Reviews - Tears in the Water

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270 reviews for:

Tears in the Water

Margherita Scialla

4.0 AVERAGE

namelesssam_'s review against another edition

2.75

hopeful informative tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: N/A

idreaminbooks's review against another edition

5.0

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

charlotteregan's review against another edition

3.75

emotional hopeful lighthearted relaxing 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

This book started off really slow but as soon as I hit that 30% mark, I was deep into it! Alex, Xiuying, Tate, Uriah, and Sky were such amazing characters and Alex’s monologues resonated with me so much. As someone who’s also struggling with their sexuality and who doesn’t get what labels are for, Alex was very relatable (also Tate!). Also the conversations between Alex and Uriah about aromanticism and asexuality was something I didn’t know I needed. :( Uriah figuring out that aromantic people can get into a relationship was very heartwarming because I, too, am aromantic and asexual.

Tate and Alex brought a smile to my face like I JUST LOVE THEM TOO MUCH. The characters opening up to one another was simply amazing and I couldn’t get enough of it. I would definitely recommend this book especially to someone who’s struggling with their sexuality—to remind them that no one is pressuring them and it’s alright to take a lot of time to figure something out. <3

Content Warnings

jakegreyxx's review against another edition

4.0

This book is incredibly cute and very wholesome. It’s a T4T with multiple plots and themes, a decent range of characters, and, of course, a gender crisis.
Throughout the book, there were multiple different coming-out scenes, all with a detailed but not over-complicated explanation of the identities. I also believe Margerita’s thoughts on this book included something along the lines of “How many types of queer rep (with stated labels) can I fit into a single novel?", and they absolutely smashed it (I counted 8, I think). This was also done in a really casual way, where it didn’t feel forced or crammed in. It was natural, and it was really lovely to see, especially with the variety of identities.
Alex is also neurodivergent, which, though not stated on-page, is really validating to see. This is shown through a lot of smaller hints, as well as the way Alex’s anxiety presents itself.
The way this book shows and explains having a gender crisis (and being trans) felt so real and relatable.

strawberb's review against another edition

5.0

emotional funny hopeful 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

nikereadsbooks's review against another edition

4.5

emotional funny informative inspiring lighthearted reflective 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: Complicated

leia_litdeslivres's review against another edition

2.75

emotional hopeful relaxing fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Omg do i hate rating queer books this low but i just didn't enjoy my read as much as i thought i would. I think Alex's internal monologue was so similar to me that it made the whole book feel like me having a breakdown and being called out lmao. Really great representation tho!!!!!!

queergoth_reads's review against another edition

3.0

emotional funny 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

This was a very cute read and I did enjoy it however i would say it was a little young for me.

I also found the writing a little clunky in places. Though when the author wrote about gender and sexuality the writing flowed so well. I'd like it to have been a bit more like that though out the whole book.

The only thing I found kind of off putting was at the start there is a lot of discussion about people's weights, how unfit they are and discussions of diet. Obviously diet is important for sport but they way it was discussed made me feel a little uncomfortable. However, this stopped part way in so I didn't bother too much about it.

I really liked the discussions between characters about gender and sexuality and questioning both. It was great to see if on the page and made me feel better about continually questioning things about myself.

Content Warnings