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violet_reads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Infidelity, and Transphobia
hereforthefunofit's review against another edition
inspiring
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? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity
lettuce_read's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Homophobia, Dysphoria, Deadnaming, and Infidelity
imstephtacular's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Transphobia, Bullying, Homophobia, Infidelity, Deadnaming, Cursing, and Dysphoria
Minor: Outing, Biphobia, Mental illness, Sexism, Gaslighting, Animal death, and Racism
nataleaf's review against another edition
fast-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
4.25
loved this very much but cheating is a big ick for me
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity and Transphobia
Minor: Homophobia
marybethlovesbooks's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity
Moderate: Transphobia
purplepenning's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Read during the #TransRightsReadathon. A carefully written trans coming-of-age story by a trans author. You'll find: small town high school drama, a tight group of self-described queerdos, an old flame that continues to flicker and singe, a high-pressure piano competition, a super cool new kid in town (who doodles swoon-worthy happy breakfast foods), a brief fake dating trope (referenced as "romance fraud," which made me laugh every time), some bigotry and microaggressions and non-malicious missteps, wonderful terrifying tailors and slightly maniacal maestros, and the powerful joy of self discovery and expression.
(If my tolerance for high school drama, love triangles, and partners kissing non-partners was higher, the star-rating would've also been higher. It's an excellent debut and I'll look forward to the author's future books!)
(If my tolerance for high school drama, love triangles, and partners kissing non-partners was higher, the star-rating would've also been higher. It's an excellent debut and I'll look forward to the author's future books!)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness, Homophobia, Infidelity, Biphobia, Deadnaming, Dysphoria, Transphobia, Bullying, Medical content, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Racism and Sexual content
Carefully written by a trans author who cleverly conveys angst, anxiety, and reality without allowing it to feel gratuitously traumatizing or to overtake the joy of the story. YMMV, of course.queerreaderchaos's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Homophobia, and Deadnaming
Moderate: Infidelity and Bullying
novelty_reads's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
3.5
ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
TW: Cheating, Transphobia, Homophobia
I’ve been seeing Always the Almost everywhere recently.
Ever since I saw that pretty, orange cover I knew that this was a book I’d definitely be interested in reading. I was very fortunate to have gotten an ARC from NetGalley recently in addition to all the recent buzz I’ve been hearing.
From the start I genuinely thought this would be my favourite read of 2023 (and yes, I know it’s only the start of the year and pretty early to make a call on favourites, but anyway). It had a fantastic start and I was immediately drawn to the main character, Miles, but overtime there were definitely parts I enjoyed and others that fell flat for me.
We start the book off with Miles Jacobson, newly out as trans and recently heartbroken. His ex boyfriend, the popular jock, Shane, broke up with him following his coming out and Miles has been holding onto hope that Shane would come back to him. On New Years Eve, Miles creates a plan for the new year: get Shane back and beat arch-nemesis Cameron at the big piano competition. On his quest to meet these goals, Miles is met with a handsome and charming boy named Eric, who asks Miles for his pronouns upon meeting and dreams of creating his own graphic novel one day. Miles can’t seem to get him out of his head as he grapples between what his heart truly desires.
Miles really stood out to me from the start. He was a very likeable character and I liked his narration. This book was very focused on Miles’ exploration of his identity and his recent coming out as trans. His relationships between the different people he interacted with, online and in person were very interesting to read about.
Eric was also a likeable character but for some reason it took me a while to like him. I reckon this might’ve been because we got to understand him and some of the other side characters more around the half-way mark.
Paige and Rachel were the side characters who were quite prominent throughout the novel. Even though they were dating and close friends with Miles, I was never too invested with them. When something happened towards the end, that semblance of liking dwindled a lot more but that’s also because I’m not a big fan of said thing in books and I don’t really like reading books with that sort of stuff in it and while yes, I agree that sometimes people make huge mistakes, I felt like everyone forgiven each other way too easily.
