Scan barcode
silly_little_clown's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-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
3.75
I think this book goes a bit too slow for me. And also way too long. It almost lost me at the half way mark because there was just no big enough of a drive for the plot to go forward. A lot of things happened. Tiny little incidents that for sure let us in on how our characters has grown and developed some side characters. But none of them felt tied together in a way that made me feel like there’s a theme to this whole book. I guess the main thing is that main characters are figuring out small things in high school one by one.
I’m glad that Aridecided to refer to the trans woman that his brother murdered as a she in this book. Though I’m not against the fact that he used the term ‘transvestite’ to describe the victim because it seems appropriate for the time period the book was set in.
Because I read the first book and this one back to back, one thing jumped out to me. There was just a LOT of social injustice topics that are being discussed in this book by most of the main characters, at some point I felt like it’s a bit anachronistic??? Especially some of the phrases that the characters used. It’s not that I don’t believe some American people in the late 80s would have expressed these kind of thoughts. It just kind of took me out because some things that were said feel so modern. In a way that the first book was written with a genuine voice in the 80s by a teenage boy living back then and this sequel is written with more of a 2020s commentary. Not saying this is better or worse. It was just a choice made by the author I think. To let the book grow with its audience.
Also thedeath of Ari’s dad literally came out of nowhere. I was so shocked and confused. Cried almost every single pages after his death.
The ending felt so rushed. Even though I’m glad that the conflict got resolved that quickly, I just think maybe we should’ve seen it brood over time more and let it marinate you know?
I wished we got to see Dante’s POV in this book. He’s just not that present in this book. And I would’ve love to see how he deals with his struggles and what he thought of things since it had already been established in the first book that he has such a brilliant mind.
Honestly I feel like this book is an example of sequel not living up to the hype of the first book. Since I read the two back to back (reread the first book for this one), I can confidently say that the first book is better than this sequel sadly.
I’m glad that Ari
Because I read the first book and this one back to back, one thing jumped out to me. There was just a LOT of social injustice topics that are being discussed in this book by most of the main characters, at some point I felt like it’s a bit anachronistic??? Especially some of the phrases that the characters used. It’s not that I don’t believe some American people in the late 80s would have expressed these kind of thoughts. It just kind of took me out because some things that were said feel so modern. In a way that the first book was written with a genuine voice in the 80s by a teenage boy living back then and this sequel is written with more of a 2020s commentary. Not saying this is better or worse. It was just a choice made by the author I think. To let the book grow with its audience.
Also the
The ending felt so rushed. Even though I’m glad that the conflict got resolved that quickly, I just think maybe we should’ve seen it brood over time more and let it marinate you know?
I wished we got to see Dante’s POV in this book. He’s just not that present in this book. And I would’ve love to see how he deals with his struggles and what he thought of things since it had already been established in the first book that he has such a brilliant mind.
Honestly I feel like this book is an example of sequel not living up to the hype of the first book. Since I read the two back to back (reread the first book for this one), I can confidently say that the first book is better than this sequel sadly.
amesnotamy's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
suvoroch's review against another edition
3.0
I’ve already reviewed the first book, and now it’s time for the second one. Again, my review is spoiler free, and some points are taken from the first review.
Taking into consideration some disadvantages of the first book, it is possible to mention that there are still empty and unreal dialogues (especially at the beginning) but they became a little better, and there is more text in general. Many dialogues became longer and it made some of them look more like monologues which still sounded extremely robotic and unreal. There were more emotional elements, but I couldn’t fully feel empathy because again it was written extremely unrealistic. Additionally, there are more details and descriptions in some chapters, the writing seems to be improving. Therefore, there are more thoughts and more deeper quotes, which are still not that great but okay it’s better than in the previous book. Here, I actually liked some ideas and moments, where the feelings are involved. However, the sentences are still written poorly, and there are many repetitions of words, thoughts, and basically everything, which made a book so boring in some moments.
This part focuses mostly on representation of various of topics. It consists of a lot of thoughts about sexuality, racism, and feminism. A big focus is on the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s. In general, I liked the representation of these topics, and the characters who delivered it were also great. Nevertheless, I’m not sure about this point because maybe it’s just me with my trust issues, but some moments felt extremely unrealistic. Everywhere the characters went people were LGBT friendly, all their friends, random people etc. Of course there were some homophobic and racist characters, but there were just only 2 of them??? When in reality, especially during those time I don’t think people were actually that tolerant. Especially parents. But again, maybe I just cannot believe in it because of my surrounding.
