Growing up gay in a society where slavery has been reintroduced.
There is one upside to almost getting raped. It proves that you're at least desirable to someone. Maybe Andrew Ashton is just a little bit too rational for his own good. Not however where it concerns his best friend Sean Denham, scion of a political dynasty, and like him from a privileged background. There's only one problem: Sean is straight. Of course he is.
Being born into money was up until now one of the smartest moves Andrew Nathaniel Ashton VII ever made. It keeps him free from worries about his future, earning a living and more of those trivialities, so he can dedicate himself to the really important things in life. Like getting laid.
In his society indentured servitude, commonly known as slavery, has been reintroduced for several, but mainly economical reasons. It doesn't bother him all that much. Slaves are kept on large farming corporations, in factories, in the backside of stores and such. Out of sight.
Andrew knows slavery exists, and he doesn't approve, but on the other hand, it is not as if he made the system what it is, is it? Yes, there was this one time when it touched him personally, but what could he do about it? It is not as if slavery is ever going to become a personal issue, is it?
Andrew thinks the future, all in all, looks bright and carefree. He thinks he is about to find true love. He thinks he is safe.
An entertaining, emotional and thought provoking story.
This is only the second YA story I've read and I really enjoyed it. Andrew Ashton is growing up in a world similar to ours but with one big difference, slavery is legal. He comes from a wealthy family although both he and his mother differ from the norm and are uncomfortable with the institution of slavery. The story follows him from the age of fourteen to eighteen with an epilogue that recaps the rest of his life. The author takes the reader on an emotional roller coaster ride as Andrew experiences so much during that time including a near rape, loss of innocence both sexual and emotional, painful personal losses as well as new love.
There are themes in this book that may not be for everyone including very graphic details about the slavery system and the violence perpetrated on the enslaved as well as the sexual activity of under-aged boys. I myself had a problem reading the story and almost gave up on it but I'm so glad I kept at it. Even with my reservations I truly enjoyed reading Andrew's story. A Dish Served Cold is a well written story that does more than just entertain, it also makes you think. As the slavery issue was first being described it almost made a certain kind of sick sense. I could imagine just how easy it could be, once the first step is taken, to let it take on a life of it's own. Before long what starts out as a way to help both the economy and people becomes full fledged slavery in a very scary way.
Once I accepted that not everything in this story was going to be easy to read I became immersed in the events told mainly thru Andrew's eyes. The highs and lows, the good and bad, the beautiful moments and the ugly truths he learns all combined to make this an entertaining and thought provoking story. I liked the author's writing style although I did feel at times that Andrew was perhaps too mature for his age. It was a bit hard sometimes to believe he was so young from the way he comes through in the book however that didn't take away too much from my enjoyment. I did waffle a bit on the rating because of my reservations with parts of the story but when I realized I was thinking about the story long after I'd finished it and wishing there had been more to it I felt it deserved a five star rating. Highly recommended.
Coming-of-Age
Andrew Nathaniel Ashton VII was lucky. He had been born into a wealthy family and has not a care in the world, His best friend, Sean Denham, is the son of a politician and the grandson of a politician and like Andrew has not a care in the world. Both are sons of privilege. The two differ in sexuality, however—Andrew is gay and Sean thinks he is straight. In this world of privilege, slavery exists but is not spoken of. Andrew does not find the idea of slavery to be part of an enlightened world and so he puts it in the back of his mind—until…
We meet Andrew when he is just fourteen and we are with him during his teen years. We read as he comes of age both emotionally and sexually and this is both a coming-of-age story and a look at society. It is a graphic look at what goes on in a world where slavery is legal and young boys discover sex (with each other). Andrew tells us the story and we see everything as he sees it. What I found especially interesting is the wonderful English prose especially since English is not the author’s first language. However you must be prepared that the action takes place until Andrew reaches the age of eighteen and so it may be difficult for some to read. I stated that it is graphic but it is not pornographic and it gives us an idea of what goes on in a world that we do not live in today.
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