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imrereads's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
This was good, but ultimately a bit too rom-commy for my taste. I have a weakness for older narrators, so the Arthur chapters were definitely my favourite. I loved seeing his growth, learning his life story and seeing him really enjoy the later stage of his life (+ his wonderful and supportive wife was a joy to read about).
I do wish there has been a bit more accountability for characters messing up, and I missed more focus on Teddy's relationship with his friends.
There is a really good cast of characters here though, and I think a lot of people with really like this. I'd definitely recommend this for fans of romantic comedies, especially if you also appreciate a big focus on familial relationships.
Despite being mostly lighthearted it does though on heavy topics, especially homophobia.
I do wish there has been a bit more accountability for characters messing up, and I missed more focus on Teddy's relationship with his friends.
There is a really good cast of characters here though, and I think a lot of people with really like this. I'd definitely recommend this for fans of romantic comedies, especially if you also appreciate a big focus on familial relationships.
Despite being mostly lighthearted it does though on heavy topics, especially homophobia.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Homophobia, and Outing
Moderate: Cancer
just22jess22's review
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
CW: Suicide, threat of murder, homophobia, gaslighting, emotional abuse, toxic relationship, death of a parent, physical abuse, cancer, addiction, grief, abandonment of a child, abandonment of an elder.
Are you surprised? Because honestly, I was!
To me, “Arthur and Teddy are Coming Out” is marketed as this lighthearted, heartwarming little book about a grandpa and a grandson both coming out to their family members as being gay. I honestly don’t think this book was either heartwarming nor lighthearted in the way that the author aimed for.
[And here is where it gets a bit spoilery – prob don’t read on if you plan to read this book….]
A few of my biggest gripes: This beautifully composed man comes out to his family as being gay at age 79, with full acceptance and support of his ex wife. His daughter FLIPS out and refuses to talk to him for over half of the book, forcing her children (including Teddy) from talking to him also. She then kicks her son out of the house when he declares he is also gay. When she (surprise!) has a complete change of heart in the third act.. Literally no one calls her out for being a shitty human, nor does she seem to have any character growth from the whole experience.
Teddy was my least fav character – he spends the entire book whinging about the silver spoon he has been given, yet literally every time he faces any sniff of hardship, he runs to others to fix his shit. I honestly don’t have enough words to describe how deeply problematic his romantic arc was, so I will just say that the three boys were all as horribly gaslighty as each other and they all deserve each other.
Last thing – why is Arthur suddenly super famous and on the cover of multiple magazines/newspapers for coming out as gay? Does that seriously warrant a front page…?! The mind boggles.
Parts of this book I liked? It was quick and easy to read, I enjoyed that it portrayed the older generation as people who still aimed to live life to the fullest and I love the message that it is never too late to chase your desires.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Homophobia, Grief, Abandonment, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Suicide, Cancer, and Physical abuse
Minor: Terminal illness and Drug abuse
sunny_pipes's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Cancer, and Homophobia
Minor: Violence, Suicide, and Grief
abi2xoxo's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. It was so lovely and heartwarming.
The characters came off so nice and you did feel for their situation and they became your friends throughout the book.
The only negative that I had was that the characters were very formal a lot of the time and sometimes what they were saying was very unlike how normal people communicate. It was difficult to relate to them in them moments.
Other than that, this book had amazing twists and turns and it properly captured what coming out can be like for many people. I like how Lizzie wasn't immediately the bad guy because she didn't understand, yet they also accepted her and gave her time without being angry.
The characters came off so nice and you did feel for their situation and they became your friends throughout the book.
The only negative that I had was that the characters were very formal a lot of the time and sometimes what they were saying was very unlike how normal people communicate. It was difficult to relate to them in them moments.
Other than that, this book had amazing twists and turns and it properly captured what coming out can be like for many people. I like how Lizzie wasn't immediately the bad guy because she didn't understand, yet they also accepted her and gave her time without being angry.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Violence
Moderate: Suicide, Terminal illness, Cancer, Death of parent, Grief, and Bullying
thegouldfish's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Suicide and Cancer
Minor: Death of parent, Outing, and Medical content
readingbelowtheclouds's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Suicide, and Death of parent
elementarymydear's review
reflective
fast-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? No
3.0
This is a three-star book for me not because it was just fine, or mediocre, but because I loved and hated it in equal parts so we came out in the middle!
