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scardone's review against another edition
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Alcoholism
Moderate: Biphobia
kestrel's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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 think that for a YA book, the topic of bi erasure and biphobia (internalized and not) was handled nicely. However, I have realized that I would like to read a book about this topic, but with more nuance and depth and less in a Tumblr-post style.
As for the characters, my favorite was Brougham for sure, with Darcy herself closely behind. She had her bad moments, but also some really cool ones. Also, for someone who was running a relationship advice business, she really was clueless when it came to herself.
As for the characters, my favorite was Brougham for sure, with Darcy herself closely behind. She had her bad moments, but also some really cool ones. Also, for someone who was running a relationship advice business, she really was clueless when it came to herself.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, and Drug use
Moderate: Biphobia
Minor: Infidelity
melizto's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
tense
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Biphobia, Emotional abuse, and Infidelity
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Kidnapping and Vomit
caseythereader's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
- Who's ready for another QUEER SCREAMING review!? Because that's what this is! I loved this book so much! AAAAAhhhh!
- Main character identities include: bisexual, lesbian and trans identities. Minor characters run the whole spectrum - nonbinary, gay, pansexual, asexual, and more.
- Plus there also so much talk about attachment styles and how even if your childhood wasn't outright abusive you can still carry baggage from it.
- PERFECT ON PAPER really captures the biphobia a lot of people experience, both internalized and from other members of the queer community. Additionally, I really appreciated that although we were exploring these biases, there was no general queerphobia in the book - no one was hated or feared for who they were - just misconceptions being righted.
- Also, one of the letters Darcy answers is from a person who doesn't want to sleep with their significant other and says "but obviously I'm not asexual because I love them," and Darcy comes back with just the most excellent explanation of asexuality vs aromanticism and I was all HEART EYES!
- Main character identities include: bisexual, lesbian and trans identities. Minor characters run the whole spectrum - nonbinary, gay, pansexual, asexual, and more.
- Plus there also so much talk about attachment styles and how even if your childhood wasn't outright abusive you can still carry baggage from it.
- PERFECT ON PAPER really captures the biphobia a lot of people experience, both internalized and from other members of the queer community. Additionally, I really appreciated that although we were exploring these biases, there was no general queerphobia in the book - no one was hated or feared for who they were - just misconceptions being righted.
- Also, one of the letters Darcy answers is from a person who doesn't want to sleep with their significant other and says "but obviously I'm not asexual because I love them," and Darcy comes back with just the most excellent explanation of asexuality vs aromanticism and I was all HEART EYES!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Biphobia, Cursing, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, and Vomit
Minor: Violence
lmilner13's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Wide variety of queer rep including trans
Fun read
Fun read
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse
Minor: Alcoholism, Biphobia, and Transphobia
sebbyreads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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
5.0
Thank you to NetGalley and St.Martin's Press/Wednesday Book for the eARC! I loved this so so much!! I've been in a little bit of a slump where getting through thigns felt like a chore and this was the first book in at least 6 weeks that had me actually grinning and crying and staying up way later than I should because I couldn't put it down.
Firstly, the teens in this are so good? They're insufferable at times, have problems that could so easily be avoided through communication, and do really awful things sometimes because they think it's good and other times just to be petty. In other words, they are very much like real teens. I've been seeing a pretty good trend of this lately among YA releases and it's all so *chef's kiss* I really loved all the characters too and I think it did a great job of not villainizing any one person too much, because at the end of the day, they're a bunch of teenagers making mistakes that hurt each other, but learning and doing better in the process. Even people who at times I was like hmm I don't see how I could possibly forgive this character I wound up genuinely rooting for by the end.
The premise is also just so fun and a little goofy. What teenager these days doesn't watch like 3 YouTube videos on something and go hey! I can do this better! Darcy is such a mess. I mean she pulls it off a lot of the times somehow, but she is such a mess. I loved the snippets of her advice at the beginnings of chapters and seeing how her judgments (particularly on herself and Alex) changed throughout the story the more she actually reflected on what she was doing.
Lastly, I loved how very queer this whole thing was. There was rep from all across the board (trans, ace, bi, lesbian, gay) that all felt really natural. Biphobia - both internalized and not - is a big part of Darcy's arc and I thought it was handled really well. I'm not bi myself so of course take this with a grain of salt and listen to bi reviewers, but I know this story partly came out as a result of Sophie Gonzales' personal experience with biphobia and the unique issues that come from being bi in a m/f relationship. There is one particular scene that was just so heartwarming and cathartic and had me grinning and hugging my phone very close.
I went in with high expectations already from my experience with Only Mostly Devastated and the early reviews and somehow they were still exceeded. An absolutely sweet and wonderful YA romance that is queer in ways we haven't explored much before and will have you gushing.
Firstly, the teens in this are so good? They're insufferable at times, have problems that could so easily be avoided through communication, and do really awful things sometimes because they think it's good and other times just to be petty. In other words, they are very much like real teens. I've been seeing a pretty good trend of this lately among YA releases and it's all so *chef's kiss* I really loved all the characters too and I think it did a great job of not villainizing any one person too much, because at the end of the day, they're a bunch of teenagers making mistakes that hurt each other, but learning and doing better in the process. Even people who at times I was like hmm I don't see how I could possibly forgive this character I wound up genuinely rooting for by the end.