Overall, for me, this book had a good start but things ended up falling a little flat for me especially with the above drama. I liked the characters but I feel like maybe more layers or backstory would’ve been beneficial especially toward the start of the novel with the side characters.
ACTUAL RATING: 3.4 STARS
TW: Cheating, Transphobia, Homophobia
I’ve been seeing Always the Almost everywhere recently.
Ever since I saw that pretty, orange cover I knew that this was a book I’d definitely be interested in reading. I was very fortunate to have gotten an ARC from NetGalley recently in addition to all the recent buzz I’ve been hearing.
From the start I genuinely thought this would be my favourite read of 2023 (and yes, I know it’s only the start of the year and pretty early to make a call on favourites, but anyway). It had a fantastic start and I was immediately drawn to the main character, Miles, but overtime there were definitely parts I enjoyed and others that fell flat for me.
We start the book off with Miles Jacobson, newly out as trans and recently heartbroken. His ex boyfriend, the popular jock, Shane, broke up with him following his coming out and Miles has been holding onto hope that Shane would come back to him. On New Years Eve, Miles creates a plan for the new year: get Shane back and beat arch-nemesis Cameron at the big piano competition. On his quest to meet these goals, Miles is met with a handsome and charming boy named Eric, who asks Miles for his pronouns upon meeting and dreams of creating his own graphic novel one day. Miles can’t seem to get him out of his head as he grapples between what his heart truly desires.
Miles really stood out to me from the start. He was a very likeable character and I liked his narration. This book was very focused on Miles’ exploration of his identity and his recent coming out as trans. His relationships between the different people he interacted with, online and in person were very interesting to read about.
Eric was also a likeable character but for some reason it took me a while to like him. I reckon this might’ve been because we got to understand him and some of the other side characters more around the half-way mark.
Paige and Rachel were the side characters who were quite prominent throughout the novel. Even though they were dating and close friends with Miles, I was never too invested with them. When something happened towards the end, that semblance of liking dwindled a lot more but that’s also because I’m not a big fan of said thing in books and I don’t really like reading books with that sort of stuff in it and while yes, I agree that sometimes people make huge mistakes, I felt like everyone forgiven each other way too easily.
Overall, for me, this book had a good start but things ended up falling a little flat for me especially with the above drama. I liked the characters but I feel like maybe more layers or backstory would’ve been beneficial especially toward the start of the novel with the side characters.
ACTUAL RATING: 3.4 STARS
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Homophobia, and Infidelity
Minor: Racism
goatsrsexy's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
Despite being released on Valentine's Day, I wouldn't consider always the almost a romance. There's romance in it, and it does have a happy ending, but there's also a lot of relationship drama and unhappiness. I think the romance part of this book was it's weakest aspect.
Overall, this is a coming of age story. Miles just recently came out as trans before the book starts and while the people in his life are mostly accepting of it there's parts that they just don't always get right. And there's a lot that Miles doesn't get right either because at the end of the day, he's a teenage boy and teenagers fuck up a lot even without the added pressure of being queer in a small town. I loved reading about his piano lessons which his teacher Stefania (probably the best side character in the book). And I think my favourite part of the book was when Miles dad gave him a tie.
think this is a fantastic queer YA novel that everyone should read! We need more queer and trans YA so I'm always stoked to read and promote new ones. I suggest looking up trigger warnings if they're useful for you.
Thanks to Netgalley for the arc
Overall, this is a coming of age story. Miles just recently came out as trans before the book starts and while the people in his life are mostly accepting of it there's parts that they just don't always get right. And there's a lot that Miles doesn't get right either because at the end of the day, he's a teenage boy and teenagers fuck up a lot even without the added pressure of being queer in a small town. I loved reading about his piano lessons which his teacher Stefania (probably the best side character in the book). And I think my favourite part of the book was when Miles dad gave him a tie.
think this is a fantastic queer YA novel that everyone should read! We need more queer and trans YA so I'm always stoked to read and promote new ones. I suggest looking up trigger warnings if they're useful for you.
Thanks to Netgalley for the arc
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity, Transphobia, and Homophobia