📚Blog📖YouTube📖Instagram📚
First, the things I loved. The main storyline was so wonderful, with these parallel coming out storylines within the same family. I loved how supportive Arthur’s wife was of him, and it was incredibly heart-warming to see him so afraid of taking these steps to finally live openly but finding the courage to do it anyway. Teddy’s story included navigating the shifting friendships and relationships of someone in their early twenties, which was very well depicted. The way they supported each other was key to the whole story, and it was lovely to read.
Their individual romantic sub-plots were also brilliant, and complemented each other nicely. Arthur is reminiscing about the one true love of his life, who had to leave the town they live in for his own safety back in the 60s, while Teddy is starting a tentative romance with a co-worker while oblivious to the person who truly loves him. Both storylines brought a lot to the characters and the story, and both had (of course!) a very sweet and heartfelt conclusion.
Okay, so onto the things I didn’t like. Beware, spoilers from here onwards!
Please be aware that I will be discussing suicide and domestic violence in this section.
So there I am, happily reading this feel-good story, and then out of nowhere, we have a plot line where a very minor character (who has appeared once) has killed herself. Sophia is the granddaughter of Arthur’s best friend, who has turned against him since he came out, and they reconcile at her funeral. Teddy writes an article on teen suicide prevention, which earns him respect at work and a bit of conflict with his love interest, and Arthur decides to raise money for charity, which provides him with the chance to go outside his comfort zone, have some good old character growth, and the publicity from his fundraising ultimately reunites him with the love of his life.
The whole storyline felt incredibly exploitative. Sophia had one small scene, and otherwise existed so her death could provide the characters with reasons to do what they all ended up doing, while she was barely mentioned for the rest of the book. I understand the author wanting to include mental health for LGBTQ+ teens in the story. What I’m finding increasingly with queer books marketed to mainstream (read: straight) readers is this drive to cram in as many queer issues as possible, but it creates at best tonal dissonance and at worst this situation here, where tragic storylines exist so the main characters find their purpose. It could have been written differently; if it was changed to a suicide attempt, with Sophia keeping her agency and having more voice in the story, it would have had the same impact on the plot without literally sacrificing one character for the sake of another.
Another moment I had major issue with was Teddy’s mother. She says lots of awful things over the duration of the book, and when Teddy comes out she slaps him across the face. When she apologises he forgives her, reassures her that she’s not a bad mother (which she definitely is) and everyone moves on. I don’t think I need to say much on this one, but I will say that if it had been a father hitting his daughter, I don’t think it would have been dealt with in the same way.
And finally, the epilogue was just a mess. I liked where all the characters ended up, but so much happened between the last chapter and the epilogue that it felt like when I went back on Duolingo after months away but they’ve moved everything round and now I’m expected to know how to speak in the past tense and they won’t teach it to me again. For example, Teddy and his boyfriend – who have JUST got together in the last chapter – broke up between the last chapter and the epilogue, but then got back together in the epilogue. And the job offer that Teddy accepted in the final chapter, he has since left to change not just jobs but professions entirely. I don’t understand why those endings couldn’t have been written into the main story, rather than info dump in the epilogue?
There were some beautiful, wonderful moments in this book, but there were some very troubling moments too. It’s a lot easy to rant-type about things you don’t like rather than things you do, and part of the reason the issues I highlighted annoyed me so much is they were so at odds with an otherwise brilliant book. Will I read this one again? Probably not. Will I read this author again? Probably.
I received a free copy for review. All opinions are my own.
📚Blog📖YouTube📖Instagram📚
First, the things I loved. The main storyline was so wonderful, with these parallel coming out storylines within the same family. I loved how supportive Arthur’s wife was of him, and it was incredibly heart-warming to see him so afraid of taking these steps to finally live openly but finding the courage to do it anyway. Teddy’s story included navigating the shifting friendships and relationships of someone in their early twenties, which was very well depicted. The way they supported each other was key to the whole story, and it was lovely to read.
Their individual romantic sub-plots were also brilliant, and complemented each other nicely. Arthur is reminiscing about the one true love of his life, who had to leave the town they live in for his own safety back in the 60s, while Teddy is starting a tentative romance with a co-worker while oblivious to the person who truly loves him. Both storylines brought a lot to the characters and the story, and both had (of course!) a very sweet and heartfelt conclusion.
Okay, so onto the things I didn’t like. Beware, spoilers from here onwards!
