Reviews

The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle by Matt Cain

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sandysmith's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted 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

4.25

I really enjoyed this book it's very sweet, and it is easy to fall in love with Alberts endearing persona and some of the supporting characters Nicole, Rennie, Marjorie, and Edith, to name a few. It's a coming out, coming of age story of Albert in his 60s. At times, you want to shake him, and the next hug him tightly. Yes, it's sickly sweet, but it's very endearing. The only minor negative is that the moral of the story is reinforced too much and bashed over your head, so this element needed to be more subtle, but it's accessible and easy to read. A love story of teenagers Albert and George and their forbidden illegal love. I really enjoyed the end part of the book with interviews of different homophobia experiences and coming out in the 50s and 60s. I'm glad things have changed, but homophobia sadly still exists. It's a lovely, heartwarming, joyful, enjoyable read. Just be prepared to fall in love with Albert, coming out of loneliness into a much richer life. Fabulous stuff.

Content Warnings

domtheknight's review against another edition

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probably me and not the book, not in the right space to concentrate on it

flower_mail's review

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emotional inspiring lighthearted 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

4.25

caliblues's review

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emotional hopeful reflective 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? Yes

3.5

cbhags's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

3.25

oscarwildein's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective 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

3.75

This was very sweet. Although it got off to a bit of a somber start, it quickly picked up into something almost tooth-achingly sweet. It was very cheesy but not necessarily in a negative way, and I can't really describe how it was cheesy without spoilers or without sounding like I wanted there to be negativity in the book. I didn't mind that it was very positive. Some people need that type of book, I just wish the themes and messages were a bit more subtle. At times, I felt like I was being beat over the head by the moral of the story.

The writing was very simple, and I would definitely have appreciated a little more embellishment, but in the end, it fit Albert's voice, and that simplicity made it very easy to read, and very easy to get through.

All in all, it's a very cute book with a sweet story, and if you're in need of something uplifting and full of queer hope, then you should 100% pick this up.

librarianinperiwinkle's review against another edition

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5.0

I really cannot improve on the official blurb/summary of this book except to say it is an absolutely lovely book with All the Feels. My heart broke for Albert and his lonely existence these past 40-something years, and I absolutely LOVE how brave he chose to be in the end and how he impacted the lives of Nicole & Reenie & Marjorie & so many more. (Apologies if I misspelled names—I listened to the audiobook.) This book is so hopeful, and thank God most of us are not as homophobic as people were half a century ago!

I love that the afterward (epilogue?) is interviews with older gay men who lived through similar events in real life. The novel was very true to their experiences.

For readers’ advisors: character doorway is primary. A few mild swear words, I think, and reference to teen boys having had sex, but nothing the slightest bit descriptive. George gets beaten up by homophobic boys in the 1960s & threatened with violence by the police. There is mention of truly awful things that were done to LGBTQIA folks in previous decades.