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ashlislibrary's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Transphobia, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Dysphoria, and Panic attacks/disorders
headachesince03's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.25
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Dysphoria, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Vomit, Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, and Mental illness
wahlpapers's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
For every queer Tumblr kid (past and present), Meet Cute Diary is going to feel like a familiar setting. The site functions are described well, the users are painfully real, and Noah's stress over follower numbers really took me back to high school. Emery Lee handles world building in a way that connects for both those in-the-know and those that aren't. E seems to be very good at world building in general. I have never been to Colorado, but I could understand what the summer camp, mountain, bookstore, and more were like. I could step into Noah's summer and didn't want to leave any more than he did.
I know there are others out there, but this is the first contemporary YA romcom (my favorite genre) that I've read with a trans main character. I've read some in the genre by trans authors, but it makes me happy to read about a trans teen finding love, especially with a genderqueer love interest. By halfway through the book, Noah finds himself in a love triangle. Drew, a fan of the blog, and Devon, his summer camp co-worker. Devon uses the same pronouns as Lee, E/Em/Eir/Eirs. Throughout the book, Noah and Devon inspire each other to be their more authentic selves. For Devon, this includes experimenting with pronouns. Noah never bats an eye. I am a cis person, so it is not my place to rank how well the trans experience was incorporated into the book, but I will say that it made me feel happy and as though everything flowed well.
Remember that messy characters do not equal a messy book. Characters make mistakes which makes them that much more real. For the Tumblr kids and those that want to see more trans love stories, check Lee's book out!
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Racism, Suicide attempt, Transphobia, and Bullying
Minor: Drug use, Dysphoria, and Vomit
nightshaderoots'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
3.5
In addition to that I will say I wished I had an older brother like Brian around as well as Becca and Devin. They really were stars in the book and made it as great as it was.
There is also a character who goes through various pronouns and then settles with the neopronouns e/em/ey/eir.
Graphic: Abandonment, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, and Vomit
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, and Sexual content
Minor: Homophobia, Bullying, Dysphoria, and Transphobia
kaylamoran's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I picked up this book because I needed something cute and fluffy and this was that.
I'm a bit confused by the genre though. It felt very juvenile (which is fine, not a bad thing) but then there was a lot of the f word so I'm confused as to who the audience was supposed to be.
I really wanted to love this, I just didn't.
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Cursing, Dysphoria, Vomit, Alcohol, and Bullying
kingrosereads's review against another edition
- 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
Noah reminds me of some friends I had in middle/high school, and yeah they were selfish and our friendship was pretty one sided, but they’re better people now, because that’s kind of what it’s like to be a teen. Teens are just self-absorbed assholes with no real forethought. They’re reckless and act on impulse. Noah’s also obsessed with the idea of romance and having this epic romance. Enter Drew. Freshly graduated Drew is cute and the perfect distraction as Noah stays in Denver for the summer while his parents make the move to California. Noah writes two meet cute stories based on the two run-ins that he has with Drew and Drew happens to be an avid follower and figures out Noah must be the Meet Cute Diary’s mod. Is this far fetched? Yes, but it’s a romance novel, hardly anything in these books are ever plausible.
After Noah’s blog gets called out for being fake (which it is), he loses a bunch of followers and Drew offers to help out by fake dating and being “proof” of the meet cute stories ending up in love. Noah is desperate to save the Diary and as a romantic he assumes the fake dating will turn into real dating soon enough. He puts all his effort into steering the perfect relationship despite Drew clearly being too different and never taking Noah’s interests into account. From the start Drew gave me the ick. He’s 18, practically in college, and starts being very clingy and physical with Noah from the get without even asking Noah if it’s okay. A lot of the things Drew does, Noah just puts up with and accepts all in the name of the Diary and his idea of love.
Noah’s selfishness finally catches up with him when his best friend (back in Miami), Becca, calls him out on his shit and asks for time apart. Noah is a spoiled child that is forced to get a summer job after spending $400 in a week on his parents’ credit card. Noah complains about having to get a job, and complains about the job he gets at a summer camp because he hates children (look, relatable). This is when he meets Devin in a not-so-meet-cute and Devin stress vomits on Noah. Noah does take his frustrations out on Devin at this point, but eventually they develop a nice friendship.
