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books_withcats's review against another edition
3.0
I struggled to decide whether I should give 3 or 4 stars, so maybe 3.5 ⭐
But here is my issue with many of books in the genre. The protagonists shouldn't be 17 and 18 years old, 2 boys at that age, don't have the maturity this books and this story needs. Make them 20, 22 but not 17... At least make them a legal age to have sex!
I liked the story beginning, the building of the plot and then it just deflates...
But here is my issue with many of books in the genre. The protagonists shouldn't be 17 and 18 years old, 2 boys at that age, don't have the maturity this books and this story needs. Make them 20, 22 but not 17... At least make them a legal age to have sex!
I liked the story beginning, the building of the plot and then it just deflates...
samsays's review
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
cr_valentine's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
rumputlaut's review against another edition
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
vagaybond's review
4.0
Okay, this was really really sweet.
I know it was supposed to be inspired by Cinderella but it really seemed more like that was just a starting point and there were really few similarities. This book tackled a lot of heavy things (a dad who died of a suicide, and the complicated reasons involved) without feeling hopeless.
I personally have schizophrenia, but not the same version as the dad had. (I have disorganized schizophrenia - for me it's with delusions and formal thought disorder but for the most part, hallucinations are really rare with me.) I also have dealt more closely with suicide than most people have, unfortunately. And I feel like this book really handled it well, which is hard to do. There isn't any moralizing about it being anything other than it was. It happened, and a lot of people regret not doing more and not having done better to prevent it. There is a loss that is felt, deeply, but there isn't anything that actually blames Mick for what he went through. There isn't any romanticizing about it, claiming he's 'in a better place' or some bs that encourages suicide - the idea that suicidal mental illness makes you feel like that was mentioned. It's awful when people feel like they have no way out, and that's a societal problem just as much as a mental health problem. And I feel like this addressed that well.
I can't really speak to the hearing voices situation and representation of that, but I appreciate that Mick actually was aware that he was having these problems enough to veil them (which isn't healthy but the awareness is what I'm appreciating). So often everybody claims people with schizophrenia (or any mental illness really) can't have something if we think we have it. Because something about being psychotic takes away cognitive dissonance or something? I know that other people don't share my delusions. Not everyone with delusions does, but it does harm to a lot of us when people assert that this is impossible. It makes it harder for people to feel comfortable admitting when they have problems and being taken seriously, and getting the help we need.
The characters were really good, and complicated, and had a lot of complicated motivations like all people do. I am bothered that Tess didn't seem to understand some basic boundaries about posting other people's personal stuff on social media but I also can't think of how else the plot would have progressed. It just sucks that no one had a conversation with her to be like, "Hey, stop? You already made this mistake and you need to not do this again."
All the people you think are villains turn out to just be complicated, like most people are.
And genuinely, it seems like Nate and Cameron grew the foundations of a really incredible and healthy relationship.
I want to note - there aren't any sex scenes but it is implied to have happened in a gap in events, and is referred to as having happened in dialogue. The characters are 17 and 18 (I'm pretty sure? I can't double-check this but I'm pretty sure Nate is 17). Personally, I feel like it was gone about in the right way. Just in case anyone is worried about that.
Edit: Oh crap I forgot to add that there's a lot of casual sizeist remarks directed at Victor. Another issue in it is that they keep saying they want an R&B sound but cite wanting to sound like white artists specifically????? What's with that. R&B is a genre literally invented by Black artists.
I know it was supposed to be inspired by Cinderella but it really seemed more like that was just a starting point and there were really few similarities. This book tackled a lot of heavy things (a dad who died of a suicide, and the complicated reasons involved) without feeling hopeless.
I personally have schizophrenia, but not the same version as the dad had. (I have disorganized schizophrenia - for me it's with delusions and formal thought disorder but for the most part, hallucinations are really rare with me.) I also have dealt more closely with suicide than most people have, unfortunately. And I feel like this book really handled it well, which is hard to do. There isn't any moralizing about it being anything other than it was. It happened, and a lot of people regret not doing more and not having done better to prevent it. There is a loss that is felt, deeply, but there isn't anything that actually blames Mick for what he went through. There isn't any romanticizing about it, claiming he's 'in a better place' or some bs that encourages suicide - the idea that suicidal mental illness makes you feel like that was mentioned. It's awful when people feel like they have no way out, and that's a societal problem just as much as a mental health problem. And I feel like this addressed that well.
I can't really speak to the hearing voices situation and representation of that, but I appreciate that Mick actually was aware that he was having these problems enough to veil them (which isn't healthy but the awareness is what I'm appreciating). So often everybody claims people with schizophrenia (or any mental illness really) can't have something if we think we have it. Because something about being psychotic takes away cognitive dissonance or something? I know that other people don't share my delusions. Not everyone with delusions does, but it does harm to a lot of us when people assert that this is impossible. It makes it harder for people to feel comfortable admitting when they have problems and being taken seriously, and getting the help we need.
The characters were really good, and complicated, and had a lot of complicated motivations like all people do. I am bothered that Tess didn't seem to understand some basic boundaries about posting other people's personal stuff on social media but I also can't think of how else the plot would have progressed. It just sucks that no one had a conversation with her to be like, "Hey, stop? You already made this mistake and you need to not do this again."
