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4.53 AVERAGE
4.53 AVERAGE
This book absolutely broke me. I found so much of my own feelings and fears in the character and it’s absolutely beautifully written. It brought me back to my own days of reading illegal books in school libraries and left me tense, welling up in tears and laughing all at the same time. Definitely the type of book that leaves a whole in your heart once you turn the last page.
This book is meta, heartbreaking and yet hilarious.
This book is meta, heartbreaking and yet hilarious.
I’d give this book 6 stars if I could. It’s sensational. It’s also essential - every school should have 10, 20, 30 copies of it (as sadly, even in 2023 kids will want to borrow it in secret). It made me laugh, cry, gave me shivers, and made me get really angry. Section 28 had an impact on kids that lasts even to this day, and it’s vital people read about it and learn from it. This book makes it all real - Jamie’s experiences are articulated so beautifully and heart-breakingly. Everyone should read this book.
A solid 3.5 but rounding up for sentimental reasons. An important and honest piece of —creative memoir?—often delightful, often sad, ultimately hopeful but cautiously so. Things move much too quickly for my liking and the young people seem suspiciously wise, but I loved the story anyway. And the message, of course.
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
WOW. I have read some amazing books this year but this absolutely has been the best of them all. This was not at the top of my TBR list but it should have been. So beautifully written and so relatable.
Section 28 was scrapped when I was in my second year of high school, and I came out in my fourth year of high school, and I felt the legacy still living on at the time. Reading this book was a slightly more humourous account of life at that time and was absolutely heartbreaking to see what life was like living through the thick of Section 28. Knowing it was all based on real life is what compelled me to finish this book in four days.
Highly highly recommend. I love SJG’s writing but this is definitely his best. The most beautiful part is that I was able to read this book, as I borrowed it from my local, small town library. What a sense of justice
Section 28 was scrapped when I was in my second year of high school, and I came out in my fourth year of high school, and I felt the legacy still living on at the time. Reading this book was a slightly more humourous account of life at that time and was absolutely heartbreaking to see what life was like living through the thick of Section 28. Knowing it was all based on real life is what compelled me to finish this book in four days.
Highly highly recommend. I love SJG’s writing but this is definitely his best. The most beautiful part is that I was able to read this book, as I borrowed it from my local, small town library. What a sense of justice
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I always say Simon James Green's books are my guilty pleasure because I never actually enjoy them all that much but for some bastard reason I Cannot Put Them Down. I think there's crack at the end of each chapter.
Boy Like Me, however, absolutely incredible. I was very unsure at first because I didn't realise it was autobiographical and that's just not my vibe, and I Hate footnotes, but regardless I still couldn't stop reading, but just after half way through I actually realised how much I was falling in love with this book.
As usual, Green's writing is laid back and humorous and the epitome of YA, but then as things really start to pick up, the actual message and story began to hit and I was sniffling my way through it.
Green tells such an important story and such a personal, yet large part of history in a fantastic, gripping way, and I'm so in awe.
Boy Like Me, however, absolutely incredible. I was very unsure at first because I didn't realise it was autobiographical and that's just not my vibe, and I Hate footnotes, but regardless I still couldn't stop reading, but just after half way through I actually realised how much I was falling in love with this book.
As usual, Green's writing is laid back and humorous and the epitome of YA, but then as things really start to pick up, the actual message and story began to hit and I was sniffling my way through it.
Green tells such an important story and such a personal, yet large part of history in a fantastic, gripping way, and I'm so in awe.