Scan barcode
betweentheshelves'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? Yes
4.5
The friends that Ollie meets when starting school in North Carolina are also well fleshed out, creating a fun little group where some of the relationships mirrored other ones. Ollie's relationship with Lara was probably the most interesting, especially since it seemed like they didn't hit it off at first. The evolution of their friendship was fantastic.
A lot of the emotional aspects come from Ollie's struggles with his aunt's cancer, and there are some really devastating scenes in here. They felt realistically portrayed, and I even felt myself tearing up at times listening to the audiobook.
The only thing I think I wish would have been done a bit better, and this could have been because I listened to it rather than read it, was clarity between the flashbacks and the current timeline. It always took me a minute when they were going back to the summer, which made things a little confusing.
All in all, if you're looking for something in the vein of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, this is definitely a book for you!
Graphic: Cancer, Death, and Homophobia
Moderate: Biphobia, Fatphobia, and Grief
fireandstars's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Cancer, Death, and Homophobia
Moderate: Biphobia and Fatphobia
pat26'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
3.5
Moderate: Cancer and Death
Minor: Homophobia and Biphobia
princess_peach'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Grief, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, and Cursing
Minor: Body shaming and Gaslighting
fanboyriot'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
5.0
Not to say the character development wasn't strong for all the characters but it was especially strong for Will. Seeing him accept himself and not caring so much about what other’s want of him or what they expect of him—instead he took his own path.
There were still sad moments and a side character death that absolutely is devastating.
Lara is easily a favorite; naturally I hated her at first but she won me over. As long as you're on Lara's side you'll be fine. Out of all the friendships in this book Lara and Oliver are hands down my favorite. They had a bit of a rough start but when they teamed up they were basically unstoppable.
Hurt/Comfort
Happy Ending
Amazing Humor
Slow Burn (Kinda)
Great Friendships
Graphic: Cancer, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Gaslighting, Biphobia, Fatphobia, and Lesbophobia
paperbrownies'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
5.0
- m|m
- gay mc, bi love interest, bi sc
this is my second sophie gonzales book and am happy to share that she does not disappoint
(๑˃ᴗ˂)ﻭ bc i enjoyed every moment i spent reading this book!!
ollie is such a fun protagonist, he is snarky, making the pun-fect jokes that made me cackle at the most inappropriate times. he easily became one of my favourite characters the moment we met!!!
what can i say, am a simple person who loves a 'self-deprecating' mc with 'deadpan humour' 😂 i love ollie, can you tell? also the asshole with a heart of gold? yep, she grew on me as well!! 😌
i thought the characters were enjoyable and am glad that sophie did not let that shy her away from calling them out on their biases, it's honestly amazing to see characters realise their mistakes and learn to do better; the author talked about many serious topics with much care and sensitivity without letting things get too heavy. all in all, i would 110% recommend this book!! (っ´ω`)ノ
omd was such a fun and might i add adorable book to read that definitely gets full points for making me go blurry eyed, am very sad now that it's over but please let this be my official plea to sophie to write a novella one day where future will and ollie get married!!! (ノT_T )ノ
cw: homophobia (called out), biphobia (called out), fatphobia (called out), family member with terminal illness, cancer, death of loved one, body shaming.
Graphic: Homophobia, Biphobia, Fatphobia, Body shaming, Terminal illness, Cancer, and Death
toberomanced'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Grief, Medical content, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Body shaming, Homophobia, and Outing
Minor: Alcohol, Biphobia, Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, and Gaslighting
beca_reads'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: Biphobia, Body shaming, Cancer, Cursing, Death, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Terminal illness
olivia9024'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
5.0
Graphic: Cancer and Death
Moderate: Homophobia
victoriiareads's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Cancer, Death of parent, and Homophobia
Minor: Fatphobia