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4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
This was fantastic - absolutely adore Eric and Miles. Enjoyed this book so so so much. Looking forward to reading more from this author.
V cute story but mc stressed me out real bad butttt I have to remember it’s written from a 16 year olds pov so ofc they’re all gonna make terrible decisions. But I did have a giggle and enjoyed it overall
A recently-out trans pianist comes to terms with the way the world sees him and the way he sees himself.
Always the Almost is a really lovely story of trans joy featuring imperfect characters who are trying their best. Miles, the protagonist, is very well-developed and experiences a lot of growth throughout, even if some of the secondary characters aren't as fleshed out. The novel strikes a great balance between the light, fun moments of teenagehood and the heavier coming-of-age milestones.
It could be argued that the ending wraps up a bit too neatly, but it's also nice for a character who has grown and who you can really root for by the end to end up happy!
Always the Almost is a really lovely story of trans joy featuring imperfect characters who are trying their best. Miles, the protagonist, is very well-developed and experiences a lot of growth throughout, even if some of the secondary characters aren't as fleshed out. The novel strikes a great balance between the light, fun moments of teenagehood and the heavier coming-of-age milestones.
It could be argued that the ending wraps up a bit too neatly, but it's also nice for a character who has grown and who you can really root for by the end to end up happy!
A pretty good YA novel about friendship, love, transition, and talent. I think it's accurate to the confusion of adolescent romantic desires. It's definitely possible, possibly even common, for the desire to prove one's own desirability, or to show an ex what they're missing, to get in the way of new relationships and the potential for actual happiness—that doesn't mean it didn't drive me absolutely crazy how Eric was treated in this book, though!
A nice refreshing read that reminded me a little of 'Simon vs the Homosapiens Agenda'
What a treat of a book! The author notes in the beginning that this is a book about queer and trans joy, and truly it was joy throughout. I absolutely loved these characters, and Miles' journey throughout was wonderful to watch. A great debut, and I can't wait to read Edward Underhill's next book!
4.5!!
Always the Almost follows Miles, a trans boy, who has been in the competitive piano scene for a while. This year will be his first year in the competition as a boy, so he feels more pressure than normal to perform. He also really wants to get back with his ex boyfriend, who broke it off when Miles came out. Miles thinks Shane COULD be into boys if he just gave it a shot (clearly not the best line of thinking but who can say they only pursued good ideas at 16)
Then Miles meets Eric, a new boy who spends time with Miles while he practices piano. A thing I liked about this book is that it’s not just leading up to a romance - Eric and Miles get together well before the book is over and they experience both great and not so great times in their relationship which is great realistic representation!! Eric is not white (I cannot for the life of me remember his background but I can update if I come across it) and he has a sister with Downs syndrome, so there's good representation in this book. Miles' best friends are lesbians who are dating, too.
Miles goes through growing pains with his parents who are at different stages of acceptance of his trans identity - his dad still just isn’t quite sure how to show his love to a son over a daughter, and his mom is happy to have a son but oddly draws the line at fully being sold on Miles being gay..
Miles’ best friends have their own drama while dating, and there’s a storyline following his piano teacher, and of course Shane isn’t fully out of the picture… there’s just a lot of threads in this book that weave together to make a fully fleshed out story
Always the Almost follows Miles, a trans boy, who has been in the competitive piano scene for a while. This year will be his first year in the competition as a boy, so he feels more pressure than normal to perform. He also really wants to get back with his ex boyfriend, who broke it off when Miles came out. Miles thinks Shane COULD be into boys if he just gave it a shot (clearly not the best line of thinking but who can say they only pursued good ideas at 16)
Then Miles meets Eric, a new boy who spends time with Miles while he practices piano. A thing I liked about this book is that it’s not just leading up to a romance - Eric and Miles get together well before the book is over and they experience both great and not so great times in their relationship which is great realistic representation!! Eric is not white (I cannot for the life of me remember his background but I can update if I come across it) and he has a sister with Downs syndrome, so there's good representation in this book. Miles' best friends are lesbians who are dating, too.
Miles goes through growing pains with his parents who are at different stages of acceptance of his trans identity - his dad still just isn’t quite sure how to show his love to a son over a daughter, and his mom is happy to have a son but oddly draws the line at fully being sold on Miles being gay..
Miles’ best friends have their own drama while dating, and there’s a storyline following his piano teacher, and of course Shane isn’t fully out of the picture… there’s just a lot of threads in this book that weave together to make a fully fleshed out story