So there I am, happily reading this feel-good story, and then out of nowhere, we have a plot line where a very minor character (who has appeared once) has killed herself. Sophia is the granddaughter of Arthur’s best friend, who has turned against him since he came out, and they reconcile at her funeral. Teddy writes an article on teen suicide prevention, which earns him respect at work and a bit of conflict with his love interest, and Arthur decides to raise money for charity, which provides him with the chance to go outside his comfort zone, have some good old character growth, and the publicity from his fundraising ultimately reunites him with the love of his life.
The whole storyline felt incredibly exploitative. Sophia had one small scene, and otherwise existed so her death could provide the characters with reasons to do what they all ended up doing, while she was barely mentioned for the rest of the book. I understand the author wanting to include mental health for LGBTQ+ teens in the story. What I’m finding increasingly with queer books marketed to mainstream (read: straight) readers is this drive to cram in as many queer issues as possible, but it creates at best tonal dissonance and at worst this situation here, where tragic storylines exist so the main characters find their purpose. It could have been written differently; if it was changed to a suicide attempt, with Sophia keeping her agency and having more voice in the story, it would have had the same impact on the plot without literally sacrificing one character for the sake of another.
Another moment I had major issue with was Teddy’s mother. She says lots of awful things over the duration of the book, and when Teddy comes out she slaps him across the face. When she apologises he forgives her, reassures her that she’s not a bad mother (which she definitely is) and everyone moves on. I don’t think I need to say much on this one, but I will say that if it had been a father hitting his daughter, I don’t think it would have been dealt with in the same way.
And finally, the epilogue was just a mess. I liked where all the characters ended up, but so much happened between the last chapter and the epilogue that it felt like when I went back on Duolingo after months away but they’ve moved everything round and now I’m expected to know how to speak in the past tense and they won’t teach it to me again. For example, Teddy and his boyfriend – who have JUST got together in the last chapter – broke up between the last chapter and the epilogue, but then got back together in the epilogue. And the job offer that Teddy accepted in the final chapter, he has since left to change not just jobs but professions entirely. I don’t understand why those endings couldn’t have been written into the main story, rather than info dump in the epilogue?
There were some beautiful, wonderful moments in this book, but there were some very troubling moments too. It’s a lot easy to rant-type about things you don’t like rather than things you do, and part of the reason the issues I highlighted annoyed me so much is they were so at odds with an otherwise brilliant book. Will I read this one again? Probably not. Will I read this author again? Probably.
I received a free copy for review. All opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Death of parent
sophiareads_'s review
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
***After some thought, I've decided to post my review of this now, as HQ is an imprint of HarperCollins UK, not HarperCollins US, who are currently striking for living wages and better diversity in publishing. I fully support the strike, and you should too!***
Content Warnings: homophobia, outing, suicide, cancer, violence (mentioned), conversion therapy (mentioned), death of a parent (mentioned)
21 year old Teddy isn't ready to come out - especially when his 80 year old grandfather Arthur beats him to it and takes the brunt of their family's reaction.
I'm sorry to say that this book was super meh for me. Going into it, I was expecting that the story would be building towards the eventual coming out of both of these characters, but actually, Arthur's coming out is the very first thing that happens in the book, and Teddy also comes out in the first half. I do kinda feel like I would have preferred the story I was imagining to the one I actually read, which was a bit of a let down.
I think this is largely a case of a 'not for me' book - I didn't jive with the writing style or pacing. I genuinely really loved Arthur's character and his relationships with Teddy (his grandson), Madeleine (his wife), and Oscar (the first man he goes on a date with post-coming out). The rest of the characters, though…oof. I found almost all of the side character super one dimensional and boring - even when characters had massive changes throughout the book, it felt like they were flipping on a dime with little to nothing in the way of development to make those changes feel earned. Also, the narrative of the story SO wanted me to have forgiven Elizabeth by the end of the book - Arthur's daughter/Teddy's mother, who is so aggressively homophobic for the majority of the book before seemingly randomly changing her mind in the last quarter. Absolutely not. Hated her guts.
All in all, I think this was a very sweet concept, and again - Arthur and Teddy's relationship was really sweet and wholesome. For me, it didn't really make up for the predictable plot and boring side characters, I'm sorry.
Thank you to HQ, NetGalley, and Ryan Love for providing the eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to HQ, NetGalley, and Ryan Love for providing the eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Outing
Moderate: Suicide and Cancer
Minor: Violence and Death of parent
katiewhocanread's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Outing
Moderate: Cancer, Suicide, and Homophobia
Minor: Death of parent and Grief
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