From a literary perspective, it was sophomoric; definitely a first draft with a lot of fluff, and it didn’t take long before Paul seemed like a whiny LiveJournal guy that everyone skips over because he has to say something about everything going on in his life, and rarely eloquently. At the same time, though, I could tell he’s an intelligent guy who needs to work on his writing skills and seeing his writing from a reader’s perspective.

The parts with Aaron were where it really shined, though, and not due to bias because I respect Aaron so much but more because it was a great example as to why I do: many wise words and an outpouring of humility, love and beauty in his actions.

The book could have been half as long and said just as much. It’s a good rough version with potential to be amazing if a strong editor took it to the chopping block.