Reviews with content warning for Bullying - Meet Cute Diary

Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Meet Cute Diary by Emery Lee

44 reviews

foreverinastory's review against another edition

emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.0

Pretty adorable! I loved the pronoun fluidity and search for finding the right ones.

Rep: Triracial (white, Japanese, Afro-Caribbean) bisexual trans male MC, questioning genderqueer androphile asexual love interest with anxiety, lesbian side character.

CWs: Alcohol consumption (including underage), drug use, dysphoria, gaslighting, mental illness (anxiety), panic attacks/disorders, toxic relationship, transphobia/transmisia, mentions of past coming out, discussion of past suicidal thoughts and attempt, mentions of past bullying, arophobia/aromisia.

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emmaward55's review against another edition

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Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This was, as the name says, cute! Noah did annoy me for a good chunk of the book and whilst he felt like an authentic 16 y/o in that regard, it was a little grating at times. I also felt like his character development hadn't really.. sunk in? in the final chapter or so. He was still making day one mistakes, but at least he handled it better than before.

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toberomanced's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful 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

3.0

Read this to learn how to look for red flags in relationships.

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leocancer's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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n_asyikin_'s review against another edition

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hopeful 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

3.5

A coming-of-age story featuring a cast of characters with diverse gender identities. Noah has always had a clear idea(l) of how one came to fall in love & be in love. Over the course of a summer break, he faced the possibility of playing those idea out in real life for the sake of a popular blog he managed.

Reading Meet Cute Diary was rather nostalgic for me (i.e. people my age, late 20s) exploring themes of fear of changes, navigating romantic relationship & friendship, the need to be accepted. It also highlighted adolescents' innocence & obstinance; Noah's stubborn tendency was layered, ranging from self-assuredness to selfishness. He'd leave you feeling frustrated many times, but you'd find yourself cheering for him at his growth towards the end.

I also liked how the book depicted the ways in which parasocial interactions came to be/were significant in our lives. It highlighted the tendency for our intent to be lost in or/and shaped by the sea of opinions; how nuances tend to be erased in the virtual world. But more so, how one might prioritized the "likes" or "followers count" over being mindful of people in real-life: the overarching point being, choosing between quantity over quality.

Meet Cute Diary was an enjoyable, light summer read with a warm and, aptly, cute ending.

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booksandprosecco's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.25

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memorable's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book is just so pure! I loved every minute reading it! I especially liked the way Emery Lee portrayed Devin’s way of finding eir pronouns.

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emily_mh's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted relaxing 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

4.25

This was just a really joyful book on trans love and trans joy. It really spoke to me given what I am discovering about my own gender identity, and the endgame romance made me feel all mushy (I basically fell in love with Devin). The reason this book did not get 5 stars is that I wish the ending was slightly different.

Basically, I wish Noah hadn't had a tiff at the end over Becca. This felt really irrational and kind of against his character development and left his and Becca's relationship in a weird place again. I didn't so much mind his freak-out over Devin, but NOAH should have been the one to make the grand gesture for Devin, not the other way around. This would have given their relationship a little more power equality, and cemented more of Noah's character development, which I otherwise loved.

The main criticism of this book that I see other people have is that Noah is a bad main character. I want to challenge this as I think for the most part that's an unfair reason to dock the book stars. First of all, his narration is conversational and engaging. People say he is annoying, when really he is just cocky and confident which is a trait lauded in other beloved fictional characters (e.g. Tony Stark). And yeah, he's definitely not a perfect person, but that's a lot to expect 16 year-old - plus, he does undergo character development during the novel and recognises his own flaws. Finally, his flaws make him intensely relatable. Everyone messes up, especially at that age, and Noah's character shows how you can grow from those experiences. I really think that the ending of the book is just the beginning for his personal development. This is not to defend some of the decisions he makes, but to drive home the point that imperfection doesn't equal a bad character!

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xoodlebooks's review against another edition

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lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.0

I really wanted to like this book, but I didn’t. The story and writing style just weren’t for me. Also, the main character was super unlikeable. I normally don’t mind unlikeable characters, but this character really irked me. The way he wasted money also bothered me. Yay for rep, though! I am sure other people will like this story more than I did. Also, this is probably the first traditionally published YA book I’ve read that has neopronouns on the page!

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perpetualpages's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective fast-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

4.25

CWs: brief mentions of suicide ideation; some misgendering; online harassment and cyberbullying; brief description of vomit; brief reference to bullying and transphobia; underage drinking; divorce; gaslighting; toxic relationships; and panic attacks

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