Soba ni aru nara, inu no you ni by Maki Sakaya and illustrated by Daikokuya Ringo fits into a type of story (usually children's lit) that I adore to pieces. It's about a child who has lived such a deprived and abused life that he has developed a totally whacked out world view and/or coping mechanism, and how he slowly learns love and normalcy (such as it is) and happiness. How I wish that was all it was and not BL as well, because the BL stuff was either odd or awkward or just plain icky. But after rereading it I felt such pity and affection for the main character I decided I could live with the parts I didn't care for (of which the BL is really only a small portion). The story could be boiled down to a few sentences, so little actually happens. But a whole book is possible because it is filled with the main character's thoughts as he's thrown into yet another whacked out situation....which ends happily this time. XD


( the summary )
( pics )