Reviews with content warning for Medical content - Anything But Fine

Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

Anything But Fine by Tobias Madden

4 reviews

dlrosebyh's review

emotional 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

3.5

Luca is prepared for his Australian Ballet School audition. One misstep is all it takes to dash his hopes… a broken foot, too. Jordan is Luca's new school's stunning rowing star and captain. Although everyone claims that he is straight, Luca isn't so sure… Luca begins to question, "Who is he without ballet?" as their strange friendship gets deeper. And is he putting himself on the hook for yet another breakup?

This one will appeal to you if you liked Heartstopper and The Passing Playbook. We watch as Luca's career comes to an end due to a fractured foot. And if you turned Charlie and Nick's narrative into prose, it reminded me so much of Heartstopper. Having saying that, I truly enjoyed the book. I only gave it 3.5 stars because I wanted to see more of Lucas' mother. That was really dismissed. When it comes to writing from the perspective of a teenager, Tobias Madden is exceptional.

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melaniereadsbooks's review

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emotional reflective medium-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

4.25

Thank you to Netgalley and Recorded Books for an ALC of this book.

When Luca has an accident that ruins his future career as a ballerina, he is forced to change schools and feels like he's starting his life over. Along comes Jordan, the pretty (probably straight) face that Luca is able to pin his hopes on.

I really liked this book. Luca and Jordan's relationship very much gave me Nick and Charlie from Heartstopper vibes. Luca's journey is very interesting. He is not a super likable character, but he does experience a lot of character growth and develops into more of his own person throughout the book. The discussion of what it means to lose your perceived future is really good, and I also liked the discussions around coming out.

I really liked the narration in this and definitely recommend the audio! Luca's new friend Amina is truly the MVP of this book!

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snowydaze's review against another edition

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lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.0

I received a copy of the Audiobook Anything But Fine by Tobias Madden

from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed listening to this book for the most part. However, at times I found Luca to get a little annoying, mostly due to how repetitive he seemed to get throughout the book. Furthermore, I found the solutions to some of the relationship problems that came up through the book to be a tad wrong or resulting in glazing over the problem or miscommunication that occurred. I would have enjoyed the book a bit more if they communicated a bit more about their problems.

On the other hand, I did like how varying Matthew Backer’s narration was, as he truly embodied the characters throughout the story. Additionally, most of the characters seemed to grow a bit throughout the novel. With that being said, there was a diverse cast of characters, I would however, suggest looking up trigger warnings before reading this book.

Content Warnings

sophiesmallhands's review

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

4.0

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