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jennireadsmaybe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Deaver explores so many important themes throughout the book with kindness, care, and compassion. At it's heart, this is main character Neil's coming of age. It truly felt like a warm hug to read this book. It serves as a reminder that a person came feel lonely but not be alone. That lgbtq+ kids and teens are worthy of love, community, belonging, and so much more. I really think that everyone should read this. And a special thanks to @atmreads and @bookish.millennial for the amazing recommendation!!
Graphic: Cursing, Toxic friendship, Dysphoria, Transphobia, Alcoholism, Deadnaming, Vomit, Medical content, and Classism
Minor: Sexual content, Death of parent, and Outing
sophiesmallhands's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Moderate: Transphobia
Minor: Cursing, Alcohol, Dysphoria, Deadnaming, Homophobia, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
kashrae99's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Abandonment and Transphobia
Moderate: Classism, Cursing, Abandonment, Homophobia, Misogyny, and Sexual content
Minor: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Death, and Deadnaming
bookishmillennial's review against another edition
- 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
This is ranking as one of my top five YA reads ever!!!!!!
When I talk about contemporary YA being inspiring and full of bravery and hope, this is what I’m talking about. Mason Deaver illustrated such an authentic, goofy, messy, and tender story of accountability, self-reflection, classism, privilege, gender & sexual identities, friendship & romance.
Neil enacts the rule that Josh created, which states that if one of them becomes serious with someone else, they’ll stop hooking up. Neil pretends to date his roommate Wyatt and takes Wyatt home to Los Angeles for a family wedding to prove it!
While Neil navigates the transphobia of some family members, he also is encouraged to explore his feelings about the familial dynamics at play by Wyatt. Neil has spent most of his life feeling like his mom hasn’t paid too much attention to him, centering her high-profile career and amassing wealth instead. It was so incredibly relatable (and made me wince at the same because woof, it hurt) to hear Neil discuss how though he may be braver and confident with friends at the boarding academy, the boundaries & behavior he dismisses is different when he is around his family. He had this awareness of being able to expect more from those he felt truly in community with, like his friends, yet felt nervous and too exhausted to ask for more from his family members. Educating and being the only person who calls others in is a heavy burden, and I think MD illustrated this perfectly in Neil’s situation.
Meanwhile, Wyatt is introduced to a life of luxury that he simply never could have imagined, as his two moms work incredibly hard to buy him the second-hand clothes that Neil often obliviously pokes fun at. Wyatt bravely speaks up when he is uncomfortable, & I felt so proud of him for voicing valid concerns & forcing Neil to expand his perspective when it came to attitudes and behaviors around money. Most kids are well aware of how their family fits into a social class hierarchy, especially in the 21st century (it’s hard not to notice who is going on vacation, buying new clothes, gets the brand new iphone every year, versus who is *not* doing those things, especially at the height of social media) & Wyatt is not naive in the way others perceive him. I really appreciated this representation of different socioeconomic classes. Wyatt also explores his own gender identity & I adored how these two affirm each other in that journey.
No review I write will ever do this book justice so please read it! Thank you sm to @atmreads for the rec <3
Graphic: Cursing, Deadnaming, Vomit, Medical content, Toxic friendship, Classism, Dysphoria, Transphobia, and Alcoholism
Minor: Outing and Sexual content
fanboyriot's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Homophobia, Classism, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Cursing, Transphobia, Alcohol, Deadnaming, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Death of parent, Vomit, and Fatphobia
walrus420's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Cursing
Moderate: Transphobia and Classism
Minor: Bullying, Death, and Alcohol
stacy837's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Transphobia and Dysphoria
Moderate: Sexual content, Grief, Cursing, Deadnaming, and Alcohol
Minor: Death of parent and Panic attacks/disorders
lyd4ever's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
But I like Wyatt, Wyatt is awesome.
Also, I notice how Deaver purposefully made Neil fat. I am glad for the representation but it’s hardly ever mentioned and is always sort of subtle. Which I think doesn’t have to be a positive or negative thing, but a lot of fans seem to have interpreted Neil to be slim in fan art. So this isn’t really a comment on the book but the readers. Neil is a fat trans man, stop drawing tall skinny white boys with perfect features.
Graphic: Classism, Dysphoria, and Transphobia
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Homophobia, and Cursing
Minor: Deadnaming
cr_valentine's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Transphobia
Moderate: Homophobia and Deadnaming
Minor: Classism, Death of parent, Cursing, and Sexual content
imstephtacular's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Classism, Cursing, and Transphobia
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Homophobia, Emotional abuse, Dysphoria, Vomit, Alcohol, Body shaming, and Sexual content
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Fatphobia, Death of parent, Deadnaming, Suicidal thoughts, and Pregnancy