Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - Anything But Fine

Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Anything But Fine by Tobias Madden

30 reviews

tiredcath's review against another edition

funny reflective sad medium-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

3.5

Pretty Good.

There's a whole lot that I liked about Anything But Fine. A ballet dancer suffering from an identity crisis after a career fatal injury that also forces him to lose everything- that premise alone is so intriguing. A huge theme of friendships and acceptance. But there was a lot I wish was different.

I expected the central aspect of it was identity and recovery after discovering Luca couldn't do the thing he wanted to do his entire life. There are moments it's touched on but not enough. I expected this to be about Luca and ballet with a romance b-plot- it very much isn't that. I didn't care for the romance. Luca and Jordan had decent chemistry as friends but they as a couple did not work for me. Their relationship didn't have a natural flow to me.

Too much of the plot relied on the romance aspect, too much on the romance relied on Luca's attraction.

I really hate how much Luca was seeing Jordan cry and thinking about how great his arms look. Are you kidding?

I wanted to see more of Luca outside of Jordan. Especially with Luca's relationship with his father.

I saw a lot of potential storylines this could've gone. Mostly, I wished for more introspection, more connection to family, and reevaluation. Prepare for more of openly gay character gets into a "relationship" with closeted character- a trope I'm somewhat done it as it always ends the same.

Still, I did love Luca's and Amina's friendship. I really loved Luca's dad, I wish we had more time with him and explored their relationship a lot better. It's a nice read if you want something easy. There are homophobic moments thrown around, and racism against Muslims as well.

About the audio: Matthew Backer has good inflection in his voice and good comedic timing. He gives every character a realistic voice. There are some bits you can tell were rerecorded as they didn't match the same pitch as the previous sentence which was a bit jarring to listen to.

All in all, decent good, could've been spectacular if the author's priorities were different. Or maybe I just expected a different book entirely.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me this audiobook book in exchange for my honest review.

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m_riaelle's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

My expressions while listening to this were hilarious. Did I smile repeatedly? Yes. Did I laugh? Yes. Did I gasp? Yes. Did I gasp and laugh altogether? Yes. Did I feel secondhand embarrassment? Also yes. Did I bump my knees so hard on my mini table that it has scraped? Yes. Was it worth it? Yes, worth as 'tights.' Did I just find myself another favourite Achillean book? Yes. Was it sad? There are parts it is, especially when you relate to it. Do I recommend this? 100%

I can't help but see Luca as Alex from Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston. The difference is Alex would have said those flirty, sexual 'passion' that's going on in Luca's mind that had me laughing and gasping altogether without any hesitance and shame. XD

I was waiting for Luca's ex-friends to have character development, but there are really some friends you have to let go of and aren't worth it. I wasn't disappointed that it's not shown or what happened. I'm satisfied that only one of them can grow and be ready to show that to Luca and be friends with him and Amina because she was the only one who really cared from the bottom of her heart.

I love how transferring to another school made Luca at least has a distraction from a single miss-step that happened. It didn't end there because every choice made has consequences. It seems as though he kept falling and never got back on his feet until he took action to do so.

The narrator's way of voicing out the story is outstanding. The way it's narrated made me more entertained, which I'm looking for in audiobooks, and Anything But Fine is done right! I commend Matthew Backer!

TW: De*th of Parent, Grief, H*moph*bia, H*moph*bic Slurs, Anxiety, Racism, Racial Slurs, Islam*ph*bia, Outing, T*xic Friendship, H*te Crime, and Sexu*l Content (search it up for more specifics or correct TW as mine is what I thought is TW while I read it)

Content Warnings

booksmoviesandstories's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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

ceedy's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted sad tense 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? No

3.5

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bookstarbri's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad 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

4.75

This book really had me immediately at ballet, but actually reading it was a remarkable experience. I think what was most beautiful was the progression of Luca. His character growth wasn't linear and there were moments he'd take a step forward only to be knocked back three more. It was authentic and wondrous to see him go through such a life-changing event and still manage to find himself at the end, while still growing into someone else.

The other characters were great too. Jordan is absolutely adorable (even though I wanted to shake both him and Luca many times). Amina is a textbook perfect best friend that I think deserves everything in the world. She was the perfect person for Luca to have during such a terrible time. I'm also always happy to see good parents in YA books and Luca's dad didn't disappoint. I thought he was such a unique figure. I've also never read a father/son relationship quite as beautiful as Luca's and his dad's and it was such a nice surprise to see their relationship grow the way it did.

This book is character driven, so the plot is more focused around events. I often read character-driven novels and they get a little slow at times for my taste, but Anything But Fine avoids that. It's a fast-paced read that does a lot in its pages. I think I wish the last 25ish pages went a little *too* fast and it would've been nice to slow it down some and linger with Luca a bit longer after he resolved some of his challenges.

I also DESPERATELY wanted a scene where Luca danced one more time (maybe even for Jordan or his dad), but these are minor complaints that are probably just me wanting to spend more time with these characters!

Such a lovely read that has become a quick favorite!

Thank you to Tobias Madden, Page Street Kids, and NetGalley for providing a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

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dhwani's review against another edition

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challenging funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing 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? Yes

3.5

Content Warnings

my_book_hoard's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad 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

5.0

Content Warnings

jamese99's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

This book makes my heart swell.

Growing up a gay, lonely, confused kid in Australia is rough and this book brought back all those memories from my own high school experience. This book captivates that experience so well.

Luca is a young, proud gay kid living his dream dancing ballet with his friends and the whole world ahead of him. Breaking his foot crushes his spirits, makes him change school and make him feel isolated and vulnerable. His battle with overcoming the obstacles that makes him want to scream into the universe that life isn’t fair is so beautifully written from the initial pain, to the deep sorrow and eventual triumph.

Anything But Fine follows very typical LGBTQIA+ YA tropes, from the close minded school bully, to closeted love interest who isn’t your typical gay kid and the struggles of being raised by a single parent. What Tobias Madden has done so brilliantly here is modernise those tropes, bringing multidimensional characters from all walks of life & complex character arcs.

This book is perhaps one of the first in a long time to bring me to tears. I cried not just because of the beautiful writing but because I know that any young kid who reads this book and doesn’t understand who they are yet can find comfort and optimism and hope in these very pages.

An easy fast paced read, Anything But Fine is definitely one of the best Australian written YA books I have read in a very very long time.

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sophiesmallhands's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

foreverinastory's review against another edition

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emotional 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

3.0

Rep: white gay male MC with a broken foot/crutches, bisexual/questioning Japanese-Aussie male love interest, Indonesian Muslim female side character.

CWs: Abandonment of friends, alcohol consumption, bullying, death of parent (happened in past), hate crime, homophobia/homomisia, homophobic slurs, islamophobia/islamomisia, outing, racism, toxic friendship.

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