Yes, Daddy

Jonathan Parks-Ramage’s debut novel, YES, DADDY (2021) begins with a terse, traumatic, devastating four-page courtroom scene set in 2011 before the young man giving testimony, Jonah Keller, who is also the book’s first-person narrator, backs up and gives readers an account beginning in 2009 which leads up to the opening trial scene. The amazing thing about those first four pages is the degree of depth and insight Parks-Ramage reveals about the book’s major player—a character who is very emotionally tormented and flawed. Jonah comes from an unaccepting, troubled family and has great ambitions. He wants to be a playwright, but with his background, lack of support from his parents, and no connections he fears he is doomed to failure. So, he sets about setting forth a plan to get into the good graces of a wealthy and successful, “well-preserved fifty-five” year old, Pulitzer Prize winner, Richard Shriver. Utilizing what little money he has to get to New York, then working as a waiter, doing intensive and personal research on Shriver and even scripting what to do and say and when he manages to have a “chance” meeting with the playwright, Jonah’s seduction of the older man is eventually hugely successful. As it turns out, too successful, because there is much more to Richard Shriver than his public image, and it is very dark and very sinister. YES, DADDY is already receiving a lot of critical acclaim and is being adapted for television by Amazon. The writing and plotting of the…

I don’t know why I put off reading it for so long as it was pretty excellent and had a lot of content that I look for in a gay novel, with many twists, turns, and page turning surprises. It’s one of those books that has you wondering what you will read next about 3/4 the way through. Wondering if the next book will be as good. Jonah (the main character) has many trials and tribulations throughout the book. He is one of those too many gays who burden themselves needlessly with their religious upbringings resulting in unnecessary self loathing. The sexual parts are not for the faint of heart. All The characters were great and there is supposed to be a TV series or movie upcoming, based on this book. I look very much forward to that as well as the next book by this author. There was a section about being ‘born again’ which definitely was not my cup of tea and the only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5. Otherwise an excellent read.

This was... fine? It seemed like 2-3 different books all smashed into one, which made it hard for me to like... really care about any individual plot. The first half read well, I think? The main protag (?) is fairly unlikeable and HORRIBLE at making decisions but he's in a bad spot. The first half I liked enough, it reads like a novel. The second half is where it really lost me -- it felt rushed, it felt like there were a lot of different things happening and I couldn't care deeply about any of them. Not my favorite.

I could not put this book down. The writing is beautiful—raw, honest, and full of truth. Your words didn’t just resonate with me; they found the quiet, hidden places in my heart and stirred them. My father was a Baptist minister, and being raised by one is not for the faint of heart. The abuse—physical, mental, and spiritual—was immense, and it left wounds that I’ve spent my entire life trying to heal. That kind of childhood shapes you in ways you don’t understand until much later, and the battle within myself has been lifelong. When I read your words—something along the lines of, “Our trauma is a horrible gift, but it is ours, and what we do with it is our responsibility”—I stopped in my tracks. Because it’s true. And I can honestly say that by the grace of God, and through the love of my mother—and even my dad, though I’m still working through the trauma with him—I did not allow my childhood or the indoctrination of my early twenties to turn me into someone hateful or hardened. My sisters and brothers didn’t either. Somehow, despite it all, we survived with our hearts still open. I spent years fighting a long, painful battle with my father—from my late teens well into adulthood—trying to show him where he was wrong in his beliefs, and also where he was right. That fight shaped me too. I have a story to tell. I’ve been writing it for years because it’s still unfolding. My life keeps shifting, healing, breaking, rebuilding. Maybe one day I’ll reach a place in my story…

This was an enjoyable read. The initial chapters follow one direction with an at-times overwhelming setting of abuse amid the worst aspects of a wealthy gay world, one that most of us gay guys have no experience with. I was surprised by the turn the story took later on but appreciated the deeper elements of both parts of the story.