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space_bandit's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Ableism, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Bullying and Pregnancy
Minor: Death of parent
nicolinebl's review
challenging
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I was pleasantly surprised by this book. As someone who is very far away from Christianity (was one when I was young tho) it felt a bit preachy at the start of the book. I honestly found Jo a bit annoying because of how preachy and holier than thou she sounded.
But honestly, it's been a while so I had to get used to that. And when I got over myself, I quite enjoyed the book. Look, Dana was an a very annoying best friend imo. The homophobic people from Georgia weren't the greatest either (fuck Jessica!). But my goodness, I loved BTB, Mary Carlson & George. Not everything about this was the greatest like the plot basically being her having to hide her gay which just gives us some miscommunication and lying to have a plot. But I enjoyed the ride.
But honestly, it's been a while so I had to get used to that. And when I got over myself, I quite enjoyed the book. Look, Dana was an a very annoying best friend imo. The homophobic people from Georgia weren't the greatest either (fuck Jessica!). But my goodness, I loved BTB, Mary Carlson & George. Not everything about this was the greatest like the plot basically being her having to hide her gay which just gives us some miscommunication and lying to have a plot. But I enjoyed the ride.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Lesbophobia, Homophobia, and Ableism
Moderate: Alcohol, Death of parent, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Bullying, Gaslighting, Grief, Outing, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Miscarriage
kaylamac7777's review
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism and Homophobia
Moderate: Bullying
Minor: Miscarriage
mia_flanagan's review
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Outing and Homophobia
Minor: Eating disorder, Miscarriage, Emotional abuse, Bullying, and Alcohol
amabel_xo's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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
5.0
JUST AMAZING. had me grinning ear to ear and bawling the next
Content Warnings
Minor: Toxic relationship, Bullying, Miscarriage, Lesbophobia, and Homophobia
sandy_21's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Religious bigotry, and Ableism
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, and Sexual content
Minor: Miscarriage, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
field_of_books's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This is a cute and cosy teen book accentuated with a forbidden sapphic romance. Our main characters are a good example of how you can be LGBTQ+ and still have Christian faith, demonstrating tolerance and acceptance. They show that growing up in a religious environment doesn’t always have to be painful or traumatic.
The book has the cute romance and dialogue on religion going for it- however I found the main characters decisions to be morally grey and felt they should have been held more accountable. I felt that outside of the romance and religious dialogue, there wasn’t a huge amount going for this book. It just needed a little bit ‘more’.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Cursing and Bullying
Minor: Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Ableism, and Alcohol
taelights's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
This book made me lesbophopbic /s
But seriously I hated this book and not even lesbians could save it for once. The story was mediocre, the romance didn't have much chemistry, the characters were awful, and there were some problematic things as well.
1. Literally every character was an asshole in their own way.
2. The characters were all flat and one dimensional. Jo, even though she was the only pov, you barely learn anything about other than she's a lesbian and religious and wants to host a radio show. Her friendship with Dana literally didn't make sense and isn't believable at all and really the only thing you know about Dana is that she's a selfish fuckgirl. Mary Carlson is just a lesbian that plays golf, is religious, and loves her family. Etc. Like the author just made one or two little things the whole personality of the characters.
3. The only POC in the book was a black girl named Gemma who used awkwardly phrased AAVE and was a sassy black girl stereotype.
4. The author of this story seems very ableist. Mary Carlson's brother, BTB, is neurodivergent and the way he's written is kind of disgusting. He is written as if he's a literal child rather than a teenage boy and infantilized by the characters. His hyperfixation is his only personality trait, like him having a hyperfixation wouldn't be a problem at all if there was more to his character but literally almost every single line was about elephants. He was reduced to just being Mary Carlson's disabled brother who likes elephants. Also he's treated as a burden by all the characters and it seems like Jo is supposed to look good for "putting up with him" and even his own sister who supposedly loves him makes him seem like a massive burden.
5. The conflicts were very annoying as they none of them would exist if Jo just told the truth to Mary Carlson and didn't build a relationship on lies and kept making excuses not to tell her for some reason??
6. Also Jo's father is ridiculous for wanting to shove her back into the closet and an asshole for suggesting the whole plan to begin with rather than sticking up for her daughter and I hate how he married such a homophobic woman to begin with. And I hate how she eventually is seen as "one of the good ones" when this is all her fault.
7. Also it's really uncomfortable that Dana, a 17 year old girl, hooked up with a grown ass woman in her 30s in the first chapter of the book and it's seen as completely normal???
Anyways this book was bad and I could rant more about it but I'm done.
But seriously I hated this book and not even lesbians could save it for once. The story was mediocre, the romance didn't have much chemistry, the characters were awful, and there were some problematic things as well.
1. Literally every character was an asshole in their own way.
2. The characters were all flat and one dimensional. Jo, even though she was the only pov, you barely learn anything about other than she's a lesbian and religious and wants to host a radio show. Her friendship with Dana literally didn't make sense and isn't believable at all and really the only thing you know about Dana is that she's a selfish fuckgirl. Mary Carlson is just a lesbian that plays golf, is religious, and loves her family. Etc. Like the author just made one or two little things the whole personality of the characters.
3. The only POC in the book was a black girl named Gemma who used awkwardly phrased AAVE and was a sassy black girl stereotype.
4. The author of this story seems very ableist. Mary Carlson's brother, BTB, is neurodivergent and the way he's written is kind of disgusting. He is written as if he's a literal child rather than a teenage boy and infantilized by the characters. His hyperfixation is his only personality trait, like him having a hyperfixation wouldn't be a problem at all if there was more to his character but literally almost every single line was about elephants. He was reduced to just being Mary Carlson's disabled brother who likes elephants. Also he's treated as a burden by all the characters and it seems like Jo is supposed to look good for "putting up with him" and even his own sister who supposedly loves him makes him seem like a massive burden.
5. The conflicts were very annoying as they none of them would exist if Jo just told the truth to Mary Carlson and didn't build a relationship on lies and kept making excuses not to tell her for some reason??
6. Also Jo's father is ridiculous for wanting to shove her back into the closet and an asshole for suggesting the whole plan to begin with rather than sticking up for her daughter and I hate how he married such a homophobic woman to begin with. And I hate how she eventually is seen as "one of the good ones" when this is all her fault.
7. Also it's really uncomfortable that Dana, a 17 year old girl, hooked up with a grown ass woman in her 30s in the first chapter of the book and it's seen as completely normal???
Anyways this book was bad and I could rant more about it but I'm done.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Homophobia, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Alcohol and Bullying
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, Death of parent, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy
bebidocrimes's review
lighthearted
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Maybe I've forgotten what it's like the be a queer teenager, but it really felt like the author just googled 'whats popular with lesbians' and name dropped shit to get credit. A lot of comments about how the main character isn't *that kind of gay* which puts you into purity politics once again. Personally, I hate communication issues as a plot, but I think I just hated the parents more for shoving MC back into the closet. This was published in 2016, so it's not the author's fault, but Elliot Page is deadnamed toward the end. ALSO, Rome Georgia is NOT back country. If you can take a day trip to Atlanta, you are NOT in the sticks.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Eating disorder and Miscarriage
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