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janagaton's review
4.0
Thank you to Penguin Teen for sending me an ARC last year, a finished copy this year, and collabing with me for an IG Reel promoting this book!
TW: extreme homophobia, bullying, physical abuse
As a Pacquiao fan for most of my life, it was incredibly jarring to hear about his homophobic stance AGAIN upon reading this book. I remember vaguely hearing about it seven years ago when the interview came out, but I didn't actually watch the video and hear the hurtful words he said. This book explores how to grapple with the situation of when your heroes let you down once their true colors are revealed, and I think it has some really good discussions to keep in mind for when the next author inevitably is deemed "problematic," for example.
The humor in this was great, and the Filipino culture interwoven was definitely relatable. Some of the language felt kind of cringey and forced without the direct translations, but it still worked for me. Also love the friendship and relationship dynamics; they definitely felt realistic enough for the age range.
Pulido also did not hold back with the bullying and homophobia, as well as the discussions on classism.
For a 250ish page book, it covers a lot of important topics, and it was really nice to see myself and my culture in a 2023 release.
TW: extreme homophobia, bullying, physical abuse
As a Pacquiao fan for most of my life, it was incredibly jarring to hear about his homophobic stance AGAIN upon reading this book. I remember vaguely hearing about it seven years ago when the interview came out, but I didn't actually watch the video and hear the hurtful words he said. This book explores how to grapple with the situation of when your heroes let you down once their true colors are revealed, and I think it has some really good discussions to keep in mind for when the next author inevitably is deemed "problematic," for example.
The humor in this was great, and the Filipino culture interwoven was definitely relatable. Some of the language felt kind of cringey and forced without the direct translations, but it still worked for me. Also love the friendship and relationship dynamics; they definitely felt realistic enough for the age range.
Pulido also did not hold back with the bullying and homophobia, as well as the discussions on classism.
For a 250ish page book, it covers a lot of important topics, and it was really nice to see myself and my culture in a 2023 release.
hearteyes's review
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? N/A
3.25
trisha___d's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
cheriepie's review
emotional
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Pacing is odd in this one -- the comments from Manny Pacquiao don't come into the fray until the book is at the 80% mark, even though it's a big part of the synopsis. There's also something to your MC being a snarky, judgmental teenager, and especially one that's being abused by his peers, but it's also very grating to read after a while.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Violence
havenbarrett's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
tense
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
3.0
barbellsandbooks__'s review
3.0
Bobby is forced to come out before he is ready. Living in a community that is very homophobic, Bobby faces harassment. He decides enough is enough and he picks up boxing to learn to defend himself.
Highlighting the homophobia in the Fil-Am community is very important. I enjoyed this for the most part, but something about the writing style wasn’t my cup of tea.
Highlighting the homophobia in the Fil-Am community is very important. I enjoyed this for the most part, but something about the writing style wasn’t my cup of tea.
whitneymouse's review
4.0
**Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Teen for the eARC. This in no way changes my opinion**
I'm calling it now that this will probably be in my top 10 of the year. The synopsis recommended it for fans of Patron Saints of Nothing, but I think it would also be a good fit for fans of Darius the Great is Not Okay. This book is about Bobby, who is a closeted queer Filipino-American teen. After he is publicly outed at school and beaten by a homophobic classmate, Bobby decides that he's going to learn how to box, coming to identify with Filipino boxer, Manny Pacquiao. With the support of his best friend, Rosie, and his boyfriend, Brandon, Bobby starts to learn to defend himself and gain confidence in who he is as a person.
I will acknowledge that I had very little knowledge of boxing as a sport before I read this book. I still have very little knowledge. I knew the name Manny Pacquiao. I didn't know the extent of his homophobic comments. The synopsis makes it sound like Pacquiao's awful comments were going to be a bigger part of the book. The book is mostly about Bobby's relationship with his friend and boyfriend, his school life, and his life at home with his single mother. This part doesn't occur until about 80% through. So if you're like me and you didn't know, but you kept waiting for the shoe to drop, just know you'll be waiting a little bit.
