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hntodd's review against another edition
3.0
I'll give this book three stars for the first 2/3 of the book or so. After Ruby and Morgan have their moment at the party it starts going downhill. Morgan becomes more and more insufferable and Ruby's character suddenly changes. I couldn't even finish the book because of how bad Morgan become. She was so mean to Ruby despite knowing she didn't want to come out beforehand. Ruby doesn't have accepting parents like Morgan does. I hate the "everyone needs to be out because I am" mindset she has and how awful she is about it. I also hate how fast they fall in love, it's cliché and doesn't make any sense. Disappointed, especially because I listened to 7 hours of the audio book already when it started going downhill.
joanna1905's review against another edition
3.0
This was cute and I did really enjoy it! It had a solid premise that worked as a good back drop for a romance. The plot about Megan getting kicked out of school was sad but also gave voice to a real issue queer kids face. I liked the athlete and pageant queen/mechanic thing, it was a cute dynamic.
I think my one gripe with this book that kept it from getting a higher rating was the whole plot about Megan wanting Ruby to be out, her lack of consideration for Ruby’s situation was really frustrating and despite what Megan says she did in fact out Ruby. Megan eventually realises she was in the wrong but it did feel a little too late for me, particularly when it ended with Megan getting what she wanted anyway. I think plots with queer teenagers being too militant about queerness can work really well, because it reflects a real issue within the community, but this book just didn’t execute it quiet well enough (particularly compared to something like Margo Zimmerman Gets the Girl).
All in all it was a cute read, it dealt with some serious issues and did a fairly good job of it.
I think my one gripe with this book that kept it from getting a higher rating was the whole plot about Megan wanting Ruby to be out, her lack of consideration for Ruby’s situation was really frustrating and despite what Megan says she did in fact out Ruby. Megan eventually realises she was in the wrong but it did feel a little too late for me, particularly when it ended with Megan getting what she wanted anyway. I think plots with queer teenagers being too militant about queerness can work really well, because it reflects a real issue within the community, but this book just didn’t execute it quiet well enough (particularly compared to something like Margo Zimmerman Gets the Girl).
All in all it was a cute read, it dealt with some serious issues and did a fairly good job of it.
shaunie991's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars rounded to 5.
Good writing and narration. Believable story. Pleasantly queer in every way. Relavent. Could easily see this as a B-rated movie.
Good writing and narration. Believable story. Pleasantly queer in every way. Relavent. Could easily see this as a B-rated movie.
lbarsk's review
4.0
Read this very fast, which meant that I found it engrossing and I wanted to see what happened with each character. The will-they-won’t-they evolving chemistry between Morgan and Ruby was a great hook, though there were several times when I was like LADIES JUST COMMUNICATE. PLEASE.
One aspect I particularly liked was Morgan’s journey with what “activism” can mean, and how she can give back to her local queer community in a way that’s realistic and achievable instead of like, “let’s sue the NFL,” which she does suggest in a moment of anger. I think if I had read this as a teen it would’ve definitely inspired me to think about my own high school relationship with volunteering and making a difference. I did a TON of volunteering as a Girl Scout, later a member of the NHS, as a participant in the regional Jewish youth group NFTY, but I’m not sure I ever examined it as in-depth as Morgan does in this book!
I think the one thing bugging me most about the book was actually Morgan’s family — Ruby goes through A LOT with her mom and her ex-stepfather Billy who’s the real parent in her life (we LOVE Billy in this house! he was giving Bi Adult energy but that’s not my call now is it haha…), and it’s fleshed out really strongly. Morgan also goes through a lot with her parents, but it seems like her brother… kind of does the emotional lifting *for* Morgan’s parents? I would’ve liked to see the resolution of Morgan’s family story on the page instead of off-screen and just kind of resolved positively by the time we get to the epilogue.
All in all, though, a solid wlw young adult novel that I would’ve really enjoyed as a teen and that I did really enjoy as an adult. I also think that its many portrayals of what “being out” means and how that can differ for varying people is REALLY important, especially for a young audience!
One aspect I particularly liked was Morgan’s journey with what “activism” can mean, and how she can give back to her local queer community in a way that’s realistic and achievable instead of like, “let’s sue the NFL,” which she does suggest in a moment of anger. I think if I had read this as a teen it would’ve definitely inspired me to think about my own high school relationship with volunteering and making a difference. I did a TON of volunteering as a Girl Scout, later a member of the NHS, as a participant in the regional Jewish youth group NFTY, but I’m not sure I ever examined it as in-depth as Morgan does in this book!
