Reviews

When You Get the Chance by Robin Stevenson, Tom Ryan

cobaltbookshelf's review against another edition

2.0

2 stars for Mark little sister Paige, Talia and Mark were annoying.

cheye13's review against another edition

funny lighthearted slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I'd been waiting to read this for so long, and it was ultimately a disappointment. It had been pitched as a queer cousin road-trip and that is completely incorrect. It's more of an estranged family drama summer vacation featuring queer cousins. It's one of those dual-author books where you can tell precisely who wrote what, and not just because of the split character POV, but because the writing styles do not mesh. It was weirdly soap-boxy and very paint-by-numbers; every stage of the story felt disjointed and unrelated to the previous. I get what the authors were going for, but I think more cohesion during the outlining phase would've helped this come off as a linear narrative rather than a cherry-picked thematic salad.

cryptid_crow's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted

3.0

Was start and stop until about halfway through. From there, the story became more cohesive.

lsparrow's review against another edition

3.0

A cute YA LGBT novel. A story about family and growing up. Way too many characters and situations that created great opportunities for learning about queer history to feel realistic but still sweet and fun.

christopherward's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful inspiring 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

emg25's review against another edition

lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Meh book. Don’t understand the title and the male narrator is a dick. 

demartinodoc's review against another edition

informative lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This is definitely a good book for younger readers! Touches on subjects such as polyamory, gender, queer history, and navigating queer relationships in high-school to early college. Overall really sweet if not overly simple ❤️

knittyreader's review against another edition

5.0

I really enjoyed reading this book. It is a feel-good roadtrip family holiday book, with a vast layer of lgbthi+, and I loved all of it! It was exactly the kind of book I needed to both escape the current chaos in the world and remind myself that other things are still (allowed to be) very important too.

All characters too were very enjoyable. All could be a bit snarky, or too popular, or a bit annoying, without becoming less nice to read about.

I received a free copy through Netgalley in return for an honest review.

kewi_124's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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? It's complicated

4.5

briaraq's review against another edition

2.0

It was okay. I never really got into it because Mark and Talia don’t interest me, but Paige is great.