Anything Could Happen by Will Walton

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. 

Summary from Goodreads.com

There’s much to appreciate about Will Walton’s debut novel, but a lot going on too. Anything could happen for Tretch Farm, and a lot certainly does during his winter break.

Tretch is in love with his straight best friend, Matt, who has two dads. His straight best friend is in love with a girl who may or may not like him back. Tretch tries to avoid a pretentious, yet clueless girl who works in book shop. He struggles with coming out. Then there’s the bully who called him out on his crush. And a grandparent dying of cancer. On top of all that, Tretch learns that his best friend is moving away, which causes him to attempt suicide, but not really. Oh, and a cow gives birth to a breached calf.

That’s only some of it. I appreciate that, underneath all that’s going on for Tretch, Walton’s novel is another coming of age coming out story. I like that he presents Matt’s dads as decent parents who raise a well-adjusted child. Tretch’s feelings for his best friend are honest and realistic. I felt, though, that his maturity was inconsistent. Tretch reads classics and has mature, sexual thoughts about his best friend, but then narrates about fearing and avoiding a black cat because of bad luck. 

I would still recommend this book to anyone who may be struggling with coming out. Walton shows that it’s okay to take that risk and that the results may not be as bad as you expect. Overall, I gave Anything Could Happen 3 out of 5 stars.

You can find Anything Could Happen at a local library by clicking here, or you can order it through Amazon here.