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papertraildiary's review against another edition
3.0
3.5. This was lovely and an important addition to YA. Full review to come!
taylorlechat's review against another edition
2.0
This had some representation you don’t normally see, and had positive sex stigmas, but was written really juvenilely which was disappointing. The author seemed to confuse love and infatuation which is dangerous as I think this book was written for younger YA readers. Overall it had a good message, but it wasn’t written well and was a very VERY cheesy coming of age novel
hallesofia's review against another edition
3.0
*Disclaimer, I DNF'd.*
Don't get me wrong, I loved the premise of this book. The idea behind it is great - a teenager aiming to bring sex positivity & proper sex education to her high school. When I saw that, I was super excited. As a 27 year old, I didn't grow up in as much of a sex positive time as we're in now, and I would have *loved* to have some better sex education throughout middle and high school.
I think the reason why I ended up tossing this one to the side is because I felt like there was a bit too much going on? I would've preferred if the focus was solely on everything going on in the school, and whenever the band stuff came up I honestly just wished I could skip right past it.
Now, this is not a bashing of the book whatsoever. I think that this book would be super easy to love. I just couldn't make myself connect with it, and I'm not one to force myself to read something when I'm just not feeling it.
Like I said, this isn't necessarily a negative review, which is why I gave it 3 stars. I think that if you're interested in the premise, you'll really enjoy this book. Again, just not for me.
Don't get me wrong, I loved the premise of this book. The idea behind it is great - a teenager aiming to bring sex positivity & proper sex education to her high school. When I saw that, I was super excited. As a 27 year old, I didn't grow up in as much of a sex positive time as we're in now, and I would have *loved* to have some better sex education throughout middle and high school.
I think the reason why I ended up tossing this one to the side is because I felt like there was a bit too much going on? I would've preferred if the focus was solely on everything going on in the school, and whenever the band stuff came up I honestly just wished I could skip right past it.
Now, this is not a bashing of the book whatsoever. I think that this book would be super easy to love. I just couldn't make myself connect with it, and I'm not one to force myself to read something when I'm just not feeling it.
Like I said, this isn't necessarily a negative review, which is why I gave it 3 stars. I think that if you're interested in the premise, you'll really enjoy this book. Again, just not for me.
reba_reads_books's review against another edition
3.0
I really loved this book for the first half of it, so I don't necessarily agree with the reviews that say the hamfisted message ruins the characters and plot. I was into it. However, the last half of the book lost me. This book was informed enough to use words like "amatonormativity", so why didn't it also explore the concept of "mononormativity"? If you're gonna be smashing normative views, then why not also delve deeper into the concept that it is possible to romantically love more than one person consensually? The main character and the best friend have romantic feelings for the love interest, who has romantic feelings for the both of them, and yet the only mention of a nonmonogamous option was a joke toward the end about sister wives, which comes off as condescending and dismissive of nonmonogamous relationships as a legitimate option. I usually forgive this omission, because it's not normative, but it's harder to forgive in a progressive book that is supposed to be positive (or at the very least accepting) about the entire range of sexual expression.
sydney_09's review against another edition
3.0
I give this a solid 3.5-4.
First I will say thank you to the author for writing this book. It did not exist when I was a teenager. Kids these days are becoming more questioning and even in tune with their sexuality at earlier ages and it is so important to have these discussions. I do think some of this was a little clinical, but that is also probably the easiest way to introduce the topics in the story as proper terminology should always be used. I appreciate how pointing out abstinence-only sex education is in fact damaging. You can tell someone not to have sex all you want, but they want to they will.
My main qualm with the story was with the doula situation. I 100% appreciate introducing the idea of a doula in this story, but I don't think the way they went about it was correct, I'm not sure. I don't know if minors are allowed to be doulas? Maybe in smaller towns they have different programs and such, but I appreciate this being introduced.
First I will say thank you to the author for writing this book. It did not exist when I was a teenager. Kids these days are becoming more questioning and even in tune with their sexuality at earlier ages and it is so important to have these discussions. I do think some of this was a little clinical, but that is also probably the easiest way to introduce the topics in the story as proper terminology should always be used. I appreciate how pointing out abstinence-only sex education is in fact damaging. You can tell someone not to have sex all you want, but they want to they will.
