Reviews with content warning for Outing - The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester

I took a chance at reading a mystery, knowing that in the past those plots don’t work for me. Sadly, this one also didn’t.
Seeing a nonbinary autistic mc is what made me pick up this book in the first place. I loved Sam and the other characters. They were wonderful and pulled me through this book.

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acasiamae's review

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.0

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thewildmageslibrary's review against another edition

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5.0

Okay, welcome to one of my favorite reads of 2023! Seriously, I loved this book so much. I don't have the words. It was just everything. Also, wasn't expecting a murder mystery but I'm here for it!

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hobbithopeful's review

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dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

Murder mystery but make it *queer*! Oh my gosh I adore this book, it healed my inner child and yet was a tense page turner. (What a combination am I right!) Sam and their Dad are new to town, seeking a fresh start after an incredibly traumatic hate crime occurred at Sam's old school. Sam soon finds themselves making friends and fitting in, not an easy task as a nonbinary teenager with autism. Add to the mix a 30 year old mystery death that took place in Sam's new bedroom, and supernatural elements that have them feeling oddly connected to the victim create a fantastically written read. A loveable cast of queer characters add so much heart to this book, from page one I was fully hooked and could not put it down! Sam's Dad is so cheesy and warm and I love their relationship so much, all the subtle hints and threads make every character feel so real, no matter how brief their moments on the page. It feels odd to say a book that deals with such dark topics such as bullying, homophobia, and high school life, could have such heart and feel so warm, but it does! Reading through the pages I felt a part of my inner child heal just a lil bit more, and by the last page the tears that ran down my cheeks were a combination of relief and happiness. Maya MacGregor has cemented her place as one of my new favorite authors, and her own experience in life as queer and autistic shines through with joy and pain. I have read so many books in my life, and known have ever left me feeling so seen such as this one. If I could give it 100 stars I would- make your day better and give The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester a read.

The Cover
I really love the illustration on the cover, it is so great to see the vivid descriptions of Sam brought to life against the gorgeous smoky background. The way their tattoo sleeve smokes from their arm to create the background is just the lovely little cherry on top. I will say they are mentioned as having multi colored dyed hair strands so it would have been nice to see that depicted.
I am not a huge fan of the font, it feels a bit immature to me, especially considering this is a YA novel and deals with heavier topics. I also feel the light blue of the blurb on the front gets lost a bit, especially against the purple background.
It is hard not to be picky about a book that I so enjoyed, I always think an amazing book deserves and equally perfect cover.
Design by Barbara Grzeslo

Content Warnings

merle_bookdragon's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

I don't even exactly know where to start or end but this book was wonderful.

I'm usually not big on murder mystery but I guess if you package it in a YA queer contemporary with a wonderful protagonist it works. I really enjoyed Sam's POV, learning more about how they see the world and of course the wonderful realizations they had when they were finally surrounded by good friends. And my god are good friends groups one of my favorite things in literature. Sam, Shep, Sky, Aidan, and Ronnie and Jax, too, are such a wonderful group and I just wish everyone could be surrounded by such a safe group of people.

I think while this might sound cheesy one of my other favorite things was the wonderful representation we had in this book. Sam is autistic and nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns, and they also identify themselves as panromantic and being on the ace spectrum. We also see Latina, Black, Vietnamese, bi, and aroace rep (and more I'm sure) in Sam's friend group and in the LGBTQIA+ club at school.

The murder mystery part starts slowly and then grows more apparent towards the second half of the book when it becomes obvious that Sam and Shep have stirred a pot that somebody clearly doesn't want to have stirred. I really liked the dynamic development and without any spoilers - I didn't guess who the murder was.

And just for a little bit of emotional pain, because Sam was really good at inflicting that on me: