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colorcrystals'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: Alcohol, Homophobia, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Grief, and Abandonment
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Cursing
Minor: Sexual content, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent
careinthelibrary's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Homophobia
Moderate: Racism, Child abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Violence, Physical abuse, Alcohol, and Bullying
cecireads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Homophobia, Alcohol, Outing, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts
lim's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Outing
Minor: Alcohol, Bullying, and Physical abuse
lauravreads'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
4.5
This book is fast-paced, hilarious, inspiring, and heartwarming. While Julian’s relationship with Mat is a major focal point in the novel, so is his relationship with his friends and his family. I love it when romance includes a well-rounded support system rather than the protagonist relying solely on the love interest. Julian is an easy protagonist to love, I was rooting for him the entire novel.
This novel hit a lot of heavy topics, in particular, abusive parents. Graza Villa did a great job in his portrayal of the relationship a child/young adult has with an emotionally and physically abusive parent. I love that Julian was able to stand up for himself and that his facility members who were bystanders to the abuse took accountability and made an effort to change and provide a safe space for Julian.
Graphic: Outing, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Abandonment, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Alcohol, Bullying, Racism, and Suicidal thoughts
ladysmartypants's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Homophobia, Outing, Physical abuse, Violence, and Alcohol
parkyparkpark'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
4.5
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Homophobia, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Sexual content and Abandonment
Minor: Death of parent, Alcohol, and Suicidal thoughts
cheybrary'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
4.0
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Alcohol
Minor: Death of parent
elenamarmiroli's review against another edition
- 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? N/A
2.5
Inoltre, essendo ambientata durante l'ultimo di un high school americana, parte delle esperienze narrate non riescono neanche a portare una mia nostalgia riguardo ad esse.
Cosa positiva è come la lingua spagnola sia integrata e mescolata a quella inglese in maniera organica, pretendo di mostrare un po' di più il background culturale del protagonista.
Graphic: Alcohol, Racial slurs, Outing, Homophobia, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Bullying and Racism
paperbrownies'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? No
3.75
- m|m
- latinx-american gay mc, vietnamese-american gay li, and other queer side characters (gay, lesbian, bisexual and pansexual characters)
" a life fifteen hundred miles away from what’s felt like continual gray and where i can finally be in the sun "
this book was so good??!!!!
idk how to write this review so i'll just make a list of everything that i enjoyed in the book (even though there's not much that i did not enjoy in the book (': )
i. the writing: it's not poetic, it's not fancy it's conversational in such a beautiful way that each sentence presents to us exactly what the character is feeling and i think the compactness yet the fluidity of it is what caught my eye the most!! also the blend of spanish and english was so seamlessly placed into the story, it never posed a problem for non-spanish speakers (like me)!!
ii. exploration of love and joy: there was so much love and joy, there is the platonic love shared by jules' friends (the friendship is. SO. well. written), the love shared between siblings (xo and jules had me sobbing), the joy shared over making a simple meal, the joy that comes when people come together, the joy that comes with owning your life, and being able to live your truth, it was beautiful!!
iii. the simplicity of the story!! we see jules and his friends hitting the beach after school or indulge in activities that were fun yet did not cost much and i think i related to that a lot bc when i was in school me and my friends would always look out for those little adventures, moments that i still treasure and i think that was something the author once again beautifully captured!!
iv. i was a bit skeptical about the twitter crush and how everything would play out since the relationship had to be mostly long distanced but god was i wrong. mat and jules share something that is so precious and tender, i loved reading about them!!!
v. the stan culture mentioned in the pages of the book was absolutely spot on!!
the book deals with some heavy topics and important discussions surrounding what it means to be both queer and latinx, to belong to a community that is so prejudiced against homophobia, the author does an excellent job at deftly handling all of it without leaving space for even a minor slip up!!
a coming-of-age novel written with so much emotion, love and healing, i 100% recommend this book to you!!
lastly the author's note was something that made me very emotional; it ends saying, "so, as the writer of the words that form this journey, i ask you to do me a favor and check in with yourself before starting. and i want you to know that it’s okay if you’re not ready for this book yet. it’s okay if you never are. no hard feelings. te lo prometo y te quiero." *sobs* i cant wait to read more of their work!!
Graphic: Abandonment, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Outing, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Alcohol, Outing, and Physical abuse