Done, and dragging this out because I have nothing to do afterwards. I was impressed by the minimal way the issues discussed intruded on the flow and rhythm of the adventure story. The Don't Ask Don't Tell policy is a pretty ambitious subject to tackle for a YA novel, but it fit completely naturally into Matt's cross-country journey through his and his brother's souls. I found it really sweet that Curtis was willing to sit down and talk with Matt about his and T.J's time together, their big dreams for the future, their favorite spots to hang out. I think Matt was better able to accept the new reality being presented to him through his brother's belongings when Curtis helped him realize that, even though he planned to leave Matt and Dad for good when he came home, he would have been happy in his new life.
The ending scenes almost confirmed my earlier ideas about T.J lying when he told Matt he chose the military as his career path. Curtis said that T.J knew he was gay all his life, making it even more unlikely that he would have voluntarily enlisted, with the armed forces under Don't Ask Don't Tell. It made his life a thousand times more complicated and risky. I look at Dad and can only think that T.J was desperate to get away from an abusive and grief-stricken house that had never been home.
I almost laughed when Shauna and Matt were trying to talk on the phone about the night he came over to her house. Their mutual complete misinterpretation of the other's behavior was pretty amusing. She wears revealing clothing because she wants him to like her, and is disappointed when he doesn't seem interested; he desperately tries to hide how attracted to her he is, sure that she dressed up for another guy and just wants be friends. Swing and a miss on both ends. Whoops.
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