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anxiousrainbows's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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? Yes
5.0
i was so excited by the premise of this book, and the execution was incredible. as someone who had to give up their dream because their body wouldn't be able to do it, tobias madden was able to capture that experience-- the grief you go through, having to figure out who you are without it-- so well without it taking over the plot and making the book depressing. i've read books like that, and while they have their place for sure, there's also room for fun ya contemporary romances centered around this topic too. the side characters were also so well-developed and well-written, i was invested in their journeys almost as much as i was luca's!
overall, i really loved this book and i totally recommend picking it up!
overall, i really loved this book and i totally recommend picking it up!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Islamophobia
wastingtime1994's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- 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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Vomit, Toxic friendship, Racial slurs, and Xenophobia
b_robinson's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Homophobia
pey333's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Death of parent, Homophobia, Alcohol, and Outing
Minor: Islamophobia, Sexual content, and Racism
piperclover's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Really amazing story about how to be a friend, a teenager, someone's child, an individual. Very fun characters, very good narrator, and a good ending.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Islamophobia
Moderate: Grief
The homophobia and Islamophobia are by background characters but they are parts of the story and important. Nothing too bad, just typical crap but handled well and discussed wellsarahmichelle30's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Racism, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Outing, Islamophobia, and Homophobia
Moderate: Toxic friendship and Death of parent
anintrovertrambles's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Outing, and Injury/Injury detail
melaniereadsbooks's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
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? Yes
4.25
Thank you to Netgalley and Recorded Books for an ALC of this book.
When Luca has an accident that ruins his future career as a ballerina, he is forced to change schools and feels like he's starting his life over. Along comes Jordan, the pretty (probably straight) face that Luca is able to pin his hopes on.
I really liked this book. Luca and Jordan's relationship very much gave me Nick and Charlie from Heartstopper vibes. Luca's journey is very interesting. He is not a super likable character, but he does experience a lot of character growth and develops into more of his own person throughout the book. The discussion of what it means to lose your perceived future is really good, and I also liked the discussions around coming out.
I really liked the narration in this and definitely recommend the audio! Luca's new friend Amina is truly the MVP of this book!
When Luca has an accident that ruins his future career as a ballerina, he is forced to change schools and feels like he's starting his life over. Along comes Jordan, the pretty (probably straight) face that Luca is able to pin his hopes on.
I really liked this book. Luca and Jordan's relationship very much gave me Nick and Charlie from Heartstopper vibes. Luca's journey is very interesting. He is not a super likable character, but he does experience a lot of character growth and develops into more of his own person throughout the book. The discussion of what it means to lose your perceived future is really good, and I also liked the discussions around coming out.
I really liked the narration in this and definitely recommend the audio! Luca's new friend Amina is truly the MVP of this book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Islamophobia, Racial slurs, and Homophobia
Moderate: Bullying, Death of parent, and Grief
Minor: Sexual content, Medical content, and Hate crime
snowydaze's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- 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
4.0
I received a copy of the Audiobook Anything But Fine by Tobias Madden
from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed listening to this book for the most part. However, at times I found Luca to get a little annoying, mostly due to how repetitive he seemed to get throughout the book. Furthermore, I found the solutions to some of the relationship problems that came up through the book to be a tad wrong or resulting in glazing over the problem or miscommunication that occurred. I would have enjoyed the book a bit more if they communicated a bit more about their problems.
On the other hand, I did like how varying Matthew Backer’s narration was, as he truly embodied the characters throughout the story. Additionally, most of the characters seemed to grow a bit throughout the novel. With that being said, there was a diverse cast of characters, I would however, suggest looking up trigger warnings before reading this book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Biphobia, Cursing, Bullying, Outing, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Homophobia, Grief, Hate crime, Islamophobia, Medical content, and Racism
dobbsthedog's review against another edition
4.0
Received from NetGalley, thanks!
I really enjoyed this book! It had a great, diverse cast of characters, and it felt like the main side characters were really well developed. As frustrating as I occasionally found the MC, Luca, I still really liked him and the frustrations definitely comes from him having a bit of a life crisis.
Luca is a ballet dancer, hoping to attend the Australia Ballet School, but a misstep has him tumbling down a flight of stairs, horribly fracturing his foot. This isn’t a spoiler, it happens in the first chapter. I really enjoyed reading about a male ballet dancer, as there aren’t even that many books about any ballet dancers. I did ballet for a number of years as a kid and again as an adult, and I do love it. I think my appreciation has grown now that I’m older, I didn’t love it as a kid.
So, this fractured foot hugely impacts on Luca’s life, as he’s been doing ballet since he was 3 years old (now 16). Because of it he loses friends, makes new friends, meets a cute boy at the occupational therapists office, and has to make some tough decisions and realizations about where his life is going to go if he can’t dance professionally.
I listened to the audio of this and really enjoyed the narrator, I think he did a great job. I’ve hardly listened to any audiobooks narrated with Australian accents, so this was a nice change. There was an author Q&A at the end, with the narrator, and hearing the narrator’s natural/normal voice, really showed how much range he has, as I don’t think that any of the book was narrated with his natural/normal voice.
Very good book, excellent debut, definitely recommend, especially if you enjoy ballet.
I really enjoyed this book! It had a great, diverse cast of characters, and it felt like the main side characters were really well developed. As frustrating as I occasionally found the MC, Luca, I still really liked him and the frustrations definitely comes from him having a bit of a life crisis.
Luca is a ballet dancer, hoping to attend the Australia Ballet School, but a misstep has him tumbling down a flight of stairs, horribly fracturing his foot. This isn’t a spoiler, it happens in the first chapter. I really enjoyed reading about a male ballet dancer, as there aren’t even that many books about any ballet dancers. I did ballet for a number of years as a kid and again as an adult, and I do love it. I think my appreciation has grown now that I’m older, I didn’t love it as a kid.
So, this fractured foot hugely impacts on Luca’s life, as he’s been doing ballet since he was 3 years old (now 16). Because of it he loses friends, makes new friends, meets a cute boy at the occupational therapists office, and has to make some tough decisions and realizations about where his life is going to go if he can’t dance professionally.
I listened to the audio of this and really enjoyed the narrator, I think he did a great job. I’ve hardly listened to any audiobooks narrated with Australian accents, so this was a nice change. There was an author Q&A at the end, with the narrator, and hearing the narrator’s natural/normal voice, really showed how much range he has, as I don’t think that any of the book was narrated with his natural/normal voice.
Very good book, excellent debut, definitely recommend, especially if you enjoy ballet.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Islamophobia