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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
funny
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4.6-4.7/5
adib khorram and YA books>>> can never go wrong.
this was a temporary cure to my weeks-long reading slump. i demolished the book. i read half the book until late till 4.30 in the morning. and even read it in the metro (and usually i'm too self-conscious about it).
but there is something inherently comforting about returning to high school and teenage drama and immersing yourself in that /how to figure your life out/ stories. it feels grounding. and adib khorram always knows to poke holes at your emotions and make you siphon his characters' energy and be consumed with their life.
it was so deeply engrossing and fast-paced? half-iranian junior Jackson has a crush on gorgeous, kind swimmer boy Liam. but he doesn't realize it until his sister starts crushing on him too and then it's just a recipe for disaster.
one of the fun parts about the book was all the break-up lists that jackson would make for her sister's ex to remind her why their "ex" status is the best idea.
but liam and jackson were adorable together. it's the perfect idiots in love that we love here. the chemistry between them was so palpable, liam's "straight" aura was almost non-existent. because the way that boy was so smitten from the beginning? tucking in jackson's clothes tags, learning sign language just so jackson can communicate better with him, switching to texting on phone whenever jackson was having trouble with his hearing aids, waiting for him every day after rehearsal gets over? the in general KINDness that liam exudes was enough to make me melt but all of THIS? should be ILLEGAL for health purposes.
also look at jackson making smoothies for him along with his bff just bc he asked a little too nicely, sweet boy just suppressing his own feelings very unhealthily bc his sister's feelings come first...
ofc he made some mistakes that we all saw coming. but in this house we love groveling and his groveling was GOOD. and adib khorram managed to capture all the flaws and pockmarks in a teenage gay boy's character, who's working hard to recognize and wipe them out, the entire messiness of the teenage romance experience really effortlessly. i was so scared for the third-act break-up i almost started hyperventilating lol. but we all came unscathed on the other side, and the whole romance was the epitome of soft and WHOLESOME and gaaah i loved them.
tho i'd say if you are a fan of grand romantic public gestures, you'd love the reconciliation scene more than i did. as for me, if i could ignore the /where/ it was taking place and only focus on /what/ was taking place, the dialogues, the emotions carried in them, it was completely endearing. "but i'm not sorry for loving you. it's the best thing i've ever done."
one of my favorite parts was how khorram portrayed the disability of jackson, the ableist treatment he would get from everyone and esp the theater crowd. also the disparity in treatment of actors and stage crew, or the horrible treatment of new actors who haven't "earned their dues" was starkly represented.
and i LOVED bowie and their friendship with jackson, the way the vagaries of teenage best friendship were shown, along with the slight glimpses of iranian culture, the relationship between jackson and his parents and sister (who i kinda hate but fine).
but all in all it was sweet and fluffy and just lovely.
adib khorram and YA books>>> can never go wrong.
this was a temporary cure to my weeks-long reading slump. i demolished the book. i read half the book until late till 4.30 in the morning. and even read it in the metro (and usually i'm too self-conscious about it).
but there is something inherently comforting about returning to high school and teenage drama and immersing yourself in that /how to figure your life out/ stories. it feels grounding. and adib khorram always knows to poke holes at your emotions and make you siphon his characters' energy and be consumed with their life.
it was so deeply engrossing and fast-paced? half-iranian junior Jackson has a crush on gorgeous, kind swimmer boy Liam. but he doesn't realize it until his sister starts crushing on him too and then it's just a recipe for disaster.
one of the fun parts about the book was all the break-up lists that jackson would make for her sister's ex to remind her why their "ex" status is the best idea.
but liam and jackson were adorable together. it's the perfect idiots in love that we love here. the chemistry between them was so palpable, liam's "straight" aura was almost non-existent. because the way that boy was so smitten from the beginning? tucking in jackson's clothes tags, learning sign language just so jackson can communicate better with him, switching to texting on phone whenever jackson was having trouble with his hearing aids, waiting for him every day after rehearsal gets over? the in general KINDness that liam exudes was enough to make me melt but all of THIS? should be ILLEGAL for health purposes.
also look at jackson making smoothies for him along with his bff just bc he asked a little too nicely, sweet boy just suppressing his own feelings very unhealthily bc his sister's feelings come first...
ofc he made some mistakes that we all saw coming. but in this house we love groveling and his groveling was GOOD. and adib khorram managed to capture all the flaws and pockmarks in a teenage gay boy's character, who's working hard to recognize and wipe them out, the entire messiness of the teenage romance experience really effortlessly. i was so scared for the third-act break-up i almost started hyperventilating lol. but we all came unscathed on the other side, and the whole romance was the epitome of soft and WHOLESOME and gaaah i loved them.
tho i'd say if you are a fan of grand romantic public gestures, you'd love the reconciliation scene more than i did. as for me, if i could ignore the /where/ it was taking place and only focus on /what/ was taking place, the dialogues, the emotions carried in them, it was completely endearing. "but i'm not sorry for loving you. it's the best thing i've ever done."
one of my favorite parts was how khorram portrayed the disability of jackson, the ableist treatment he would get from everyone and esp the theater crowd. also the disparity in treatment of actors and stage crew, or the horrible treatment of new actors who haven't "earned their dues" was starkly represented.
and i LOVED bowie and their friendship with jackson, the way the vagaries of teenage best friendship were shown, along with the slight glimpses of iranian culture, the relationship between jackson and his parents and sister (who i kinda hate but fine).
but all in all it was sweet and fluffy and just lovely.
The Breakup Lists is a beautiful coming-of-age romance that other nerds will devour. It has great characters, witty banter, and swoon-worthy moments for days. I highly recommend this novel.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
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
Funny and cute queer romance. However I hate the "big lie" and/or lack of communication trope which this book had which significantly dropped my rating. Despite not being a theater person myself I really enjoyed the theater aspect of this. It was really fun. I also really liked that the main character's disability (hard of hearing) wasn't the point of the book or even revolved around it? Like, it just existed. It affected Jackson (the main character) and those around him but only in a normal, real way. It helped shape who he was in a realisti manner. It was pure, good representation. It wasn't there just to be there nor did it overshadow everything else. I liked Jackson and Bowie's best friendship. Bowie was always there to support Jackson and to help him. There was a bump in their friendship but they get through it. Most friendships have bumps here and there. Bowie was one of the two nonbinary people in this book. I liked how it was casually represented. There is a lot of queer normalcy in this which I really appreciated. Jackson is a mostly alone person. He has few friends. He isn't involved deeply in the queer community nor the deaf community. Towards the end that changes. It made me so happy. The relationship between Jackson and Liam was cute. They were adorable. There was a few aspects I didn't enjoy though such as Jackson pushing Liam onto his sister, Jasmine just because he was unsure and insecure about Liam liking him or not. I also really hated how Jackson kept giving into Jasmine's guilt tripping and manipulation. He never should have wrote that list about Liam, especially listing what he knows is one of Liam's biggest insecurities. It was horrible. I almost dnfed right there and then. Then he even lied to Liam about how he hadn't made one. And even when Jackson told Liam he loved him, he hadn't told him about the list yet. He should have done that before professing his love. I am glad they got back together after Liam found out though. I appreciated how Jackson gave Liam space and didn't cling onto him.
The worst thing about this book to me was Jackson's sister, Jasmine. She was awful, selfish, vindictive, immature and manipulative. The fact that this wasnt even addressed bothered me so so much. Yes, after she carried out her vindictive plan to humiliate Jackson, she gets a week detention. Whoopy do. She apologizes to Jackson and he forgives her, gosh knows why. But there is no talk about how selfish and immature she was throughout the whole book nor how she continually guilt tripped and manipulated Jackson. There was a few things I feel didn't get addressed properly or plot line finished such as Liam's sexuality. It wasn't even confirmed what he considers himself as. Then the whole plot line with Cam. Cam was such a jackass. I felt like there was a conclusion or something that could have happened there.
All in all, this was a cute, funny queer romance but with a big layer of YA and immaturity.
The worst thing about this book to me was Jackson's sister, Jasmine. She was awful, selfish, vindictive, immature and manipulative. The fact that
All in all, this was a cute, funny queer romance but with a big layer of YA and immaturity.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Ableism, Abandonment
Minor: Infidelity
challenging
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
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
This was such a good book. Though it’s a very simple story, and some aspects of it could have been more well-rounded, I was cringing in suspense knowing that the turning point was coming and something horrible was going to happen (even though of course it gets resolved in the end).
There are also some important lessons here about respecting other people, their decisions and how they process their own stuff going on, coming clean about what you’re hiding, and taking your own failures with grace.
There are also some important lessons here about respecting other people, their decisions and how they process their own stuff going on, coming clean about what you’re hiding, and taking your own failures with grace.
This book was so amazing! I could not put it down! I loved the story and the build-up of the crushes and everything! It's one of my new favorites, I will be recommending to everyone I meet!