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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Adorable slow-burn romance with great disability representation. Jackson, deaf stage manager for his school's theatre group, falls for top swimmer and amateur thesp Liam. Except: Liam is straight, and interested in Jackson's sister?
LOVE the portrayal of Jackson's deafness, and people's different attitudes to it. As readers we see Liam's true feelings long before Jackson does, and this is nicely done. Misses out on 5/5 by a whisker.
LOVE THIS BOOK! LOVE all the theatre references, felt like I was back in the school theatre again, and all the theatre metaphors!
Epic writing, great development of the main character, and fabulous writing from a hearing disabled POV.
Didn't love how some toxic/ableist family relationships were never adequately resolved, but doesn't detract from strongly recommending anyone and everyone to read this... even if you've never worked in a theatre.
Epic writing, great development of the main character, and fabulous writing from a hearing disabled POV.
Didn't love how some toxic/ableist family relationships were never adequately resolved, but doesn't detract from strongly recommending anyone and everyone to read this... even if you've never worked in a theatre.
emotional
funny
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
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
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
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
The characters didn't really feel that real or well connected to the reader. The main character was also kind of annoying.
funny
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
~~Thank you to Edelweiss and Penguin Random House for the ARC!~~
There is no heartbreak like not loving a book by one of your favorite authors.
I remember giving the side eye once the official synopsis for this book came out, but I still believed I would love it, anyway, because I have adored all of Khorram's past works, particularly the Darius duology.
But, man, I really hated the love triangle dynamic between Jackson, Jasmine, and Liam. Jackson's pinning/sexualization of Liam while he was dating his sister was really weird, but it got worse once they got together and Jackson insisted on hiding their relationship from Jasmine, who wassuperficially bemoaning the breakup for a painful amount of time. It didn't help that Jasmine is super toxic and retaliated in the worse way after inevitably finding out. Jasmine is an awful character, and I hate how the whole conflict centered around her inability to be mature.
One thing I will say that I like about this book was how Jackson's deafness was portrayed. Whenever he misses a portion of conversation (which is written out as 'somethingsomething'), he either asks for clarification or carries the convo forward, because he automatically knew what he missed. It felt genuine (Khorram mentioned the deaf folks who helped him in the acknowledgements), and I really liked this aspect of Jackson's character was paid attention to while not making it the primary thing about him.
Overall, this was a disappointment for me. Of course, I will still be following Khorram and anticipate any future works of his, but I'm still sad this one didn't work for me.
Merged review:
~~Thank you to Edelweiss and Penguin Random House for the ARC!~~
There is no heartbreak like not loving a book by one of your favorite authors.
I remember giving the side eye once the official synopsis for this book came out, but I still believed I would love it, anyway, because I have adored all of Khorram's past works, particularly the Darius duology.
But, man, I really hated the love triangle dynamic between Jackson, Jasmine, and Liam. Jackson's pinning/sexualization of Liam while he was dating his sister was really weird, but it got worse once they got together and Jackson insisted on hiding their relationship from Jasmine, who wassuperficially bemoaning the breakup for a painful amount of time. It didn't help that Jasmine is super toxic and retaliated in the worse way after inevitably finding out. Jasmine is an awful character, and I hate how the whole conflict centered around her inability to be mature.
One thing I will say that I like about this book was how Jackson's deafness was portrayed. Whenever he misses a portion of conversation (which is written out as 'somethingsomething'), he either asks for clarification or carries the convo forward, because he automatically knew what he missed. It felt genuine (Khorram mentioned the deaf folks who helped him in the acknowledgements), and I really liked this aspect of Jackson's character was paid attention to while not making it the primary thing about him.
Overall, this was a disappointment for me. Of course, I will still be following Khorram and anticipate any future works of his, but I'm still sad this one didn't work for me.
There is no heartbreak like not loving a book by one of your favorite authors.
I remember giving the side eye once the official synopsis for this book came out, but I still believed I would love it, anyway, because I have adored all of Khorram's past works, particularly the Darius duology.
But, man, I really hated the love triangle dynamic between Jackson, Jasmine, and Liam. Jackson's pinning/sexualization of Liam while he was dating his sister was really weird, but it got worse once they got together and Jackson insisted on hiding their relationship from Jasmine, who was
Spoiler
(She stole Jackson's lists (Not the ones that made her look bad, of course) and posted them on the school board for all to see. She got a week's worth of detention, but that's it. She doesn't get any repercussions, otherwise. In fact, she had the gall to say she couldn't fully forgive Jackson! )One thing I will say that I like about this book was how Jackson's deafness was portrayed. Whenever he misses a portion of conversation (which is written out as 'somethingsomething'), he either asks for clarification or carries the convo forward, because he automatically knew what he missed. It felt genuine (Khorram mentioned the deaf folks who helped him in the acknowledgements), and I really liked this aspect of Jackson's character was paid attention to while not making it the primary thing about him.
Overall, this was a disappointment for me. Of course, I will still be following Khorram and anticipate any future works of his, but I'm still sad this one didn't work for me.
Merged review:
~~Thank you to Edelweiss and Penguin Random House for the ARC!~~
There is no heartbreak like not loving a book by one of your favorite authors.
I remember giving the side eye once the official synopsis for this book came out, but I still believed I would love it, anyway, because I have adored all of Khorram's past works, particularly the Darius duology.
But, man, I really hated the love triangle dynamic between Jackson, Jasmine, and Liam. Jackson's pinning/sexualization of Liam while he was dating his sister was really weird, but it got worse once they got together and Jackson insisted on hiding their relationship from Jasmine, who was
Spoiler
(She stole Jackson's lists (Not the ones that made her look bad, of course) and posted them on the school board for all to see. She got a week's worth of detention, but that's it. She doesn't get any repercussions, otherwise. In fact, she had the gall to say she couldn't fully forgive Jackson! )One thing I will say that I like about this book was how Jackson's deafness was portrayed. Whenever he misses a portion of conversation (which is written out as 'somethingsomething'), he either asks for clarification or carries the convo forward, because he automatically knew what he missed. It felt genuine (Khorram mentioned the deaf folks who helped him in the acknowledgements), and I really liked this aspect of Jackson's character was paid attention to while not making it the primary thing about him.
Overall, this was a disappointment for me. Of course, I will still be following Khorram and anticipate any future works of his, but I'm still sad this one didn't work for me.
This was very cute and enjoyable. A YA about gay theatre dramaaaa is always going to be a hit for me