Noah learns that Devin went to his high school (again a bit out there) and Devin’s the trans girl that gave him the tools and courage to come out as a trans boy. Except Devin isn’t a trans girl, e made a mistake and e’s actually non-binary (not really a mistake more of a journey to finding eir true self). For a moment Noah feels betrayed but reins it and tells Devin how eir bravery in coming out met so much to Noah. Devin even feels comfortable enough to try out different pronouns with Noah and Noah without missing a beat accommodates em.
As it turns out, though Drew and Noah end up real dating, it’s completely toxic. Drew’s controlling, handsy, and it seemed to me it was implied that he was dating Noah because Noah has a vagina and breasts (he tells his friends he’s not gay and Noah’s “just special”). Given everything else he’s done it just seems creepy and not genuine. Which does throw Noah into a bit of a spiral as his Diary is also going down in flames.
In the end, it’s a queer teen story about love, self, and friendship. Despite knowing himself and being confident, Noah put a lot of his self-worth into online validation. He puts a lot of importance on romantic love instead of familial or friend love, which a lot of teens do. But he learns from this in the end and actually ends up dating someone who doesn’t consume all of his time and he actually becomes a better friend, brother, and son. I love that his brother is so supportive, makes mistakes with pronouns, but just accepts Noah and Devin. He adjusts accordingly and probably spends time looking up things he doesn’t understand. And he’s quick to call out anyone that misgenders his brother or invalidates him. Noah’s parents might be shocked and struggling with the name change, but by the end of the summer they’re more confident in using his name and pronouns without having to speak slowly to ensure they’re using the right words.
I loved that this book took place shortly after Noah comes out so there are new things Noah’s learning about himself. I like that he isn’t this All-Knowing Queer and even he has to look up the pronouns Devin has him try out on em or the gender/sexual identities Devin thought e was before landing on non-binary. I like the representation of not just a trans boy (which there seems to be more FTM love stories than MTF) but a trans boy comfortable in the body they currently have (as comfortable as a teen can be) who’s also a POC. I like the non-binary and asexual representation, the fact that Noah still likes the occasional dress and Devin likes makeup sometimes. I especially like the contrast between Noah’s confidence and Devin’s hesitance. The mental illness representation and the reality of anxiety attacks. This is where Noah starts to actually have some empathy.
That being said, Noah was really hard to like and the way the blog was written was very silly. The flow of the book was a little over the place. I still think it’s a cute queer YA, that just struggles with either being a quirky queer romcom and a deep coming-of-age (it doesn’t just naturally mesh the two). It’s a fairly quick read which is good for the summertime, but it only just scratches the surface on the deep issues. I think this is fine to start a conversation, but I wish it was more in-depth. This is definitely a 3.5/5.
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Dysphoria, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Bullying, and Suicide
matheo'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
4.75
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, and Vomit
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Panic attacks/disorders, Adult/minor relationship, Racism, and Dysphoria
Minor: Suicide attempt, Drug use, Bullying, and Alcohol
therainbowshelf's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Toxic relationship and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Abandonment, Suicide attempt, and Vomit
Minor: Dysphoria and Transphobia
Manipulative dialogue, controlling partnerwynterwonderland's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Gaslighting and Toxic relationship
Minor: Dysphoria and Transphobia
itshardizzy's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
This was a story to relax and it was a comfy read. But I didn't connect as much to the characters and I felt like there was the need to have a closure between the MC and one of his love interest.
The one thing that I liked the most about this book is the use of pronouns and the conversation around them. I'm used to hearing pronouns like "she/her", "he/him" and "they/them" but in these books, the author uses neopronouns "e/em". It felt refreshing to see the character getting comfortable with the pronouns e chose. BTW the author also prefers e/em pronouns.
If you want a cute read and a more chilled read, this is the right one.
Graphic: Transphobia, Vomit, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting
Minor: Dysphoria and Bullying