Bobby is a great character. I really liked how he grew over the course of the story and was able to speak up for himself and others. He has flaws which makes him more human than some other YA character I've read, but they're things that can be worked on (ex. jealousy or insecurity about the class difference between him and his boyfriend). I also loved that he isn't this boxing phenom who is taking down people who trained years left and right in a few weeks. He works hard and at a believable pace. It didn't feel like a superhero movie where he does no training and is amazing at it.
I also really enjoyed his relationship with Rosie, who is an enjoyable friend character with strongly held beliefs, and his mother. As someone who grew up with a single parent, it's nice to see this relationship portrayed in such a sweet light I liked Brandon and understand his character, but I didn't love that he was pushy about Bobby coming out. I realize it might be harder for Brandon as an out gay teen to be with someone who is still closeted because he wants certain things in a relationship, such as being able to publicly kiss or hold hands, but I had a similar issue with You Should See Me in a Crown. Characters who push the other character to out themselves when they're not ready just come across very unsympathetic to me and it makes it harder to want the relationship continue. While they both work on things in their relationship to make it better by the end, this was just the one thing that made it harder to give it a 5 star rating.
Overall, I really liked this book. I will definitely be recommending it at my library. It has so much heart. The story was excellent. The writing was great. I can't wait to see what Rod Pulido writes next.
4.5/5 stars (rounded to 4 for Goodreads)
I'm calling it now that this will probably be in my top 10 of the year. The synopsis recommended it for fans of Patron Saints of Nothing, but I think it would also be a good fit for fans of Darius the Great is Not Okay. This book is about Bobby, who is a closeted queer Filipino-American teen. After he is publicly outed at school and beaten by a homophobic classmate, Bobby decides that he's going to learn how to box, coming to identify with Filipino boxer, Manny Pacquiao. With the support of his best friend, Rosie, and his boyfriend, Brandon, Bobby starts to learn to defend himself and gain confidence in who he is as a person.
I will acknowledge that I had very little knowledge of boxing as a sport before I read this book. I still have very little knowledge. I knew the name Manny Pacquiao. I didn't know the extent of his homophobic comments. The synopsis makes it sound like Pacquiao's awful comments were going to be a bigger part of the book. The book is mostly about Bobby's relationship with his friend and boyfriend, his school life, and his life at home with his single mother. This part doesn't occur until about 80% through. So if you're like me and you didn't know, but you kept waiting for the shoe to drop, just know you'll be waiting a little bit.
Bobby is a great character. I really liked how he grew over the course of the story and was able to speak up for himself and others. He has flaws which makes him more human than some other YA character I've read, but they're things that can be worked on (ex. jealousy or insecurity about the class difference between him and his boyfriend). I also loved that he isn't this boxing phenom who is taking down people who trained years left and right in a few weeks. He works hard and at a believable pace. It didn't feel like a superhero movie where he does no training and is amazing at it.
I also really enjoyed his relationship with Rosie, who is an enjoyable friend character with strongly held beliefs, and his mother. As someone who grew up with a single parent, it's nice to see this relationship portrayed in such a sweet light I liked Brandon and understand his character, but I didn't love that he was pushy about Bobby coming out. I realize it might be harder for Brandon as an out gay teen to be with someone who is still closeted because he wants certain things in a relationship, such as being able to publicly kiss or hold hands, but I had a similar issue with You Should See Me in a Crown. Characters who push the other character to out themselves when they're not ready just come across very unsympathetic to me and it makes it harder to want the relationship continue. While they both work on things in their relationship to make it better by the end, this was just the one thing that made it harder to give it a 5 star rating.
Overall, I really liked this book. I will definitely be recommending it at my library. It has so much heart. The story was excellent. The writing was great. I can't wait to see what Rod Pulido writes next.
4.5/5 stars (rounded to 4 for Goodreads)
smalltownbookmom's review
4.0
This was a great YA queer coming of age story that deals with homophobia, racism and standing up for yourself. I loved these characters so much! The Filipino rep, the superhero fandom, the comic books, the boxing! If you sub boxing for karate this would make a perfect Karate Kid story for the modern age. Good on audio and highly recommended for fans of books like Forever is now or Fight like a girl. Many thanks to @prhaudio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review!
TW: bullying, hate crimes, racism, homophobia, domestic abuse of minors
TW: bullying, hate crimes, racism, homophobia, domestic abuse of minors
obitus's review
emotional
hopeful
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? No
3.5