Reviews

I enjoyed this, and it was definitely a cute story of discovering your sexuality, first love, and a coming of age story. Honestly though, it would've had a higher rating if it weren't for the dad. I understand the dad was struggling, but he was so frustrating! He barely cared about his kid, made everything about himself, and was a big man-child, and he was so inappropriate to his child and rude to everyone else. The end he "apologized" but it was one of the worst apologies I've ever seen, making an excuse for his abusive behavior.

juneberry0123's review against another edition

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emotional

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

itslucyamber's review against another edition

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5.0

I'm simultaneously American Bittern (feeling awful) and Sanderling (happy) about this Cormorant (beautiful) book.

theketchupmess's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

drakoulis's review against another edition

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4.0

First of all, the title is one of the best I've seen in relation to what it means. I assumed it was a reference to some important scene with seabird sounds in the background, but it's not that. You'll get the meaning when you read the book.

This is a middle-grade story, taking place during the 2 weeks Jeremy spends in a small Oregon town with his recently divorced dad and his uncle. The exact timeframe of the book is a bit vague: there seems to be no internet, but there are text messages. And there are a lot of magazines around. So early 00s? The whole atmosphere and vibe could easily be 70s or 80s though if there wasn't the technology to show it's actually later.

It's a very sweet and fuzzy story: from the moment Jeremy meets Evan, to the growing realization of his feelings, his fear of whether Evan feels the same and what if someone finds out, the enthusiasm, the anger, the softness.

The adults of the story are either downright horrible (Jeremy's dad) or negligent. 13 year old boys working in the family business? Doing chores like cleaning the roof? This is something I only expect to see in books taking place several decads earlier in the past and I'm a bit baffled on how normalized it was in this book.

I have a huge complain that left me a sour aftertaste: the ending.

Spoiler

Given that the whole story took place in a brief period and there was an unavoidable separation in the end, I expected an open ending. The boys are also really young, so it would be a bit ridiculous to have a "we stay together forever" insinuation. But it's equally ridiculous and frustrating for me to have an ending focused on "goodbye", "maybe we won't meet again", "who knows". Not only it's something I hate , but it's downright unrealistic. Two boys who said "I love you" for the first time, who had their first boyfriend, their first crush will not just let go of it. Hell, most wouldn't let go their friends grow distant without trying. The ending could simply be "I will text you every day", "I will come and visit you and you will come visit me" and it would be perfect. Instead, we got this really unsatisfying ending with sad vibes.

. That's the only reason this book isn't a 5-star.

berkls2's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

theeuphoriczat's review against another edition

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4.0

This was such a cute, emotional and refreshing read. A story of self discovery, self-love and first love. This is one of those books that remind me that it is not about the destination but about the journey.

We follow Jeremy who is spending the summer in a small town in Oregon with his father, after his parents got divorced. He is still deciding who he will be living with. His father plans the journey to be a bonding time for the two of them but, I am comfortable to say that what the father needed was some time to process his divorce, rather than bonding time (he needed a therapist). Anyways, Jeremy meets Evan, who he find irresistible (honestly his crush was quite cute). They become friends, go running together, texting about their days and even sharing little secrets about each other.

Their friendship blooms to the point where Jeremy fells comfortable and safe enough to tell Evan about his feelings for him. Honestly, just reading the two and their young pure love just made me so happy. It was age appropriate, a good conversation starter for parents to discuss with their queer children and a soothing balm for those who had one-sided love.

Thanks to the publisher for making a copy of the book available to me!

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