stories of this couple all seem to Nick and Charlie as a case of soulmates who are predestined to be together forever. In this entry in the drama, however, the future seems anything but fated. Long before any geographical distance divides the two, a series of overstated fears threaten to rip apart the fabric of destiny. Both young men make questionable decisions or leap to unfounded conclusions that stem from old-fashioned paranoia about whether the one you love really loves you back. Even those couples most committed to the idea of being soulmates who will wind up together no matter what is thrown at them occasionally experience relationship paranoia. And more often than not this paranoia is the result of simple misunderstandings combined with temporary attacks of doubt. Such is the case with Nick and Charlie long before the strength of their love is tested by the demands of physical distance.
