Review: Anything Could Happen by Will Walton

Anything Could Happen
             // by Will Walton
Published: May 26, 2015
Push Publishing
Goodreads // Amazon
Edition: ARC Format via #booksfortrade

When you’re in love with the wrong person for the right reasons, anything could happen.

Tretch lives in a very small town where everybody's in everybody else's business. Which makes it hard for him to be in love with his straight best friend. For his part, Matt is completely oblivious to the way Tretch feels – and Tretch can’t tell whether that makes it better or worse.

The problem with living a lie is that the lie can slowly become your life. For Tretch, the problem isn’t just with Matt. His family has no idea who he really is and what he’s really thinking. The girl at the local bookstore has no clue how off-base her crush on him is. And the guy at school who’s a thorn in Tretch’s side doesn’t realize how close to the truth he’s hitting.

Tretch has spent a lot of time dancing alone in his room, but now he’s got to step outside his comfort zone and into the wider world. Because like love, a true self can rarely be contained. 

ANYTHING COULD HAPPEN is a poignant, hard-hitting exploration of love and friendship, a provocative debut that shows that sometimes we have to let things fall apart before we can make them whole again.

Will Walton enters the world of young adult with a debut about a boy who falls in love at the wrong time, who as able to watch things unravel and put together the torn strands, and who through it all remains an eternal optimist. In his head, Tretch never ceases his quiet chanting it will get better. He worms his way through coming out, falling in and out of love, finding out what love really means, and exploring a friendship that has the potential to stay steady until the world falls down. In all honesty, this book did draw emotions that were overly enthusiastic or overly drastic. But, this book let me breathe, It gave me hope. it kept me optimistic. It let me smile and chuckle. It drew from me hope. It seems like a bunch of coming out and into stories like to touch on the tragic- and although ANYTHING COULD HAPPEN broached the subject of bullying- it didn't make me gush tears. Which I thoroughly appreciated.

So let's talk plot and characters. Yes?

First off, we're going to have a little chat about why I think Tretch is such a strong and such a dynamic character. I love his optimism. Right off the bat-and I'm talking the first sentence of the book- we know that Tretch is in love with his best friend, Matt. He realizes he is in love with his best friend while sitting in a service at church. Which I found a little amusing. Okay, so through the book Tretch is kind of thinking about how he's going to deal with his sexuality and how he is going to deal with just being him. This is a point that I think is really important. It makes a person look at this book as more than a coming out story, but rather a coming of age story. (ten point to Walton, who seems to write this with the up-most ease) Tretch's family is dealing with lots of stuff just on their own too: death and love and dying and cancer and Christmas and leaving and coming and going and living. No wonder Tretch is so overwhelmed. To relax and just be himself, he dances. To Taylor Swift and Ellie Goulding. (Anything Could Happen-do you see it now?)

Onto who our main boy fancies himself in love with- Matt. Oh, Matt. As sweet as you are, you are so oblivious. Though I can't really blame you. Tretch did an awesome job at only giving himself half of you-and the world- to love. I really do like Matt. Not as much as the boy in love with him. ANYTHING COULD HAPPEN was coming of age book for too. Maybe even just as much as Tretch. Not so much because he was figuring out who he is, but more so because he is trying to learn about girl and family and friendship. Although, for a middle school-high school kid, he's got a pretty good grasp on all three of those already. He is the one who- I think- was the hardest to come out too to Tretch. Because of the whole having a crush thing. I loved their friendship. I love how neither one of them want to let go of it. How they want each other to be happy whether they're with the other or not.

This book is set during winter break.

I think that was the perfect amount of time. I also think that everyone should read this book. Please, please go buy a copy. *puppy dog eyes* It's totally working, isn't it?