Finally, talking about the plot. It was so weirdly structured. There are the same convos and phrases, even some events that are exactly the same. The topics and narrative change so quickly. In the first book the plot was also quick, but it was at least a unite and a structured one, like every event happens one after another. While in this book, there were too many information but at the same time not enough information and actions. The main idea and the sequence of events is shown and easily identified though.
In conclusion, it was actually so difficult to analyse this duology, and I feel extremely lost with it. Unfortunately, even though I really liked the wholesome boys and the main idea of their story, I still don’t think I would recommend it to any of my friends because of the number of disadvantages I managed to find. And again, for me, this book was just a one-evening read, which I do not fully regret reading, but the hype that was going around it is still confusing for me. Waiting for the movie I guess, I’m really interested how they’ll manage to show it on the screen.
Taking into consideration some disadvantages of the first book, it is possible to mention that there are still empty and unreal dialogues (especially at the beginning) but they became a little better, and there is more text in general. Many dialogues became longer and it made some of them look more like monologues which still sounded extremely robotic and unreal. There were more emotional elements, but I couldn’t fully feel empathy because again it was written extremely unrealistic. Additionally, there are more details and descriptions in some chapters, the writing seems to be improving. Therefore, there are more thoughts and more deeper quotes, which are still not that great but okay it’s better than in the previous book. Here, I actually liked some ideas and moments, where the feelings are involved. However, the sentences are still written poorly, and there are many repetitions of words, thoughts, and basically everything, which made a book so boring in some moments.
This part focuses mostly on representation of various of topics. It consists of a lot of thoughts about sexuality, racism, and feminism. A big focus is on the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s. In general, I liked the representation of these topics, and the characters who delivered it were also great. Nevertheless, I’m not sure about this point because maybe it’s just me with my trust issues, but some moments felt extremely unrealistic. Everywhere the characters went people were LGBT friendly, all their friends, random people etc. Of course there were some homophobic and racist characters, but there were just only 2 of them??? When in reality, especially during those time I don’t think people were actually that tolerant. Especially parents. But again, maybe I just cannot believe in it because of my surrounding.
Finally, talking about the plot. It was so weirdly structured. There are the same convos and phrases, even some events that are exactly the same. The topics and narrative change so quickly. In the first book the plot was also quick, but it was at least a unite and a structured one, like every event happens one after another. While in this book, there were too many information but at the same time not enough information and actions. The main idea and the sequence of events is shown and easily identified though.
In conclusion, it was actually so difficult to analyse this duology, and I feel extremely lost with it. Unfortunately, even though I really liked the wholesome boys and the main idea of their story, I still don’t think I would recommend it to any of my friends because of the number of disadvantages I managed to find. And again, for me, this book was just a one-evening read, which I do not fully regret reading, but the hype that was going around it is still confusing for me. Waiting for the movie I guess, I’m really interested how they’ll manage to show it on the screen.
jamiereybooks's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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? No
4.25
mayuscv's review
emotional
inspiring
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
4.5
What a beautiful book, with so much tender and heartbreaking moments. I love that the author decided to explore more of the characters and that we get to know them was an adventure.
I gotta say though, read the TW first, because if you are a crybaby like me, it'll destroy you and leave you crying at 2 in the morning
I gotta say though, read the TW first, because if you are a crybaby like me, it'll destroy you and leave you crying at 2 in the morning
sakura_'s review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
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? No
4.0
hamate_714's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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
4.0
kjgreen's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
tamaralista's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
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
4.0
amg_reads's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book so much. I’m so glad to be able to live in Aristotles and Dante’s beautiful world.
I’m so glad that in this book we get to see them embracing their relationship. Personally I didn’t like Cassandra but I app that Ari had friends and grows as a person.
Aristotles and Dante’s relationship is so precious. Some parts of this book actually made me cry, that rarely happens. The writing is so beautiful, definitely related to a lot of the issues they went through. This is one of my favorite books of the year.
I’m so glad that in this book we get to see them embracing their relationship. Personally I didn’t like Cassandra but I app that Ari had friends and grows as a person.
Aristotles and Dante’s relationship is so precious. Some parts of this book actually made me cry, that rarely happens. The writing is so beautiful, definitely related to a lot of the issues they went through. This is one of my favorite books of the year.