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anniereads221's review against another edition
3.0
The thing that kinda annoyed me was the coming out/outing that happened it left a sour taste in my mouth. No one owes someone a coming out. If you are not ready, you should not be made to feel bad because you haven't reached that point yet. Someone who has been outed several times in the past. It was hard reading it the way it was done.
The rest of it was enjoyable at most
Though some throwaway comments were made that were not so nice either and could have just been not added
Still, I love messy characters and I love that we get to see Luca grow
Graphic: Homophobia, Outing, Alcohol, and Biphobia
Moderate: Islamophobia, Misogyny, Xenophobia, and Death of parent
Minor: Transphobia
pey333'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
5.0
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Death of parent, Homophobia, Alcohol, and Outing
Minor: Islamophobia, Sexual content, and Racism
sarahmichelle30'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: Sexual content, Racism, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Outing, Islamophobia, and Homophobia
Moderate: Toxic friendship and Death of parent
anintrovertrambles'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
4.5
Graphic: Homophobia, Outing, and Injury/Injury detail
snowydaze'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
4.0
Moderate: Alcohol, Biphobia, Cursing, Bullying, Outing, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Homophobia, Grief, Hate crime, Islamophobia, Medical content, and Racism
m_riaelle'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? It's complicated
5.0
I can't help but see Luca as Alex from Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston. The difference is Alex would have said those flirty, sexual 'passion' that's going on in Luca's mind that had me laughing and gasping altogether without any hesitance and shame. XD
I was waiting for Luca's ex-friends to have character development, but there are really some friends you have to let go of and aren't worth it. I wasn't disappointed that it's not shown or what happened. I'm satisfied that only one of them can grow and be ready to show that to Luca and be friends with him and Amina because she was the only one who really cared from the bottom of her heart.
I love how transferring to another school made Luca at least has a distraction from a single miss-step that happened. It didn't end there because every choice made has consequences. It seems as though he kept falling and never got back on his feet until he took action to do so.
The narrator's way of voicing out the story is outstanding. The way it's narrated made me more entertained, which I'm looking for in audiobooks, and Anything But Fine is done right! I commend Matthew Backer!
TW: De*th of Parent, Grief, H*moph*bia, H*moph*bic Slurs, Anxiety, Racism, Racial Slurs, Islam*ph*bia, Outing, T*xic Friendship, H*te Crime, and Sexu*l Content (search it up for more specifics or correct TW as mine is what I thought is TW while I read it)
Graphic: Outing, Racism, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Toxic friendship, and Hate crime
Moderate: Islamophobia and Death of parent
Minor: Grief and Sexual content
booksmoviesandstories'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
4.5
Graphic: Islamophobia, Homophobia, Biphobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, and Outing
bookstarbri'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
4.75
The other characters were great too. Jordan is absolutely adorable (even though I wanted to shake both him and Luca many times). Amina is a textbook perfect best friend that I think deserves everything in the world. She was the perfect person for Luca to have during such a terrible time. I'm also always happy to see good parents in YA books and Luca's dad didn't disappoint. I thought he was such a unique figure. I've also never read a father/son relationship quite as beautiful as Luca's and his dad's and it was such a nice surprise to see their relationship grow the way it did.
This book is character driven, so the plot is more focused around events. I often read character-driven novels and they get a little slow at times for my taste, but Anything But Fine avoids that. It's a fast-paced read that does a lot in its pages. I think I wish the last 25ish pages went a little *too* fast and it would've been nice to slow it down some and linger with Luca a bit longer after he resolved some of his challenges.
Thank you to Tobias Madden, Page Street Kids, and NetGalley for providing a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Graphic: Bullying, Homophobia, Islamophobia, and Outing
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Toxic friendship
Minor: Alcohol, Death of parent, and Hate crime
CW for death of a parent. The death doesn't take place in the book and we never meet the parent, but the main character does reflect on the parent at various times throughoutdhwani'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
3.5
Graphic: Death of parent, Homophobia, Islamophobia, and Outing
Moderate: Toxic friendship
jamese99's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
Growing up a gay, lonely, confused kid in Australia is rough and this book brought back all those memories from my own high school experience. This book captivates that experience so well.
Luca is a young, proud gay kid living his dream dancing ballet with his friends and the whole world ahead of him. Breaking his foot crushes his spirits, makes him change school and make him feel isolated and vulnerable. His battle with overcoming the obstacles that makes him want to scream into the universe that life isn’t fair is so beautifully written from the initial pain, to the deep sorrow and eventual triumph.
Anything But Fine follows very typical LGBTQIA+ YA tropes, from the close minded school bully, to closeted love interest who isn’t your typical gay kid and the struggles of being raised by a single parent. What Tobias Madden has done so brilliantly here is modernise those tropes, bringing multidimensional characters from all walks of life & complex character arcs.
This book is perhaps one of the first in a long time to bring me to tears. I cried not just because of the beautiful writing but because I know that any young kid who reads this book and doesn’t understand who they are yet can find comfort and optimism and hope in these very pages.
An easy fast paced read, Anything But Fine is definitely one of the best Australian written YA books I have read in a very very long time.
Moderate: Homophobia, Bullying, Islamophobia, Racism, Outing, and Racial slurs