Reviews

A heartwarming story of a 64 year old gentleman who experiences a forced retirement and also embraces his true self by coming out to new friends. He learns to love his true self and that others can love his true self as well. An interesting take discovering oneself with the main character being older.

sandysmith's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad 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

4.25

I really enjoyed this book it's very sweet, and it is easy to fall in love with Alberts endearing persona and some of the supporting characters Nicole, Rennie, Marjorie, and Edith, to name a few. It's a coming out, coming of age story of Albert in his 60s. At times, you want to shake him, and the next hug him tightly. Yes, it's sickly sweet, but it's very endearing. The only minor negative is that the moral of the story is reinforced too much and bashed over your head, so this element needed to be more subtle, but it's accessible and easy to read. A love story of teenagers Albert and George and their forbidden illegal love. I really enjoyed the end part of the book with interviews of different homophobia experiences and coming out in the 50s and 60s. I'm glad things have changed, but homophobia sadly still exists. It's a lovely, heartwarming, joyful, enjoyable read. Just be prepared to fall in love with Albert, coming out of loneliness into a much richer life. Fabulous stuff.

Content Warnings

domtheknight's review against another edition

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probably me and not the book, not in the right space to concentrate on it

flower_mail's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring lighthearted reflective sad 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

4.25

caliblues's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective slow-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

cbhags's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

3.25

oscarwildein's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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

3.75

This was very sweet. Although it got off to a bit of a somber start, it quickly picked up into something almost tooth-achingly sweet. It was very cheesy but not necessarily in a negative way, and I can't really describe how it was cheesy without spoilers or without sounding like I wanted there to be negativity in the book. I didn't mind that it was very positive. Some people need that type of book, I just wish the themes and messages were a bit more subtle. At times, I felt like I was being beat over the head by the moral of the story.

The writing was very simple, and I would definitely have appreciated a little more embellishment, but in the end, it fit Albert's voice, and that simplicity made it very easy to read, and very easy to get through.

All in all, it's a very cute book with a sweet story, and if you're in need of something uplifting and full of queer hope, then you should 100% pick this up.

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