The premise is also just so fun and a little goofy. What teenager these days doesn't watch like 3 YouTube videos on something and go hey! I can do this better! Darcy is such a mess. I mean she pulls it off a lot of the times somehow, but she is such a mess. I loved the snippets of her advice at the beginnings of chapters and seeing how her judgments (particularly on herself and Alex) changed throughout the story the more she actually reflected on what she was doing.
Lastly, I loved how very queer this whole thing was. There was rep from all across the board (trans, ace, bi, lesbian, gay) that all felt really natural. Biphobia - both internalized and not - is a big part of Darcy's arc and I thought it was handled really well. I'm not bi myself so of course take this with a grain of salt and listen to bi reviewers, but I know this story partly came out as a result of Sophie Gonzales' personal experience with biphobia and the unique issues that come from being bi in a m/f relationship. There is one particular scene that was just so heartwarming and cathartic and had me grinning and hugging my phone very close.
I went in with high expectations already from my experience with Only Mostly Devastated and the early reviews and somehow they were still exceeded. An absolutely sweet and wonderful YA romance that is queer in ways we haven't explored much before and will have you gushing.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Biphobia, Child abuse, and Emotional abuse
decklededgess's review
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
4.5
Trigger warnings: biphobia, abusive parents, divorce, cheating, emotionally distant parents, emotional manipulation
GOD THIS BOOK WAS SO GOOD. The cast of characters is immaculate, the slow build of the romance is to die for, the main character's development arc was expertly executed, the humour is god tier just !!!!!!! excellence !!!!!! Darcy is so incredibly self aware yet unaware it makes her super funny and really endearing. You're rooting for the happiness of all the characters throughout the book and the payoff at the end is amazing. I loved the random high school musical conspiracy theory thrown in plus the book overall felt contemporary to teens these days (although I am not one myself nor am surrounded by them so I can't really say for sure. It just felt right). The talk around queer identities, bisexuality and biphobia, consent and communication...just stellar work. Incredible.
GOD THIS BOOK WAS SO GOOD. The cast of characters is immaculate, the slow build of the romance is to die for, the main character's development arc was expertly executed, the humour is god tier just !!!!!!! excellence !!!!!! Darcy is so incredibly self aware yet unaware it makes her super funny and really endearing. You're rooting for the happiness of all the characters throughout the book and the payoff at the end is amazing. I loved the random high school musical conspiracy theory thrown in plus the book overall felt contemporary to teens these days (although I am not one myself nor am surrounded by them so I can't really say for sure. It just felt right). The talk around queer identities, bisexuality and biphobia, consent and communication...just stellar work. Incredible.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Vomit
Moderate: Grief, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship
_thelitlibrarian's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
5-star round-up due to the amazing representation this book has.
-
Everyone knows of locker 89, if you leave an anonymous letter asking for help and a tip you'll get advice on how to approach your situation. No one knows who runs locker 89, this quickly changes when Alexander Brougham catches Darcy Phillips red-handed as she gathers letters out of the locker. He won't tell on her...as long as she helps him win his ex-girlfriend back. This creates a chain of events as Darcy's services are hired as she mends the broken relationship. Darcy has no choice but to agree to his terms as she doesn't want anyone knowing she's the person behind locker 89 - she's used it to her advantage in the past and her secret getting out could possibly ruin one of the only friendships she has.
I can't express how much I loved this book, I loved Darcy and the relationship that forms between Brougham, the slight love-triangle that is explored (it is mainly one-sided as Darcy has been in love with her best friend Brooke for the longest time; the feelings aren't reciprocated. This leads to a shift in Darcy as she starts to question how she can be falling for the boy who's hired her to win his ex back, I absolutely loved the scene where all of her fellow club members reassure her that she will not lose her queer credit is she decides to date a boy.
I really was rooting for the relationship between Brooke and Darcy to blossom, but I quickly changed my mind as her connection with Brougham started to get more serious. I just loved him so much as a character, this was a real feel-good story that had a diverse representation of characters that anyone could connect to!
-
Everyone knows of locker 89, if you leave an anonymous letter asking for help and a tip you'll get advice on how to approach your situation. No one knows who runs locker 89, this quickly changes when Alexander Brougham catches Darcy Phillips red-handed as she gathers letters out of the locker. He won't tell on her...as long as she helps him win his ex-girlfriend back. This creates a chain of events as Darcy's services are hired as she mends the broken relationship. Darcy has no choice but to agree to his terms as she doesn't want anyone knowing she's the person behind locker 89 - she's used it to her advantage in the past and her secret getting out could possibly ruin one of the only friendships she has.
I can't express how much I loved this book, I loved Darcy and the relationship that forms between Brougham, the slight love-triangle that is explored (it is mainly one-sided as Darcy has been in love with her best friend Brooke for the longest time; the feelings aren't reciprocated. This leads to a shift in Darcy as she starts to question how she can be falling for the boy who's hired her to win his ex back, I absolutely loved the scene where all of her fellow club members reassure her that she will not lose her queer credit is she decides to date a boy.
I really was rooting for the relationship between Brooke and Darcy to blossom, but I quickly changed my mind as her connection with Brougham started to get more serious. I just loved him so much as a character, this was a real feel-good story that had a diverse representation of characters that anyone could connect to!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Biphobia, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Violence
Minor: Alcoholism and Vomit
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