All the people you think are villains turn out to just be complicated, like most people are.
And genuinely, it seems like Nate and Cameron grew the foundations of a really incredible and healthy relationship.
I want to note - there aren't any sex scenes but it is implied to have happened in a gap in events, and is referred to as having happened in dialogue. The characters are 17 and 18 (I'm pretty sure? I can't double-check this but I'm pretty sure Nate is 17). Personally, I feel like it was gone about in the right way. Just in case anyone is worried about that.
Edit: Oh crap I forgot to add that there's a lot of casual sizeist remarks directed at Victor. Another issue in it is that they keep saying they want an R&B sound but cite wanting to sound like white artists specifically????? What's with that. R&B is a genre literally invented by Black artists.
connif_han's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
xaphodicus's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
debchan's review against another edition
1.0
.5 stars
this was just a straight up bad book, from the characters to the watery plot to the sketchy message. but let's start at the beginning.
nate: do you ever hate a character as much as nate?? right from the get-go we're expected to feel bad for nate and excuse his shitty behavior just because his father committed suicide? also blaming cam for his father's suicide when cam was just a kid, like what on earth? what i don't understand is why nate hates cam SO much in the fist part of the book. is it because it was the only way to create sexual tension? was it for the enemies-to-lovers trope? if so, it was horribly done. i don't think i've ever hated a character so wholly and entirely as nate. anyway, moving on.
tess let's say tess is problematic and just leave it at that. honestly, stay out of other's peoples lives and stop forcing your opinions on them. you're not a saint - stop trying to act like one.
cam: cam is a spoiled brat who thinks he can have every little thing he wants. nate? stalk him. like, um, creepy much?
others: yeah, there's other stuff i have problems with. for example, the constant talk about how hip and cool music is. i get this is a book about music, but it gets super annoying when an author wants to show off their extensive knowledge of music and unknown artists, known only to them. pure music snobbery. everyone was white and boring and problematic. the one fat character was seen with food in literally ever scene, either stuffing his face, or unable to function properly without wheezing (that's not how the real world works). there are many, many other issues with this book but i can't seem to type them all.
ONE good thing: i loved the fact that it wasn't a book about BEING gay. it's refreshing to read in ya literature. there was no homophobia. it was just a relationship - nothing weird or abnormal about it. and that was the only good thing i can say about this book.
it's really sad, because i had 5 star expectations from this book. it sounded so good and promising that this was probably the biggest disappointment of the year (besides [b:We Contain Multitudes|41716953|We Contain Multitudes|Sarah Henstra|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1537674597l/41716953._SY75_.jpg|60091719] *shudders*).
this was just a straight up bad book, from the characters to the watery plot to the sketchy message. but let's start at the beginning.
nate: do you ever hate a character as much as nate?? right from the get-go we're expected to feel bad for nate and excuse his shitty behavior just because his father committed suicide? also blaming cam for his father's suicide when cam was just a kid, like what on earth? what i don't understand is why nate hates cam SO much in the fist part of the book. is it because it was the only way to create sexual tension? was it for the enemies-to-lovers trope? if so, it was horribly done. i don't think i've ever hated a character so wholly and entirely as nate. anyway, moving on.
tess let's say tess is problematic and just leave it at that. honestly, stay out of other's peoples lives and stop forcing your opinions on them. you're not a saint - stop trying to act like one.
cam: cam is a spoiled brat who thinks he can have every little thing he wants. nate? stalk him. like, um, creepy much?
others: yeah, there's other stuff i have problems with. for example, the constant talk about how hip and cool music is. i get this is a book about music, but it gets super annoying when an author wants to show off their extensive knowledge of music and unknown artists, known only to them. pure music snobbery. everyone was white and boring and problematic. the one fat character was seen with food in literally ever scene, either stuffing his face, or unable to function properly without wheezing (that's not how the real world works). there are many, many other issues with this book but i can't seem to type them all.
ONE good thing: i loved the fact that it wasn't a book about BEING gay. it's refreshing to read in ya literature. there was no homophobia. it was just a relationship - nothing weird or abnormal about it. and that was the only good thing i can say about this book.
it's really sad, because i had 5 star expectations from this book. it sounded so good and promising that this was probably the biggest disappointment of the year (besides [b:We Contain Multitudes|41716953|We Contain Multitudes|Sarah Henstra|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1537674597l/41716953._SY75_.jpg|60091719] *shudders*).
ps_a22's review against another edition
5.0
The references to the Cinderella story were so beautifully subtle that I didn’t notice them until the "Cinderfella" tweet. The drawn on sneakers, Hollywood prince charming and the one that got away.
I absolutely liked how Nate and Cameron were connected on a musical level. Like, despite the fact that Nate hated Cameron because of what Paradise Entertainment did to his father, he couldn't deny how musically connected they were. I loved how the worked through everything and how pure their attraction was.
It was a lovely book.
I absolutely liked how Nate and Cameron were connected on a musical level. Like, despite the fact that Nate hated Cameron because of what Paradise Entertainment did to his father, he couldn't deny how musically connected they were. I loved how the worked through everything and how pure their attraction was.
It was a lovely book.