Reviews with content warning for Outing - Only Mostly Devastated

After moving to North Carolina for the summer to help out his sick Aunt Linda with her kids, Ollie finds himself in a summer love story with Will Tavares. Their relationship is light and fun, but they know it can’t last since they live on opposite sides of the country. But right before Ollie is supposed to go back to California, his parents notify him that they’ll be staying in NC for the year. Ollie is dreading starting at a new school… So he should be thrilled when he runs into Will at a party during the first week, right? Well, the Will he runs into isn’t who he spent time with this summer. Now Will is an athlete, a low-key jerk, and still in the closet. After seeing how Will ignores him for several weeks, Ollie decides Will isn’t worth his energy. But as Ollie stops trying, Will can’t stay away. How long can Ollie stay strong? And when will the last time he lets Will in his life be?

CALLING ALL SWIFTIES!🩵 I found the @evermorebookshop on insta a few weeks ago and knew I had to order this fun gift for my sister’s bday and one for myself. You let the shop owner know what night of Eras Tour you went to and your surprise songs, and then they send you a book that is connected to one of your surprise songs, a fun bookmark, and some Taylor stickers! I am obsessed and can’t wait for my sister to open hers (spoiler alert: she is getting her gift early bc I’m so excited)!

One of my surprise songs was The Last Time and this book definitely gave those vibes! Will and Ollie were on and off throughout, and each time I got the vibe that it was the last time Ollie wanted to let him in, but he couldn’t help but cave each time. I’ll be honest, Will frustrated me for most of the book… But I loved Ollie and the friends he made😊 While the story was relatively simple, Gonzales did tackle a couple of important topics/scenarios that high schoolers face in a very approachable but honest way, which I appreciated.

Favorite Quote: “But screw tomorrow. Even if no one could promise that everything would work out perfectly, right here and now, in this exact moment, it was perfect. And right here and now was the only thing that ever mattered anyway.”

Content Warnings

ophycore's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful 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

4.0

Content Warnings

mythopoeia's review against another edition

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emotional funny sad fast-paced

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

3.75

Content Warnings

robin_reads's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

A coming of age/teen story about two boys with feelings for each other figuring out the world and their place and feelings in it.

This was cute. It dealt with "the usual" teenage feelings and drama, plus an added element of the main character's aunt being terminally ill with cancer.
The audiobook was nice, even if it annoyed when they vocalized "argh" and "ugh" in a very weird way. That's just me tho.

Content Warnings

readingwithkaitlyn's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted fast-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

4.0

Content Warnings

theespressoedition's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted 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

3.5

When I was writing my mini review for my Instagram stories, I said "imagine if Grease was gay. That would be this book." I'm sticking with that description because it feels the most accurate to me.

Only Mostly Devastated surprised me in a lot of good ways. It kept my interest much more than most young adult romances - and actually, I wouldn't even necessarily describe it as a romance. Yes, there was young love in it, but the focus was much more on the characters themselves and how they developed and grew together and individually.

There was a found family element to this that was so entertaining. It was the most chaotic, disruptive, and sometimes stressful family, but I enjoyed reading about each of them and seeing how they changed as the story went on. The support that was a running theme throughout the book was really pleasing. I like when characters encourage one another to be themselves. Sure, there was teen drama and plenty of it, but for the most part, the characters did grow and learn from the harm they sometimes caused.

What I did feel was a bit of a disconnect. This is primarily just because I'm an adult reading a young adult book and I recognize that's a very normal thing. I'm not reading this to feel connection to the characters. I liked them, but I don't think I'll be revisiting the book. However, I do plan to read some of the author's other works because I liked the style of writing and the story itself.

Content Warnings

a_sleepy_berry's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny reflective sad 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

5.0

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