The title almost made me turn around but I'm so glad that I didn't.When it comes to the homosexual aspect of this story, the author creates somewhat of an utopia. Ryan joined the army and he's gay - but guess what? Nobody cares and it's absolutely no issue. In fact the only ones showing extreme problems with Ryan's sexual orientation are his parents.This mentality creates quite a few laugh out loud moments as Ryan lusts after his drill sergeant. That made the first half of the book very enjoyable for me.The second half takes a more serious note, as Ryan and his friends face the reality of their training. These chapters tell about quite a few years of their lives and I often wished for more details on how they fared and dealt with their hardships. For example Ken's trauma which was a topic that I would've loved to read more about, even though Ken is "just" a backround character. It's a hard, heartbreaking topic but a real one that should be talked about more. People hear war and they probably also recognize to some degree what the soldiers have to live through but I think it's hard to grasp for most people what a soldier has to see and deal with. Another topic that's only barely scratched is the loss of comerades. Again there was just one short scene that barely scratched the surface and I would've liked to delve in deeper.Overall it was a good book that I enjoyed reading and the romance between Ryan and Phillip certainly also helped with that. But because of the lack in depth in certain areas, I can only give it 4 stars.
