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stephmcoakley's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Cancer, Abandonment, Chronic illness, Body shaming, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Mental illness, and Terminal illness
bacchusvines's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Minor: Death of parent, Cancer, and Panic attacks/disorders
space_bandit's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Death, Terminal illness, and Cancer
betweentheshelves's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Death and Terminal illness
plumpaperbacks's review
- 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
5.0
Beyond the fluff and banter, I found Wes’ struggle of what to do now that he was out of high school and expected to be an adult extremely relatable. I didn’t know what I wanted to major in or even if I wanted to go to college. I’m still not sure. Winters captured the feeling of uncertainty so well, and that alone made Wes one of the most relatable characters I’ve ever read.
One of my favorite parts of the story—although, honestly, I love every part of it—was the scenes in the bookstore, Once Upon a Page. It made me so happy to see Wes bonding with Lucas over comics and giving them a safe space, and to see Ella helping a girl find new books to read. It was also cool that Winters mentioned authors and books that are actually popular now, like Leigh Bardugo and A Darker Shade of Magic. While some teens might like Shakespeare and Jane Austen, it was refreshing to see references to modern YA instead of dense 200+ year old literature.
I wasn’t expecting the ending to be so emotional, but it really was. There were more ups than downs, but the downs still hit hard. Luckily, despite that, the epilogue wrapped everything up perfectly and left me very happy.
I don’t see many people talking about Julian Winters’ books, and that’s a real shame. He’s one of my favorite YA contemporary authors, and definitely not one to miss. I’m very excited for his next release.
Representation
- biracial Black gay protagonist
- queer Mexican-American love interest
- achillean romance (m/m)
- Black side characters
- fat Black lesbian side character
- queer Polynesian-Filipino-Japanese side character
- queer side characters (includes aromantic asexual, bisexual, and nonbinary rep)
- sapphic side romance (f/f)
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Death, Chronic illness, and Terminal illness
violet_pages's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Terminal illness and Death
perpetualpages's review
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Mental illness and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Death, Chronic illness, and Terminal illness