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johannawuhu's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
This was sooo cute and sweet!!
Such an easy read and pretty easy to get invested in.
Really loved all the side characters too and Will and Ollie were really cute together.
I don‘t like the whole one person out/one person closeted thing in books that much, but obviously it‘s a very real experience. I felt like this was done pretty well and I liked Lara‘s whole journey a lot, too!!
It was a little cliche that everyone ended up together, but I‘ll accept it.
I will say that the conflict resolution was a little out of nowhere, though. There was a build up but it was over in like 3 seconds.
Also Ollie choosing NC state? Like bestie you‘ve known these people for a year calm down.
I liked Niamh‘s story with PCOS, it felt a tiny bit forced but I think it‘s important to talk about.
Linda‘s story made me absolutely SOB omg I was not ready.
This is a very solid 4 stars for me and I‘m excited to read the author‘s other book(s)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Death, Homophobia, Biphobia, and Lesbophobia
getbrekked's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Homophobia, Biphobia, Grief, and Fatphobia
bella_jj's review against another edition
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? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Biphobia, Fatphobia, Homophobia, and Terminal illness
lizziealex's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Oillie deserved better than Will. This book would have been something I would have really appreciated in high school though.
The bisexual representation in this book in the form of Lara and Will was really nice, though. It wasn't a big deal and no one really gave either of them grief.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Biphobia, Death, and Cancer
citrusgrove's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Biphobia, Cancer, and Death
Moderate: Fatphobia
himbonation's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer and Death
Minor: Biphobia and Homophobia
kelligrace's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Death, Homophobia, and Biphobia
spearly's review against another edition
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Sometimes in life, terrible things happened. And sometimes really, really amazing things happened. And sometimes, those things all kind of happened at once.
Only Mostly Devastated follows Ollie, who, after visiting his sick aunt in North Carolina for the summer and having a summer romance there with a boy named Will, ends up moving to NC so he and his family can stay close to her as she gets worse.
This was a cute story. Well.. it had its cute moments. Honestly, I've been on a teen YA romance kick lately and, after reading some pretty great stories (including one from the same author, Sophie Gonzales called Perfect on Paper), this fell strictly middle of the pack. Nothing special. Not something I would read again, and not something I'll really remember after I write this review.
I won't pretend to know or understand the queer teen experience. I'm sure there's a lot of authenticity to Will and his fear of coming out, to Ollie having to sneak around to be with the guy he likes. And I'm sure, with all of Will's fears, a lot of his behaviour made sense ie.ignoring Ollie at school, getting close with his ex when his friends start to suspect, not speaking up when his friends make homophobic jokes but that doesn't mean I liked it. I was frustrated with Will. I was frustrated with Ollie. I didn't understand Lara's brattiness ( and yes, it's implied it has to do at least partly with some inernalized biphobia, but that doesn't excuse how shitty she treats her friends. At one point, she literally tells her friend Naimh, who's a bit overweight and wants to be a model, that a real model wouldn't be eating what she was. . You don't need to give the girl with a secret a mean streak to make her 3-dimensional, you know?
But then I think about it, and I'm like... well, I'm sure there were moments when I was in high school that I said some shitty things too. That I acted bratty. That I was judgy. And yet, despite these all being valid points, that doesn't mean I like to read about characters like that.
In the end, Only Mostly Devastated just didn't hold a candle to some of the other books I've read in the genre, especially when it comes to queer romance.
Only Mostly Devastated follows Ollie, who, after visiting his sick aunt in North Carolina for the summer and having a summer romance there with a boy named Will, ends up moving to NC so he and his family can stay close to her as she gets worse.
This was a cute story. Well.. it had its cute moments. Honestly, I've been on a teen YA romance kick lately and, after reading some pretty great stories (including one from the same author, Sophie Gonzales called Perfect on Paper), this fell strictly middle of the pack. Nothing special. Not something I would read again, and not something I'll really remember after I write this review.
I won't pretend to know or understand the queer teen experience. I'm sure there's a lot of authenticity to Will and his fear of coming out, to Ollie having to sneak around to be with the guy he likes. And I'm sure, with all of Will's fears, a lot of his behaviour made sense ie.
But then I think about it, and I'm like... well, I'm sure there were moments when I was in high school that I said some shitty things too. That I acted bratty. That I was judgy. And yet, despite these all being valid points, that doesn't mean I like to read about characters like that.
In the end, Only Mostly Devastated just didn't hold a candle to some of the other books I've read in the genre, especially when it comes to queer romance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Biphobia, Death, Cancer, Body shaming, Terminal illness, and Medical content
Moderate: Cursing, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Medical trauma, and Sexism
klavin_lovell's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer
Moderate: Death, Homophobia, Biphobia, and Grief
Minor: Body shaming and Bullying
bookstorebinge's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Biphobia, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Death, Homophobia, and Toxic relationship