Scan barcode
jeleigh16's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I wanted to absolutely love this book. I enjoyed it, but there were things about it that kept me from giving this 5 stars. The main issue I found was the consent issue. There was more than one character forcing themselves on another character in the name of teenage lust. If the book didn't have that element or they'd more strongly communicated about that difficulty in their relationships, I would have had an easier time with it. The representation of various experiences of these teens during the late 80s/early 90s in NYC during the AIDS epidemic was well done though and the ending does bring the themes together nicely. It certainly showcased what it means to learn to be a part of this thing we call community.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia and Terminal illness
Moderate: Suicide, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Excrement, Homophobia, Infidelity, Death, Death of parent, Bullying, Cancer, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Hate crime, Chronic illness, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Misogyny, Pandemic/Epidemic, Violence, Grief, Outing, Medical content, and Racism
Minor: Gun violence
menomica's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
I got to say this book would have been a whole lot better if it was more centered around Reza. The story literally wouldn’t exist without him. I love Judy but what do she and Art bring to the table? What does Art bring?
There are so many aspects of Reza’s life that were mentioned but never really developed. Hell, we could’ve talked about Saadi’s mommy issues that were sprung up at the end of the book. But we didn’t get to that bc we had to do the stupid love triangle that literally everyone involved in knew was a farse :(. It was very unnecessary. It would have been so much cooler to see Reza’s family more in depth, Reza at school, or his relationship with Abba, or really just more of Reza.
Speaking of which; Art very much was the weakest link. As a character… I just don’t care for rich white men. As a boyfriend?? Very gross how he did not respect Reza’s not wanting to have sex. I know he said he was willing to wait, and for his part his did, but you do not need to bring it up all the time! He is clearly not ready, respect that! Yeah, his chapters were the weakest, queer activism aside.
I like that they broke up though, that was nice. It felt realistic.
All in all, this book was kind of meh. Definitely had potential but just kind of fumbled the ball
There are so many aspects of Reza’s life that were mentioned but never really developed.
Speaking of which; Art very much was the weakest link. As a character… I just don’t care for rich white men. As a boyfriend?? Very gross how he did not respect Reza’s not wanting to have sex. I know he said he was willing to wait, and for his part his did, but you do not need to bring it up all the time! He is clearly not ready, respect that! Yeah, his chapters were the weakest, queer activism aside.
All in all, this book was kind of meh. Definitely had potential but just kind of fumbled the ball
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia and Terminal illness
Minor: Fatphobia, Medical content, and Toxic friendship
More...