Reviews with content warning for Cancer - Wren Martin Ruins It All

This book had one of the best protagonists I've ever read!

Wren Martin Ruins It All
By Amanda Dewitt
5/5⭐️

So, this book is about Wren Martin (hence the title). He becomes Student Council president at his school, and tries to obliterate the Valentines Day Dance. Leo, his nemesis, suggests a sponsorship from the anonymous app Buddy, which helps you make friends. Wren signs up to the app in secret, and becomes close with an anonymous match. While preparing for the dance, he also learns a lot about Leo, who might not be as sickeningly perfect as Wren thought......

Wren was one of THE BEST protagonists I've ever read in any novel, ever. He was so chaotic, and hilariously sarcastic all the time. He had to make a lot of decisions in this book, over a very short space of time. He was ambitious, with plans upon plans to make his school a better place. I loved him so much as a character, and he seemed very three-dimensional. The way he was worried about dating due to his asexuality is something that more books need to touch on.
Leo was so sweet!!! I loved his and Wren's banter so much!
I also adored Ryan, Wren's bestie. She was always so supportive and confident. I was glad that she and Wren had each-others backs the whole way.
And of course Wren's 5 chickens get a mention, they were epic! 🐔🐔🐔🐔🐔

The Buddy app seems like a sweet concept. You answer some questions and are given anonymous matches from your area. I really enjoyed reading Wren and Buddy Boy's conversations! I won't spoil who BB was revealed to be, but if you read a lot of this genre I'm sure you can guess.

This book is medium paced. It's set from the start of the school year to the dance in February, but it skips only a few weeks at most between chapters.

My favourite scene was when Leo and Wren visited the Canopy for the food tasting, it was very funny so I dont want to spoil it.

Overall, I really loved this one. The ace rep was fantastic, the characters were lovable, the plot was entertaining. There is nothing negative I could say!

Queer rep:
Asexual achillean protagonist
Achillean love interest
Achillean background character
(The only sexuality mentioned was ace but the three characters below are all males who were attracted to males without a label being provided, therefore I use the term Achillean, which is an umbrella term for any non-female attracted to other non-females.)

TWs: Death of parent, cancer, grief, alcohol

Content Warnings

blueskyreview's review

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I was hesitant to read this because I read about 50% of Aces Wild and DNF it. So when I started this and Wren was kind of an asshole to characters who were genuinely nice, I did not have high hopes. Don't get me wrong, I love snark, sass, and banter, but it needs to be mutual or reciprocated? Luckily, it turned out Wren is a jerk with a goodish heart 😆 The character growth and communication throughout this story was fabulous. I found myself both chuckling and tearing up at points, and it ended up being a really cute read. One of my favorite aspects was the dynamic between Wren and his best friend Ryan. They may not tell each other everything, but they definitely have each other's backs ❤️

TW: recent loss of a parent from cancer, family member with cancer (different character)

Content Warnings