Goblet Of Fiction

First Son Alex Claremont-Diaz is the closest thing to a prince this side of the Atlantic. With his intrepid sister and the Veep’s genius granddaughter, they’re the White House Trio, a beautiful millennial marketing strategy for his mother, President Ellen Claremont. International socialite duties do have downsides—namely, when photos of a confrontation with his longtime nemesis Prince Henry at a royal wedding leak to the tabloids and threaten American/British relations.

The plan for damage control: staging a fake friendship between the First Son and the Prince. Alex is busy enough handling his mother’s bloodthirsty opponents and his own political ambitions without an uptight royal slowing him down. But beneath Henry’s Prince Charming veneer, there’s a soft-hearted eccentric with a dry sense of humor and more than one ghost haunting him.

As President Claremont kicks off her reelection bid, Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret relationship with Henry that could derail the campaign and upend two nations. And Henry throws everything into question for Alex, an impulsive, charming guy who thought he knew everything: What is worth the sacrifice? How do you do all the good you can do? And, most importantly, how will history remember you?

Okay, first things first: I am obsessed with this book. I read it every chance I could get over about four very busy days and it pained me to stop reading it whenever I had to. It’s hilarious and romantic and stressful and beautiful and, damn, we do not deserve this book.

Casey McQuiston’s New Adult debut is one for the ages. This work could be that of a veteran author with years of comedy and drama under their belt. It knows exactly what the hell it is doing at all times. The pace is quick and the transitions happen as seamlessly as those of a Star Wars film. There are, in my humble opinion, no useless filler scenes in this book. Every word, every piece of dialogue is important.

A major reason that I now breathlessly Stan this book is because of the character work. Alex and Henry are both so intricately crafted. There are so many layers to each of our boys and Casey slowly peels off a little at a time to show us who they are. Reading their journey, both together and separately, was like a really, really good therapy session. You know the one I’m talking about. The one where you have a breakthrough and you leave that room feeling like you’re another step closer to figuring it all out.

Both of these boys are grappling with the intense pressure to be someone they aren’t. Henry’s pressure mostly comes from the Crown and his sense of duty while Alex’s mirrors that but is more self-inflicted. Alex’s family is very liberal but Alex knows that his image means everything when it comes to being a figurehead in American politics and that’s all he has ever wanted. McQuiston’s handling of these two through-lines is masterful and emotional. I’ve not experienced so many distinct and quick emotion swings while reading a book in a long time. Laughter through tears is something that I was used to at the end of the novel.

Her supporting character work is also wonderful. We have Alex’s sister, June, who is fiercely protective of her little brother and Nora, his genius BFF. These two are always there for Alex to either take him down a notch or lift him up. They are superheroes and I want a whole book about them.

A recurring theme in this book is duty; specifically to the places you come from and the people that raise you. We see how this takes a toll on Henry throughout the novel through how difficult it is to be a member of the Royal Family and how he is only expected to perpetuate the bloodline even at the cost of his own happiness. He’s the freaking Prince of Wales and he is gay AF and all of the rules tell him that he can’t be the one thing he truly is. McQuiston paints a heartbreakingly honest portrait of what that would most likely be like in real life.

Alex’s duty is a little different. Not only is his mother the POTUS, but he is also a biracial boy from the very red state of Texas. Alex loves Texas dearly and misses it very much. Throughout the book, we hear Alex talk about how Texas raised him and how he feels a great debt to the state to make it better. His love and care for his home state, his country, and the people in it drives almost all of his major decisions in the book. It’s a very admirable thing and the emotional power that it holds in the book’s final moments is proof that duty, and the finite power we let it have over us, is the key to what makes every choice in this book work so well.

I desperately want more books set in this bright hopeful AU of the world today. I finished this story with tears on my face and hope for the upcoming election cycle. Casey McQuiston’s characters aren’t afraid to scream their truth. They aren’t afraid to make a difference. They aren’t afraid to be hopeful that everything is going to be alright and neither is she. 2019 is going to be a bright year for McQuiston and, hopefully, 2020 will be a bright year for us all.