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rileyswan's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
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
4.25
The Worst Perfect Moment was an absolute charm.
The humour was spot on from page one. It's rare for me to read a young adult book where the protagonist's voice is authentically that of... well, a young adult! But Shivaun Plozza pulled through with a consistently accurate depiction of the modern teenage mind: nihilistic and damn hilarious with it. Every comedic moment was timed perfectly, and it was a perfect contrast with the grief-stricken narrative.
Speaking of which, this book had a unique depiction of the afterlife, and dealing with being dead. The main character, Tegan, has been given a heaven in what is apparently her greatest memory, but was actually the location where she spent all her time as her life fell apart around her. Reading about her coming to terms with the complexity of her heaven, and picking apart the entangled feelings associated with the beloathed memory was enthralling.
It felt like reading an episode of The Good Place, but even better because gay people were in it! This book had the perfect combination of normalised LGBTQIA+ identity and explorations of our struggle. Tegan's lesbianism was simply there, inarguable and tasteful, and even more so was her romance with Zelda, the angel who created her imperfect heaven. But that didn't stop Plozza from using Tegan and Zelda's trips through memories and time to retrospectively navigate Tegan's journey through her first lesbian crush and date and heartbreak.
If you love grief narratives, complicated sapphic romances, and unique portrayals of the afterlife, heaven, angels, time travel, and God herself... pick up Plozza's The Worst Perfect Moment!
The humour was spot on from page one. It's rare for me to read a young adult book where the protagonist's voice is authentically that of... well, a young adult! But Shivaun Plozza pulled through with a consistently accurate depiction of the modern teenage mind: nihilistic and damn hilarious with it. Every comedic moment was timed perfectly, and it was a perfect contrast with the grief-stricken narrative.
Speaking of which, this book had a unique depiction of the afterlife, and dealing with being dead. The main character, Tegan, has been given a heaven in what is apparently her greatest memory, but was actually the location where she spent all her time as her life fell apart around her. Reading about her coming to terms with the complexity of her heaven, and picking apart the entangled feelings associated with the beloathed memory was enthralling.
It felt like reading an episode of The Good Place, but even better because gay people were in it! This book had the perfect combination of normalised LGBTQIA+ identity and explorations of our struggle. Tegan's lesbianism was simply there, inarguable and tasteful, and even more so was her romance with Zelda, the angel who created her imperfect heaven. But that didn't stop Plozza from using Tegan and Zelda's trips through memories and time to retrospectively navigate Tegan's journey through her first lesbian crush and date and heartbreak.
If you love grief narratives, complicated sapphic romances, and unique portrayals of the afterlife, heaven, angels, time travel, and God herself... pick up Plozza's The Worst Perfect Moment!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Child death, Abandonment, and Grief
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, and Car accident
fanboyriot's review
emotional
funny
reflective
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? Yes
5.0
♡ Afterlife
♡ Sapphic
♡ Chaotic Angel
This book was way better than I anticipated, definitely worth the hype I had for it. I really enjoyed the character development and how everything came together. The setting of this book was so good, all the details were amazing—from the tampon in the motel pool or the slimy mushrooms at breakfast, it was literally so well detailed!
The story was a good mix of humor and heartbreak, touching on more depressing moments as the main character coming to terms with being dead, that her heaven was a place she had some of the worst memories.
Also Zelda was amazing, I loved her so much.
This book talks about some heavy topics as well such as abandonment issues and neglect, failed friendships and childhood crushes, and of course death.
Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Spice Level: n/a
Angst Level: 💧💧💧 (5/5)
POV: First Person
Release Date: 14, May 2024
Rep: Lesbian (Main Character), Lesbian (Side Character), LGBTQIA+ (Main and Side Character)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Abandonment
Moderate: Grief and Car accident
Minor: Toxic friendship
brooklynjane's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
3.75
As an adult, this story isn't aimed at me so I hesitate to review it. I think if I were a teenager I would've rated it higher, so keep that in mind. I think the story is incredibly original, and I love the queer aspects of it as it's great to see queer - especially lesbian - representation. I felt like the intended message was incorporated well, but the ending was a little flat for me. I think too many things were left up in the air (or maybe it just went over my head). I would recommend this for anyone interested in death and the afterlife because it creates a unique look at what might be waiting for us after we die, and how we can live life while we have it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Abandonment
Minor: Child death and Car accident
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