Reviews with content warning for Outing - And They Lived . . .

Reviews tagging 'Outing'

And They Lived . . . by Steven Salvatore

5 reviews

merlesstorys's review against another edition

challenging inspiring lighthearted 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

3.5

I loved all the representation that was in this book, let it be queer, psychological, or just people wise.

Plus, I love a good fairytale retelling.
But I didn’t like the homophobic remarks, although I know they typically belong in this kind of Coming-Out-As-A-Queer-Kid story.

Content Warnings

madmadmaddymad's review against another edition

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hopeful inspiring reflective slow-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

First of all I would like to mention that I wasn’t totally a fan of the WRITING of this book. It’s probably a four star book if I were going to be honest about how it felt to read it. Emotional books like this should never be written in first person present tense. Because it’s too intense. It feels like an action story. That’s just my opinion.

Second.

I love everything else about this book. Chase is heartbreakingly relatable. I loved how it was a gender discovery story - and that he came to decide it’s okay to both be nonbinary while using he/him pronouns and calling himself gay. The whole question of queerness and gender and sexuality is dealt with beautifully in this book, and felt so naturally depicted.

I also love Jack! He is the epitome of the manic pixie dream girl trope. But I love that about him. And I love that this trope can be used and can thrive in a book like this, with a queer romance story at the heart of it.

The love story was so good. I really enjoyed how quickly they fell. How sweet and tender it was, and how, even in the midst of all of that, there was still so much of a struggle. Sometimes, happily ever after isn’t the most important part of the ending. I had my misgivings when certain events happened in this book, because with the whole thing being told from Chase’s perspective, it is a challenge to go through what Chase is going through while also realizing that other people can be going through shit too. Jack’s struggles were painful to read, and even more painful because it was clear to me that they just needed to talk to each other. I love that this story is an exercise in empathy, queerness, and self acceptance.

And I love that it has a happy ending.

Great book. Excellent.

Content Warnings