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alenezela99's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is everything thing to me, I love every about it🥺🥺
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Death, Bullying, Death of parent, Grief, and Homophobia
wardenred's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The most important four-letter word in our history will always be LOVE. That's what we are fighting for. That's who we are. Love is our legacy.
Wow! This book was an incredibly emotional journey that encompassed everything I love about contemporary YA. Or, in this case, kinda contemporary? Near-contemporary? I just can't bring myself to feel that 1980s were long ago enough to call a novel set in late 1980s historical. Which may have something to do with my age. Let's not dwell on it.
The story is set at the height of the AIDS crisis, and AIDS plays a big part in it. It influences how the characters interpret the world around them and their own relationships. There's an important side character serving as a mentor to the teen MCs who's dying from AIDS. And with all that, this is quite probably the most life-affirming book I've read in a while. It feels like every page is urging the reader to live, to walk forward, to make connections, to make history. It's a celebration of youth, queerness, self-discovery, of choosing life and love, no matter the circumstances.
Beyond that, it's simply a beautiful coming-of-age story focusing on all the important things: messy crushes, complicated friendships, redefining relationships with parents as kids grow older, and most of all, figuring out who you are. I'm incredibly happy to have stumbled upon this book, and I'm looking forward to reading the author's other works!
Read for the following September 2020 readathons:
- Monsterathon: BIPOC Author
- Coffee Readathon: Middle Eastern Author
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, and Homophobia
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