I think the one thing bugging me most about the book was actually Morgan’s family — Ruby goes through A LOT with her mom and her ex-stepfather Billy who’s the real parent in her life (we LOVE Billy in this house! he was giving Bi Adult energy but that’s not my call now is it haha…), and it’s fleshed out really strongly. Morgan also goes through a lot with her parents, but it seems like her brother… kind of does the emotional lifting *for* Morgan’s parents? I would’ve liked to see the resolution of Morgan’s family story on the page instead of off-screen and just kind of resolved positively by the time we get to the epilogue.
All in all, though, a solid wlw young adult novel that I would’ve really enjoyed as a teen and that I did really enjoy as an adult. I also think that its many portrayals of what “being out” means and how that can differ for varying people is REALLY important, especially for a young audience!
courtney_reads_stories's review against another edition
3.5
This was an enjoyable enough read, but it was also just… fine. Not a ton of character development and overall felt underdeveloped to me.
thefish14's review against another edition
5.0
AHHHH THIS BOOKS ENDING WAS SO PERFECTLY GAY
i really enjoyed it but didn’t love the similarities to a young royals episode that was very rage inducing for me but otherwise great and was exactly what i was looking for
i really enjoyed it but didn’t love the similarities to a young royals episode that was very rage inducing for me but otherwise great and was exactly what i was looking for
4rtpop's review against another edition
3.0
⭐️3
I honestly don’t know how to feel about this book.
I LOVE the cover and I bought it because one of my teachers recommended it to me when I asked her for her favourite books with sapphic representation^^
Personally, I liked the characters ( especially Ruby <3) although I must say they annoyed me pretty often. In one moment, they argued and got mad at each other for using the wrong words, and literally a half chapter later, everything was okay??? I was quite confused tbh xD Also, Megan was a bit immature in my opinion but that might’ve been the whole point, I don’t know. I wish we would get to know them more, especially about their past, and what made them act like they did.
The book itself was written in a nice, but also quite cheesy way, which sometimes made me cringe but I eventually got used to it.
Their story was pretty cute, both MCs grew as people and in the end, they came to a compromise. Even though the whole conflict, which basically was Megan forcing Ruby to come out, was quite toxic… The main issue was that they both just lacked communication skills lmao
I’d say it was a good *romance* book, because that was basically the whole plot.
Either way, for some reason, I still liked it! It was nice to read something more positive.
It is not a book everybody MUST read, but it’s okay, and if you like cheesy romance, I think this is for you :)
I honestly don’t know how to feel about this book.
I LOVE the cover and I bought it because one of my teachers recommended it to me when I asked her for her favourite books with sapphic representation^^
Personally, I liked the characters ( especially Ruby <3) although I must say they annoyed me pretty often. In one moment, they argued and got mad at each other for using the wrong words, and literally a half chapter later, everything was okay??? I was quite confused tbh xD Also, Megan was a bit immature in my opinion but that might’ve been the whole point, I don’t know. I wish we would get to know them more, especially about their past, and what made them act like they did.
The book itself was written in a nice, but also quite cheesy way, which sometimes made me cringe but I eventually got used to it.
Their story was pretty cute, both MCs grew as people and in the end, they came to a compromise. Even though the whole conflict, which basically was Megan forcing Ruby to come out, was quite toxic… The main issue was that they both just lacked communication skills lmao
I’d say it was a good *romance* book, because that was basically the whole plot.
Either way, for some reason, I still liked it! It was nice to read something more positive.
It is not a book everybody MUST read, but it’s okay, and if you like cheesy romance, I think this is for you :)
eforw's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
jennakarol's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
graveyardsierra's review against another edition
3.0
I tend to read a lot of YA books. (Although I'm 30.) - But this was def. very YA.
The writing was not super descriptive, it was was a super quick read. And a bit predictable at times.
I wasn't a huge fan of Ruby. It was very obvious it was written as the "i'm not like other girls" kinda trope. Where she works on cars, but shes also super pretty?
The grand gesture speech was predictable. Because it's like every rom com has a like plot line you follow. It's like towards the end oh no they fight, and then theres some grand gesture and everything is great. And they get back together and it's a good ending.
I predicted that Ruby was gonna make her pageant speech about Morgan and I was right.
tldr: All in all it was a good book, but not my fave. Very quick, not super descriptive language, simple dialogue and plot. It was cute but predictable.
The writing was not super descriptive, it was was a super quick read. And a bit predictable at times.
I wasn't a huge fan of Ruby. It was very obvious it was written as the "i'm not like other girls" kinda trope. Where she works on cars, but shes also super pretty?
The grand gesture speech was predictable. Because it's like every rom com has a like plot line you follow. It's like towards the end oh no they fight, and then theres some grand gesture and everything is great. And they get back together and it's a good ending.
I predicted that Ruby was gonna make her pageant speech about Morgan and I was right.
tldr: All in all it was a good book, but not my fave. Very quick, not super descriptive language, simple dialogue and plot. It was cute but predictable.