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melancholymegs's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Graphic: Outing, Bullying, Hate crime, Homophobia, Biphobia, Dysphoria, Transphobia, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Grief, Misogyny, Death, and Cursing
Minor: Blood, Vomit, Violence, and Alcohol
the_true_monroe'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
4.25
Graphic: Transphobia, Death, Homophobia, Bullying, Dementia, and Violence
Moderate: Outing, Suicidal thoughts, and Misogyny
Minor: Racism and Gun violence
dlrosebyh'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
3.75
Graphic: Homophobia, Bullying, and Transphobia
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Death, and Grief
radiosilent8's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Transphobia and Homophobia
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
sopesock'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
i wanted to like this so bad, but. no.
i really wish i’d DNF’ed it but i was curious and stupid enough to keep reading.
this was a LOT.
if you like mariah carey (an unreasonable amount), or completely avoidable drama, congrats, i’ve got a book for you!
tbf: if this had been an ACTUAL musical, it could have worked.
the randomly-bursting-into-song (CRINGE), creating a whole movement because of one (1) queerphobic teacher (i wish!) and insta love turned heartbreak were insufferable to read, but as a movie — maybe!
there was just so much ~there~ …
- pop culture references AAAALL around (they CAN be done well but this is not how you do it!)
- anonymous school gossip blog (SERIOUSLY! what is it with YA novels and this trope?? is that an american thing,?? what school actually HAS that)
- “omg im shy 🥺” main character who is very much Not shy and actually a little embarrassing in their confidence.
- dialogues that feel copy pasted from bad romance novels
- a whole ass revolution in a high school? i am once again wondering if that is an american thing but it seemed incredibly unrealistic
let me give examples.
1. mariah carey and sam smith..? i mean oookay, but: these two are not ACTUALLY a thing with teens. so the fact that everyone understood carey’s references / info dumping was just not realistic. (also it was unnecessary and annoying to actually print all that wikipedia-type info. i get it they like mariah carey. please give me a break)
3.
…but i'm no drummer or guitarist or background bitch. I'm a fucking diva.
carey to me was just such a strange character, they weren’t exactly self centered and not exactly unlikeable either but just so .. melodramatic? (literally lol).
all of the relationship drama was so forced it didn’t even make any logical sense. just talkkkkkk to each other
4.
You're the first thing I think about in the morning and the last thing I think about at night, and when we're not together I want to be with you.
ITS JUST NOT GOOOOOD WHAT CAN I SAY
5. a walkout that is suddenly a huge protest and BAM suddenly there’s a lot of police (i saw another reviewer say that that the way cops are portrayed here is also lowkey problematic and, fair) now oops! suddenly the news are there and investigating IN FAVOR of you (unlikely?) and next thing you know (spoiler) mariah carey wants to meet you. (????)
what even went on.
i could keep going with all the things i didn’t like but it feels so mean, so i’ll just say SOMEthing positive:
- mr kelly, we love you. a supportive teacher we love to see it!
- carey’s mom, we love you too.
- i liked the bracelet idea and that they still made room to criticize the fact that colors are gendered. i also liked that their gender identity was more casual than i expected, like at least there wasn’t big drama with coming out to friends and family, they were all quite sweet
- salvatore CAN write !! their writing style isn’t bad at all i just did not like the tropes they were writing
i was just happy to have finished this. good representation does not make a good book; and idk what the other reviewers liked so much about this, i was really disappointed. (but good for them !!! genuinely !!! i don’t wanna say don’t read this book just because i hated it, maybe it’s just me.)
🤠🤠🤠
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Dementia, Dysphoria, and Homophobia
aspring's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
the writing is full of drama and passion and a deeply desperate need to be loved, understood and accepted. it is brutal and honest and not entirely a happy story.
but it gives you hope and shows you that fighting for who you are is always worth it. even if you shouldn’t have to.
this was surprisingly heavy and it did take my by surprise so please please check trigger warnings for this if you need them <3
but i love this authors writing style and the way they write their characters. phenomenal as always.
also, the relationship isn’t the focus! don’t go into it expecting it to be :) this is, at its core, carey’s story of their fight to be recognised and treated like everyone else <3 (the lil bits of romance was very cute though! (and heartbreaking :,))
Graphic: Homophobia and Transphobia
Moderate: Death, Hate crime, and Suicidal thoughts
cardanrry's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
2.0
Graphic: Bullying, Homophobia, and Transphobia
Moderate: Death, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
Minor: Biphobia, Misogyny, and Sexism
readbyquinn'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
Graphic: Homophobia and Transphobia
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Medical content
jenny_librarian's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
While the beginning is pretty cute, it’s not an easy read. There’s a lot of queer pain and queerphobia in this book, which made it a bit harder for me to get through. I am very much a reader of queer joy and – while the ending was worth it – it was rough getting there.
I’m not a Mariah fan, but I recognize the fangirling (term used as genderneutral here) and obsession of a specific artist that you feel understands you better than you sometimes understand yourself.
There is one mention of HP that completely took me out the story, and that I find extremely disappointing, especially coming from a genderqueer author who has to know how harmful that woman is. It was a tiny thing, a single word used as a comparison, and I wish it had been changed before publishing.
As a whole, it is a hard but inspiring story of standing up for yourself, of friends having your back and of fighting for those who can’t use their voice yet.
Graphic: Physical abuse, Biphobia, Homophobia, Transphobia, Hate crime, Terminal illness, and Sexism
Moderate: Death, Grief, Death of parent, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Suicidal thoughts
theboywithallthekeys's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Transphobia
Moderate: Homophobia and Suicidal thoughts