My main qualm with the story was with the doula situation. I 100% appreciate introducing the idea of a doula in this story, but I don't think the way they went about it was correct, I'm not sure. I don't know if minors are allowed to be doulas? Maybe in smaller towns they have different programs and such, but I appreciate this being introduced.
mariamistry's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars
I really enjoyed the sex-positive viewpoint of the main characters and how they spread awareness at their school. This felt like a novel adaptation of Sex Education from Netflix but with slightly less irresponsible MCs. My only issue with it, which decreased my rating from 3 stars to 2.5, was the weird and pretty necessary love quadrangle thing were everybody was obsessed with this one guy.
I really enjoyed the sex-positive viewpoint of the main characters and how they spread awareness at their school. This felt like a novel adaptation of Sex Education from Netflix but with slightly less irresponsible MCs. My only issue with it, which decreased my rating from 3 stars to 2.5, was the weird and pretty necessary love quadrangle thing were everybody was obsessed with this one guy.
ckausch's review against another edition
3.0
Cute, very sex-positive story about a teen finding her voice. Bonus points for one of the characters identifying as asexual and it not being a Thing.
rachelwrites007's review against another edition
3.0
I'm so, so happy I got to read an early draft of this funny, different YA. (Also I named Theo, so dibs!!) I enjoyed that this story talked about midwifery and doula birthing, which is something teens (and adults) may not know a lot about, but it's explained in an easy-to-understand manner. I loved how sex positive this book was, even though Lacey hasn't had sex yet. There's teen pregnancy in this book (a side character), but it's never a shameful thing. Just lots of positive sex talk across the spectrum of experience, which was refreshing to read about
Funny and smart, this one is perfect for [a:Stephanie Perkins|3095893|Stephanie Perkins|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1407443106p2/3095893.jpg] and [a:Kathryn Ormsbee|10721280|Kathryn Ormsbee|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1473029739p2/10721280.jpg].
Funny and smart, this one is perfect for [a:Stephanie Perkins|3095893|Stephanie Perkins|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1407443106p2/3095893.jpg] and [a:Kathryn Ormsbee|10721280|Kathryn Ormsbee|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1473029739p2/10721280.jpg].
100pagesaday's review against another edition
4.0
Best friends Lacey, Theo and Evita have their year planned out- do good in school, practice their music apply to Berklee and live together in Boston jamming together with their band. However, things begin to change for Lacey. Lacey's mom was a teenage mom, now a labor and delivery nurse who has always been upfront and direct with Lacey about sex, consent, protection and staying healthy. Lacey has no experience with this herself, she has never even been kissed. But when her senior seminar class begins to preach abstinence only education and being fearful or ashamed of sex, Lacey steps up in order to make sure her classmates are safe and protected, Lacey becomes a guru for sex questions and she, Theo and Evita help pass out condoms and other forms of protection to students. The school is not appreciative of their efforts, however and suspends the trio for passing out lewd material. In between all of this, Lacey and Theo realize that they have feelings for one another and begin to navigate a sexual relationship of their own.
The Birds, The Bees, and You and Me is a wonderful, sex-positive and health conscious story that is appropriate and informational for young adults while being entertaining. I loved Lacey's character as well as her mom. Even though Lacey was inexperienced, she held a wealth of knowledge thanks to her mother's open attitude and positive conversations. Not everyone can have a mom like Lacey's though, which is why it is important for schools to teach about sexual health. The reaction from the school was very surprising to me, it seemed to me that if they could turn a blind eye to all of the pregnant girls maybe they could do the same for a girl passing out condoms. I do wish that Lacey, Evita and Theo would have worked with the adults more for their project instead of going rouge. I do like how everything panned out in the end. Another great aspect to the story was the friendship between Lacey, Theo and Evita. Talking things out with friends is another step in healthy relationships and these guys had a lot of difficult conversations. The straightforward conversations between Lacey and Theo about consent and sex are wonderful examples of how to start a sexual relationship. In reading these conversations, they did seem a little awkward and uncomfortable to me, but I also think that is the reality of the situation. Lacey and Theo's budding romance as well as their band add to the excitement of this fun and realistic young adult novel.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
The Birds, The Bees, and You and Me is a wonderful, sex-positive and health conscious story that is appropriate and informational for young adults while being entertaining. I loved Lacey's character as well as her mom. Even though Lacey was inexperienced, she held a wealth of knowledge thanks to her mother's open attitude and positive conversations. Not everyone can have a mom like Lacey's though, which is why it is important for schools to teach about sexual health. The reaction from the school was very surprising to me, it seemed to me that if they could turn a blind eye to all of the pregnant girls maybe they could do the same for a girl passing out condoms. I do wish that Lacey, Evita and Theo would have worked with the adults more for their project instead of going rouge. I do like how everything panned out in the end. Another great aspect to the story was the friendship between Lacey, Theo and Evita. Talking things out with friends is another step in healthy relationships and these guys had a lot of difficult conversations. The straightforward conversations between Lacey and Theo about consent and sex are wonderful examples of how to start a sexual relationship. In reading these conversations, they did seem a little awkward and uncomfortable to me, but I also think that is the reality of the situation. Lacey and Theo's budding romance as well as their band add to the excitement of this fun and realistic young adult novel.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
lookingforamandaa's review against another edition
4.0
This new release had me hooked from the cover. Then I read what it was about. After that, I found out that the author was going to be at the NoVaTeen Book Festival that I’m going to (or probably have already been to by the time this review posts.)
