Reviews with content warning for Bullying - Always the Almost

Always the Almost was a contemporary fiction romantic drama about a trans boy (he/him) who loves piano and has just recently come out of the closet, only to be dumped by his boyfriend. This is a lighthearted and emotional coming of age story that doubles as a gorgeous love letter to classical piano music.

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_moonsongenthusiast_'s review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful 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? N/A

3.75

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space_pancake's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted relaxing

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

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mel_muses's review against another edition

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3.5

"Finding yourself, in spite of everyone else."

Thank you to Wednesday Books for providing me with an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

I loved a lot of things about this book, but I think what gets me the most is how YA it feels. I love a lot of things about queer YA: the messy characters, self-discovery, understanding of others, the unparalleled feeling of joy. But I think the true heart of why it means so much and why it is a genre that feels like home is that queer YA authors pour so much love into their books. And that is certainly true for Always the Almost.

So, what's it about? Always the Almost follows Miles, a pianist who's just come out as a trans guy to his friends and family. When New Year's comes around, he finds himself missing his ex-boyfriend, who broke up with Miles after he came out. Logically, as any (un)reasonable teenager would, Miles makes a resolution to win his ex back. He also decides that this year will be the time he beats his insufferable piano rival. Then when Miles comes back to school following winter break, he meets the new kid in town, Eric. Eric is everything Shane (the ex) was not. He's comfortably queer, understanding, intuitive, and cute in an entirely different way. He makes Miles feel things.

Always the Almost is a story about all those typical queer YA feelings; it's about feeling as if everything you do almost enough, but not quite there — like you can never truly be yourself. And while I am not trans myself, just this base feeling of always having to reach farther is something I can painfully relate to. And it also really warms my heart to think about all the trans kids who might pick up this book and see themselves in it — who might relate to Miles even more than I did.

I loved the progression of Miles' music throughout the book. I honestly felt Miles rise up to the challenge, and struggle to find himself in his piano playing. I loved watching his understanding and self-discovery influence his passion. It's such a real, beautiful thing to let your personality seep into your hobbies and passions.

I absolutely adored Eric. He was so understanding and caring, and he always knew what to say — or at least he always clarified. I loved his development as the love interest and supporting character for Miles' journey. Although I gotta say that I was not a big fan of Miles' friends. Maybe they reminded me too much of people I know in real life, or maybe they were just simply a lil too messy for even my messy heart. But I did really appreciate their respective life experiences and character arcs. They felt real, and they weren't perfect, but I could tell they cared. Maybe they weren't always the best friends to Miles, but we've all got our own problems to deal with.

And Miles. Oh, Miles. He made so many mistakes. Like, mistakes that I saw coming chapters ahead and wanted to just grip him by the shoulders and yell at him for. But that's kinda why I'm reading, isn't it? To see him mess up and come back from it. To see the "epic highs and lows" of... piano?? competitions??? (ok sorry, I'll stop now) But anyway I really liked him as a person and a protagonist, messy in everything he is.

Always the Almost is so joyful. It's a story of a gay trans guy. A story of a piano player. A story of a true teenager. It's a story about messing up and finding love and messing up again and coming back and doing it again, and again, and again. It's a story about understanding others as well as yourself. It's a warm hug to queer YA as a genre, and a read to make you smile. It's happiness in the face of darker moments. It's joy.

Content Warnings: transphobia, deadnaming, homophobia, bullying, mentions of racism, infidelity (kiss), gender dysphoria

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yasidiaz's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Miles Jacobson has two goals this New Year: 1. Get back with his ex-boyfriend 2. Finally beat his rival at the Midwest's biggest piano competition. But when he gets close to Eric Mendez, a new student from Seattle, who is all soft around the edges and asks his pronouns he questions all he knows about love. Not only that, but his new piano instructor has him question all he knew about piano as well. This new year might not go the way he expected.

When I first read the summary of this book I thought, this is not my favorite trope but something about these characters was calling me. The whole trope of trying to get back with an ex who obviously does not want to is oftentimes a pet peeve of mine. At points, it was true here as well, however, I found myself loving both Miles and Eric too much. Yeah, was Miles a bellend at times and I wanted to put some sense on that head of his? Sure, but that has been true for most of my friends at some point.

And honestly, that felt refreshing. Miles is not perfect and he is not meant to be perfect. He is a teenager who has recently come out of the closet and is trying to live his life authentically as a trans man. All while practicing for one of the biggest piano competitions and dealing with the usual teen angst. Of course the man would not have everything figured out.

What matters is that he grows from this and he does. He becomes a better pianist, a better person, and overall, secure in his own skin. Just as the author promises in the first author’s note, this is a story filled with queer joy, trans joy. And he truly delivered, because this book filled me with so much joy.

Overall, the whole thing with Miles and his ex drew back the story a bit for me and it’s the main reason why I am not rating this higher, however, it didn’t stop me from enjoying and loving everything else. If you can get past it just like I did I seriously recommend this book. It’s so sweet and Eric is an absolute angel. He is the best character along with Stefania (Miles’ new piano instructor) and I adore them for different reasons. Pick this up if you want some trans joy in your life.

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dogoodwithbooks's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a free e-ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Miles Jacobsen finds himself on New Year’s with two things in mind: finally winning the Tri-State Piano Competition and getting back together with his ex-boyfriend, Shane. Then comes in Eric Mendez, who seems to really like Miles for who he is. After a friendship turns into something more after a Valentine’s Day couples party, Miles finds himself wondering

Always the Almost is a book full of joy. Underhill’s writing definitely translates to such beautiful imagery of everything from piano to finding yourself to falling in love. While this book deals with darker topics and not everything is sunshine and rainbows, I think that Underhill really does a great job with illustrating queer joy shown in Miles’ and Eric’s character development.

Miles and Eric’s relationship, for me, was really the star of the show. From the moment you see Miles and Eric first meeting each other, I knew that Eric was perfect for Miles. The way he genuinely cares about Miles throughout the book is prominent and really allows for Miles to grow in finding himself. I really felt for these characters and I continually kept rooting for them throughout the book.

I cannot wait for people to read Always the Almost next year. If you are looking for a heartfelt YA novel about falling in love while finding yourself, you are going to love Always the Almost.

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cortanasreadingnook's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

CWs: Transphobia, Body Dysmorphia, Binding, Racism, Misgendering, and Cyber Bullying

This YA queer rom-com book takes us through the story of Miles Jacobson, a trans boy who is also a pianist as he navigates growing into his self-identity and winning regionals. It has great rep about trans mcs and also traverses through their experiences. The writing was strong as it navigated through each of the characters’ experience as queer individuals in the world. I expected a really endearing and adorable gay story but it started to go downhill due to all the emotional cheating going on. Friendship drama side, it’s NOT cute and I will NOT EVER tolerate infidelity no matter how much justification can be said. I personally don’t recommend this book.

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evelynyle_88's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.0

Huft.. finally I managed myself to finish this book. Personally, to me... this book is so good and wholesome. But, there's something why I can't give Always The Almost a full five stars because of the triggers and the contents; somehow got me and triggered me so much; made me so slow in the process of reading this book.

The conflicts in this book are somehow also frustrating (don't judge me because this is my opinion). But, as a whole story, I'm not hating it because it still have its cute yet wholesome factor. Just sometimes... to put how the MC makes you want to smack their heads with something because you see the worst decision they made.. it was upsetting me. Thank God the ending is sweet and do its justice.

Thank you, Edward for an awesome story you told through Miles Jacobson and Eric Mendez. Also... can't wait for your next book! This Day Changes Everything, let's go!

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