Latter Days

"Latter Days" the book and the movieWould you risk being ex-communicated by your church, shunned by your peers, and turned away by your parents, for the one you love? How desperate would you be if you were denied the freedom to love, to be with the person of your dreams? The one person who makes you feel complete. This is portrayed in the all too familiar story of boy meets boy, boy falls in love with boy, and boy has to choose between boy and family. Latter Days the book, written from the screenplay, is a replica of the movie except for a few minor details. C. Jay Cox wrote the screenplay. The book, adapted by T. Fabris, won the Audience Award as the Outstanding First Narrative Feature, Los Angeles Lesbian and Gay Film Festival.Aaron Davis (Steve Sandvoss), a 19 year-old Morman, has never been away from home. He is called to serve as a missionary for his church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. His assignment is in Hollywood, California where he will spend two years. He makes the pilgrimage from Pocatello, Idaho to California, full of hope and promise that he will make his church and family proud. He studies the Bible and its teachings diligently. He loves the church and the feeling of belonging, but there is one big problem--he is gay. He falls in love with another boy, Christian. His church insists Aaron repent for his sins and forever deny who he is. Living as a homosexual is not an option. The church forces Aaron to choose between Christian and his religion.Christian Markelli (Wes Ramsey) is a vivacious, gorgeous, party animal. His claim to fame is his ability to get straight boys to have sex with him. He works as a waiter and bus boy at Lila's Restaurant-so does his roommate and best friend, Julie. His other friends are co-workers, Andrew and Traci. When Aaron and three other young Mormons move into Christian and Julie's apartment complex, Andrew, Traci, Julie and Chris make a $50 bet to see if Chris can get one of the missionaries to sleep with him. Chris and Julie bet he could do it; Andrew and Traci bet he could not. Christian had no idea that he was going to fall in love with Aaron, or that Aaron would return his love.Julie (Rebekah Jordan) is an aspiring singer. Through a connection, she gets Clive Davis to listen to her demo album. Chris and Julie are more than roommates; they support and love one another like family.Andrew (Khary Payton), the bartender at Lila's, has wisdom beyond his years because he has been HIV positive from a very young age. He convinces Christian to volunteer to help deliver food to housebound AIDS victims. Chris takes him up on his offer after Aaron tells him he is shallow and compares him to a "marshmallow peep"-a perfect analogy. Chris wants to prove to Aaron that he is not just a pretty face who only cares about getting laid.Traci (Amber Benson) is an aspiring actress whose parents are not too crazy about her career choice. Lila (Jacqueline Bisset) owns Lila's Restaurant and is the epitome of

This book will appeal mostly to those who have seen the film and are interested in finding more information out about the characters. Hopefully, however, people around the world who can't see this film or can't wait for the DVD release will take a chance and read this faithful novelization that provides more backstory to some of the characters. The novelization is solidly written with the same great depth that screenwriter C. Jay Cox gave his characters. Those of you who read this book will find it enjoyable and an outstanding companion to the film. If you haven't seen the movie yet, the book gives an overall better feel for the time that passes between beginning and end.You will fall for these characters. You'll laugh, cry and cheer. I recommend this book HIGHLY and hope it's message of love is heard around the world, just as I hope the film gets the rewards (and awards) it so rightly deserves.

This is a wonderfully easy, stimulating, and captivating read for a beach goer, Palm Springs sun worshipper, airline passenger, or any other gay male willing to delve into others' realities and be captivated by a smoothly-flowing writing style which, via cool, consistent plot development, concludes with an emotional wallop that had me tearing. I've not seen the movie, but the book has stimulated a very strong desire to see it on my home surround system with my same-sex mate with whom I bonded in 1977 and have maintained an outstanding monogamous relationship since then. Bravo to Cox!!!

Christian Markelli is the stereotypical West Hollywood gay "party boy" hunk, with a reputation for seducing even young men who claim to be straight. So it is not so strange when his coworkers at Lillys (a restaurant owned by a former movie star) bet him $50 he can't seduce a young Mormon missionary who recently moved in (along with three other missionaries) into his apartment complex. Along the way, Christian falls in love with the shy, frustrated Aaron Davis, who also finds himself attracted to Christian, in contrary to his strong religious upbringing and beliefs. He also makes Christian realize something about himself, and the story becomes a compelling story of connection and self-discovery as well as romance. It also realistically depicts the plight of gay members of the LDS church, as Aaron is discovered by a roommate and sent home from his mission in disgrace. The novel is based on a screenplay for the film, which has recently been released in several major US cities, and broke all records for gay movies in its opening weekend. I have not seen the film, so my review is based solely on the book. Nor has the book spoiled me from wanting to see the film, since the story - while somewhat simplistic and predictable in its revelations - is told masterfully and sensitively. I'd rate the book 5 stars out of 5, and look forward to the DVD release of the film.

I literally finished this book 5 minutes ago, and I had to write this review. I don't want to spoil the story, but this is just an amazingly told story about young love with a lot of religious guilt thrown in for good measure. And the characters just happen to be gay. I could not put the book down because I was immediatly drawn to the characters, their circumstances, and the triumph over internal conflict. A well written book, and I truly look forward to more work from this Author. Thank you for giving me the chance to share in this experience. I loved my escape into these lives...we have all lived.