Reviews

If You Still Recognise Me by Cynthia So

Only show reviews with written explanations

katiebean's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful 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

So so sweet, this gave me incredibly tender fondness for my cringe 18 year old fandom self.

girlreading's review against another edition

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4.0

A tender and emotional read that beautifully weaves together a nuanced and multilayered story of friendship, family, cultural identity, love, abusive relationships, self discovery, sexual identity and gender expression.

TW: racism, homophobia, abusive relationship

britt_zonnebloempit's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I don't know what it is about books written in the present tense, but they just feel SO awkward to me. Combined with a whiny Elsie (who makes some pretty weird decisions without her friend's consent), it made it difficult for me to get into the book at first, but the more the story came into being (and the more we got of Joan) the more I enjoyed it.
I loved the bonding moment with her uncle! I loved the relationship with her family, and how most of their love seemed to revolve around food.
Side note, the fanfiction parts were super relatable and I loved those!

nauryputs's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted 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

4.0

cherryswift's review against another edition

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5.0

I know a lot of people recommend this as a sapphic Heartstopper and sure, they both have teen LGBTQ+ characters and take place in the UK but this is more or less where the similarities end. To say this is a wlw version of Heartstopper would be taking away from how unique and amazing this story is all on its own.

I really loved how much representation this book had and all the different types of it. The characters were built really well and I'm happy this book covered different types of queer experiences: realizing you're queer, knowing your identity but being unable to share it with others... and included so much diversity in terms of race, gender identity and sexuality. I'm really happy there was an overall positive attitude and acceptance towards the LGBTQ+ community and I loved Elsie's personal journey into becoming more visibly involved with it. I was happy that she was able to feel more and more seen for who she was as the novel went on.

Honestly this might be one of the best feel-good sapphic books out there.

EDIT: I have forgotten to mention this in my original review but it was so great to see the inclusive language the author used. They wouldn't really use gendered pronouns for any person who hasn't already established/shared their gender identity and I personally feel like it showed how easy it is not to assume someone's gender OR misgender them. I'm very grateful for this book!