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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
So much high school drama! I never warmed to Leah (thought she was hypocritical through a lot of this) which makes it difficult to get into a first person narrative. Probably wouldn't pick up others by this author, but I am outside her target market!
i haven't read Simon and since I'm not a contemporary fluffy romance kind of person probably won't read it. But I enjoy Leah, she is my kind of sarcastic. So even tho I'm not fangirling saying it's the best book ever , it's not horrible, well written, entertaining and I'm rating it based on that.
Just like Simon, it's lovely, genuine and incredibly important. The world is full of Simon's and Leah's and we need more of their stories.
Also, can we take a moment to appreciate the fact we live in a world where YA books just make casual references to Harry Potter, and not in a big bang theory 'look at us we understand pop culture way', in a way only a fan would write about it.
Also, can we take a moment to appreciate the fact we live in a world where YA books just make casual references to Harry Potter, and not in a big bang theory 'look at us we understand pop culture way', in a way only a fan would write about it.
Loved Leah's voice and style. Had a hard time believing in the relationship. It seemed out of character if you read this as a follow up to Simon.
[27 Oct 2023] LOL jokes on me because What if It's Us wasn't that good
[June 4, 2018]
This book has many wonderful components I am beginning to associate with Becky Albertalli: funny narrator, easy-to-read writing style, relatable and diverse characters, humor and fun balanced skillfully with heavier real life issues.
If you read and loved SVTHSA, I think you will also love this book! It was really great seeing all the characters I know and love again, but through the eyes of a new narrator.
Leah is a very different protagonist than Simon. She is more cynical, has a harder exterior to get past, and can be kind of mean sometimes. I found the internal conflict she was dealing with to be interesting, such as her insecurity of coming from a less well-off family than her peers and her inconveniently timed romantic feelings for a friend. I think her character development with her family was good, and I would have liked to see more focus on it in the story! I was intrigued by her absent father and mom’s current boyfriend and would have liked to see more development of these two aspects of her life in the book.
As for relatability, I really appreciated the depiction of a friend group dynamic. It reminded me a lot of the friend group I had in high school - ESPECIALLy how a lot of people in the group end up being gay LOL. I was honestly waiting for that revelation at the end of SVTHSA. Within the first 20 or so pages of this book, you find out that Leah is bisexual! How cool is that! Another queer read!
I will say Albertalli’s depiction of senior year didn’t quite hit it on the nose for me. It did seem that Leah realized the weight of saying these goodbyes as she and her friends went off to college, but one thing I think was missing was more talk about what anybody was going to be majoring in. I mean, deciding on what my whole future would be based on and stuff? That scared the poop out of me. It still does. I didn’t feel that with Leah’s story. But maybe she just has life way more figured out than I do LOL.
All in all, Albertalli is one of my favorite authors now! She has consistently put out work that I really eat up in no time and end up wishing there was more of. I highly recommend all her works. I’m excited for her upcoming novel What If It’s Us, written in collaboration with Adam Silvera!
[June 4, 2018]
This book has many wonderful components I am beginning to associate with Becky Albertalli: funny narrator, easy-to-read writing style, relatable and diverse characters, humor and fun balanced skillfully with heavier real life issues.
If you read and loved SVTHSA, I think you will also love this book! It was really great seeing all the characters I know and love again, but through the eyes of a new narrator.
Leah is a very different protagonist than Simon. She is more cynical, has a harder exterior to get past, and can be kind of mean sometimes. I found the internal conflict she was dealing with to be interesting, such as her insecurity of coming from a less well-off family than her peers and her inconveniently timed romantic feelings for a friend. I think her character development with her family was good, and I would have liked to see more focus on it in the story! I was intrigued by her absent father and mom’s current boyfriend and would have liked to see more development of these two aspects of her life in the book.
As for relatability, I really appreciated the depiction of a friend group dynamic. It reminded me a lot of the friend group I had in high school - ESPECIALLy how a lot of people in the group end up being gay LOL. I was honestly waiting for that revelation at the end of SVTHSA. Within the first 20 or so pages of this book, you find out that Leah is bisexual! How cool is that! Another queer read!
I will say Albertalli’s depiction of senior year didn’t quite hit it on the nose for me. It did seem that Leah realized the weight of saying these goodbyes as she and her friends went off to college, but one thing I think was missing was more talk about what anybody was going to be majoring in. I mean, deciding on what my whole future would be based on and stuff? That scared the poop out of me. It still does. I didn’t feel that with Leah’s story. But maybe she just has life way more figured out than I do LOL.
All in all, Albertalli is one of my favorite authors now! She has consistently put out work that I really eat up in no time and end up wishing there was more of. I highly recommend all her works. I’m excited for her upcoming novel What If It’s Us, written in collaboration with Adam Silvera!
A bittersweet goodbye to a memorable set of characters.
This benefited from having just seen Love, Simon, and being able to picture the two charming actresses who play Leah and Abby. Otherwise I had similar problems as with Simon - these seem like nice kids and their dilemmas and thoughts/feelings ring true for being teenagers, but it doesn't LAND emotionally for me. But like the movie, I'm glad they exist for the right people at the right stage of life.
I didn’t love it as much as Simon vs the Homo Sapien’s Agenda, even though it was all the same characters. I guess I just didn’t buy the relationship between Leah and Abby as genuine. It was still ok.
3.5 liked it, but not as good as Simon vs the homosapiens agenda
My first Becky Albertalli book, and she’s definitely a new favourite!
Positive aspects:
I like how slowly and organically the story develops. There’s degrees of high school drama of course, but it feels completely realistic. The style is fluid and practically reads itself, the relationships are multidimensional and teenagers are being funny, immature, talented, awkward, flawed, loveable teenagers.
Negative aspects:
The ending is extremely rushed and a little too open for my taste. I think some of Leah‘s actions need to be considered with a critical eye, but I think the average reader is mature enough to know that just because a likeable protagonist does something, that doesn’t automatically make it right.
Overall, it was a sweet and quick read (under 24h), and I absolutely recommend it.
It’s strange to say because it makes me realise how rare that is, but this book actually made me feel like I was the target audience - a nerdy queer idiot with big emotions and a big mouth.
Positive aspects:
I like how slowly and organically the story develops. There’s degrees of high school drama of course, but it feels completely realistic. The style is fluid and practically reads itself, the relationships are multidimensional and teenagers are being funny, immature, talented, awkward, flawed, loveable teenagers.
Negative aspects:
The ending is extremely rushed and a little too open for my taste. I think some of Leah‘s actions need to be considered with a critical eye, but I think the average reader is mature enough to know that just because a likeable protagonist does something, that doesn’t automatically make it right.
Overall, it was a sweet and quick read (under 24h), and I absolutely recommend it.
It’s strange to say because it makes me realise how rare that is, but this book actually made me feel like I was the target audience - a nerdy queer idiot with big emotions and a big mouth.