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dannothedino's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Outing, Gaslighting, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Alcohol
noahwoah's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Transphobia
Moderate: Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Dysphoria
Minor: Child abuse and Islamophobia
jodierose14's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Transphobia, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
befrazzledenby's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Transphobia, Religious bigotry, and Gaslighting
nat_kiverse's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Transphobia, Gaslighting, and Dysphoria
readwithbee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
That being said, these are the things I did enjoy:
• I'm glad to read non-binary representation. * See more on this later.
• This book actually did give me some things to ponder regarding my own internalized patriarchal perspectives that I wasn't even aware I had. As a non-binary person, this was so interesting.
• I liked Ben's sister and how she and her husband Thomas were so willing to support Ben.
• There's a lot of similarities between this book and some others I read recently. (I both enjoyed and didn't enjoy this fact.)
• I am glad it has a good ending.
• It is important to tell stories that show the trauma LGBTQ folks may face. And I think it's important to note that with family trauma, sometimes there is no happy ending.
• Im glad for mental health and therapy representation.
Things I didn't enjoy as much:
• I liked a lot of the characters but feel like I barely got to understand any of them. I think they're going to be very forgetable sadly because of this.
• I kind of wish that this book would have elaborated on how non-binary is an umbrella term and there are a lot of ways one can identify within that. Ben seemed to identify as agender - or lacking any gender. That's just not the only identity non-binary can mean when someone uses that and I wish it would have spoken more on that.
• The therapist seemed a little odd to me. The approach I mean. As someone who works in mental health, it felt as though their approach was more rooted in the therapists goal than Ben's. I prefer person centered approaches and hope to see more of that in books in the future.
• I've already forgotten bits from this book and I didn't take as many notes since I was often listening when driving. But the fact it's so forgettable to me when I just finished it yesterday is a bit of a bummer.
Overall, like I said, it wasn't bad and I think some folks are definitely gonna connect with it!
Trigger warnings: transphobia, family trauma, emotional abuse, homelessness.
Graphic: Emotional abuse
Moderate: Deadnaming, Panic attacks/disorders, Transphobia, and Gaslighting
midnightbelles's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
I randomly decided to pick this up at 2am after hearing a good review and I quite literally couldn’t put it down. Words can’t describe how comforting and heartwarming this book is and I really love that the authors note says that this is the story they needed when they were younger because that’s exactly how I feel. I wish it didn’t end but I love how the story professed and I loved getting to see Ben open up and become more comfortable with their identity and that they got their happy ending.
Graphic: Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Transphobia, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Dysphoria
maladaptivedaydreamer's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse and Transphobia
Moderate: Homophobia and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Vomit, Religious bigotry, and Gaslighting
kanthereader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
The story follows Ben, a non-binary teen who has been kicked out of their home after coming out to their parents. They're now forced to live with their sister and her estranged husband. At their new school, nobody knows who they are but they're brother-in-law, and they plan to keep it that way. That is until they meet the optimist Nathan Allen. Nathan just happens to be everywhere Ben goes, preventing them from only having only art as a friend.
It was incredible to see their friendship blossom into a cherishable relationship.
One thing I didn't like about this book was how slow it was. The romance is limited to the end of the story. It was slightly disappointing that their romance was such a slow one. Even when we got it at the end, it was minimal.
Therefore, this book gets a 4 out of 5 stars from me.
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Abandonment
Moderate: Gaslighting and Alcohol
Minor: Physical abuse
alexlily's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Transphobia, Outing, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Physical abuse and Stalking
Minor: Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy