Book Review: Vitor Martins – Here the Whole Time

This time I’m not cramming in my long-term memory to say a few words about a book I’ve read about a year ago. Instead, I’m reviewing a freshly read queer romance that was a delightful, easy and fast read – and super heartwarming.

Vitor Martins‘ „Here the Whole Time“ is a young adult own voice story about two boys falling for each other – and their struggles.

Short info: MLM, gay protagonists, bisexual & lesbian side characters, WLW side couple, gay author, Brazilian author

Hint: I’ve read the German translation „Fünfzehn Tage sind für immer“, published by ONE

The plot

When his winter break starts, Felipe is ready to spend it all on his own (or with his mother), binge watching Netflix series and just having a quiet time at home. Only that his plans are crossed by fate: His mother was asked to look after Caio, Felipe’s 17 year old neighbour from the same block of flats, whose parents go on holiday to celebrate their anniversary watching penguins. Even more unfortunate: Felipe doesn’t know about that, he only learns about it shortly before his neighbour’s arrival. And it means that he gets to share his room with Caio.

There are several big problems, for example Felipe’s massive body insecurity, the fact that he’s rather shy and awkward, but mostly the fact that he has had a crush on Caio for about half of his lifetime since they played together at the pool as children. So very naturally, Felipe’s not much into the idea of sharing his room and free time with Caio. Fifteen days can be a long time. Or very short, depending on the perspective.

The characters

Our protagonists are Caio and Felipe, two 17 year old high schoolers from an unknown town in Brazil. They live in the same block of flats, only that Caio lives in a different floor. They used to play together as children, until Felipe felt too uncomfortable to go swimming because of his weight, which put an end to their friendship, as they also go to different schools. Felipe’s weight is one of the key issues in the book. He’s facing severe bullying at school, has a low self-esteem when it comes to his looks and he’s very shy because of that.

Caio doesn’t seem much less awkward than Felipe. Felipe describes him as handsome, but oh well, our boy has a crush on him. Also Caio spends a lot of time reading (or pretending to read) whenever things with Felipe seem to feel awkward and he doesn’t really know what to do. In contrast to Felipe, who claims to have no friends at all, Caio has a best friend called Rebeca who he describes as stunningly beautiful. When Felipe and Rebeca meet for the first time, they quickly get along with each other and Rebeca turns out to be a great best friend. She also brings along her friend Melisa and together, Felipe finally feels like part of a group.

Another honourable mention is Felipe’s mother – a very loving and caring single mom and passionate artist. She’s not only Felipe’s mother, but also kind of his best friend – and super sympathetic.

My overall opinion

The book is cute. Cute, cute, cute. It’s definitely written for a younger audience, but was also an enjoyable, light read for me as well. The book comes across like the diary of Felipe, everything’s written from a first person perspective. Every chapter is titled with a counter of days that Caio spends at Felipe’s place. The overall tone of the narration is lightweight and heartwarming, as Felipe has a great sense of humour and strong opinions. The diary-style is stressed by Felipe occasionally slipping in rankings of his favourite whatevers and quite often he comments on his actions like an off-voice.

It makes the book super entertaining. It was also a quick read.

It also gives some very mild insight into some issues of the Brazilian society, as Felipe’s mother works in a community centre once a week where she mostly works with disadvantaged children. There’s also some mild insight into Brazilian culture when they attend a festivity together (and joke about how it’s the same every year).

The book comes with a few trigger warnings though. In the German copy, they’re included at the back of the book, as they might be spoilering. I personally didn’t think they were and I recommend having a look at them, as the book touches some very sensitive topics (I have mentioned that Felipe has major issues with his body and the way he speaks about himself isn’t always very gentle. I’ve also mentioned that he’s a victim of bullying. And Caio has some pretty big issues with his sexuality).

The good thing is that despite all that, the book doesn’t really lose its positive vibe. For me, it was really delightful to read and I think it can be an empowering story for young queers.