I wish this book had been available to me when I was in high school. I grew up in a single parent household. My dad raised me. Now, he did his best to be everything I needed but sex was not something either of us w comfortable talking about. So, we just didn’t. I learned from books and my friends. I would have loved this book even more than I do now have I been able to read it when I really needed it in my younger years.
Our main character, Lacey is so fierce and passionate about getting the facts out there and making people move away. Her mom has taught her all the right things and she feels that it’s her responsibility to share those things with her classmates. I thought she was a great main character. Even though she didn’t have the experience she had the knowledge and she didn’t hesitate to share that knowledge with everyone and anyone that wanted it. She advocated for all the right things. She spends this book learning while also pushing the limits and standing up for what she knows is right. I really enjoyed her learning to love being a doula and all things nursing.
Then there’s her best friend, Evita, who is on the ace spectrum and isn’t afraid to share what she knows and feels. She is the president of the LGBTQIA group at their school. She was sassy and unapologetic about who she is. She spoke her mind and I really liked her. She called people on their shit, stood up for what she believed in, and stood by her friends.
Theo was honestly my least favorite of the trio. He spent the first half of the book with a girlfriend that no one liked. I did like how he was used as a tool to explain certain things and ideas within the story. Plain and simple, he was a great guy. Considerate and kind and attentive to his friends but I just preferred the girls.
I loved pretty much everything about this book. My only complaint would be that in the beginning of the story the sex-positive stuff was a little heavy-handed and clunky. There was a lot of “my mom taught me” again and again. But as the story progressed it got much better. Really only the first few chapters had a bit of info dumping with the sex conversations.
Overall, I loved the characters. They were entertaining, funny, and passionate. I loved the message the story was sharing. It’s one I really could have used in a book when I was young and learning. I loved all the parental support the kids had from their parents. I only wish this book had been longer. I would have loved to spend more time getting to know these characters and being in their world. I can’t wait to see what this author comes out with next.
I wish this book had been available to me when I was in high school. I grew up in a single parent household. My dad raised me. Now, he did his best to be everything I needed but sex was not something either of us w comfortable talking about. So, we just didn’t. I learned from books and my friends. I would have loved this book even more than I do now have I been able to read it when I really needed it in my younger years.
Our main character, Lacey is so fierce and passionate about getting the facts out there and making people move away. Her mom has taught her all the right things and she feels that it’s her responsibility to share those things with her classmates. I thought she was a great main character. Even though she didn’t have the experience she had the knowledge and she didn’t hesitate to share that knowledge with everyone and anyone that wanted it. She advocated for all the right things. She spends this book learning while also pushing the limits and standing up for what she knows is right. I really enjoyed her learning to love being a doula and all things nursing.
Then there’s her best friend, Evita, who is on the ace spectrum and isn’t afraid to share what she knows and feels. She is the president of the LGBTQIA group at their school. She was sassy and unapologetic about who she is. She spoke her mind and I really liked her. She called people on their shit, stood up for what she believed in, and stood by her friends.
Theo was honestly my least favorite of the trio. He spent the first half of the book with a girlfriend that no one liked. I did like how he was used as a tool to explain certain things and ideas within the story. Plain and simple, he was a great guy. Considerate and kind and attentive to his friends but I just preferred the girls.
I loved pretty much everything about this book. My only complaint would be that in the beginning of the story the sex-positive stuff was a little heavy-handed and clunky. There was a lot of “my mom taught me” again and again. But as the story progressed it got much better. Really only the first few chapters had a bit of info dumping with the sex conversations.
Overall, I loved the characters. They were entertaining, funny, and passionate. I loved the message the story was sharing. It’s one I really could have used in a book when I was young and learning. I loved all the parental support the kids had from their parents. I only wish this book had been longer. I would have loved to spend more time getting to know these characters and being in their world. I can’t wait to see what this author comes out with next.