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apinosilva's review against another edition
4.0
I picked up this read after following some discussion on instagram discussing how it was a "Sex Education" inspired tale featuring a queer girl lead who is a scientist. I like to read YA to connect with my youth, and was curious how a book that centered a drug that manipulated attraction would handle discussions of consent.
The main character Caro was difficult for a majority of the book, and most frustratingly, very self-deprecating. I work with pre-teens and teenagers, and honestly, a lot of young girls act this way; constantly hating on themselves, and taking extreme measures to increase their attraction. As an adult reader, I appreciated Steven's use of an extreme drug as a metaphor for the very real extreme measures girls take to change themselves.
In that same vein, using the drugs as a metaphor provided a great vehicle to discuss consent. Can anyone consent if they are mesmerized by the influence of a drug? Of course not! I appreciated how the main character and her friends had this frank discussion, and that the main character held herself accountable.
While I liked the surprise queer coupling in the end, it felt a little rushed, and I would have preferred that the writer would have spent more time developing this climax, rather than keeping the majority of her big discovery in the background. Figuring out you're queer is a big deal, and even if your love interest was already in your life. I would have loved 40% less discussion of pinning after boys, and just a bit more on falling in love with your best friend. My two cents!
Overall, a fun, funny, and smart journey into the mind of a hopeless romantic teenager with an insatiable hunger for big questions. Great dialogue around consent, and the complexities of consent in romantic and platonic friendships, which is a great inclusion for a book catered to young adults.
the_wonky_librarian's review against another edition
4.0
Oh how I wish I’d read the other reviews before selecting this book because then I’d have realised it is A SAMPLER!
I’m very frustrated which is a compliment because I really want to read more. Any protagonist who describes her inner thighs as “ground beef steak” following an impromptu 2 mile sprint is a character I can spend more time with.
The premise is curious and I’d like to see how the notion of an intoxicating pheromone drug plays out. The sample I’ve read is also gloriously crass - it promises young women depicted honestly. My rating is based on the sample.
Reviewed for Netgalley.co.uk
I’m very frustrated which is a compliment because I really want to read more. Any protagonist who describes her inner thighs as “ground beef steak” following an impromptu 2 mile sprint is a character I can spend more time with.
The premise is curious and I’d like to see how the notion of an intoxicating pheromone drug plays out. The sample I’ve read is also gloriously crass - it promises young women depicted honestly. My rating is based on the sample.
Reviewed for Netgalley.co.uk
cant_stop_reading's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
chiaralou's review against another edition
3.0
This was so so bad but also a highly enjoyable read. For the most part, it was ridiculous but in a fun way (the entire premise of Caro taking random pills to increase her pheromones was so weird but funny).
The book was overall just not very coherent. The writing style was trying to be hip and cool way too much and it really wasn't working for me. I hate when books incorporate so much internet slang.
The friendship between Keiko, Gabriela and Caro fell a bit flat to me, it didn't really come through why they're actually friends. Also I just didn't vibe with Gabriela's characterisation, Caro was constantly talking about how Gabriela put her friends above anything but it really wasn't reflected in the way she acted.
The romance between Caro and Keiko started a bit too late for me. It just randomly started happening in the middle of the book with no signs beforehand that there could be romantic feelings there. Plus Keiko did act really self-obsessed at the beginning and then changed out of nowhere and it just wasn't addressed again. I have to admit I did really like the ending though, I was really rooting for Caro and Keiko!
Haruki was surprisingly one of the best characters for me, he seemed really three-dimensional and way more coherent than most other characters.
I'm usually a big fan of the serious/goofy combination in couples but it just didn't work with Caro's dads for me. Dad was way too stern and serious at all times and Vati was way too goofy and also lowkey really inappropriate with his teenage daughter? Germans do have boundaries as well actually. And I just didn't like his random German expressions, it was way overdone and just not funny.
But all that was mostly bad in a fun way. There were a few things that did genuinely bother me. I just don't think storylines about adopted children looking for their birth parents need to be combined with those children having gay parents. If done with more nuance, it could have been a good storyline, but saying Caro feels loved by her dads is just not enough to make it not have a weird connotation. Plus the whole tragic backstory was just really unnecessary.
And the Harry Potter references always punched me a bit in the gut. Apart from the fact that I don't think it's great to include HP references in a queer book (and this wasn't released 10 years ago, it's relatively new), it was also just way overdone.
But overall still an enjoyable, silly read with some redeeming (albeit a bit overdone and clichéd) scenes.
The book was overall just not very coherent. The writing style was trying to be hip and cool way too much and it really wasn't working for me. I hate when books incorporate so much internet slang.
The friendship between Keiko, Gabriela and Caro fell a bit flat to me, it didn't really come through why they're actually friends. Also I just didn't vibe with Gabriela's characterisation, Caro was constantly talking about how Gabriela put her friends above anything but it really wasn't reflected in the way she acted.
The romance between Caro and Keiko started a bit too late for me. It just randomly started happening in the middle of the book with no signs beforehand that there could be romantic feelings there. Plus Keiko did act really self-obsessed at the beginning and then changed out of nowhere and it just wasn't addressed again. I have to admit I did really like the ending though, I was really rooting for Caro and Keiko!
Haruki was surprisingly one of the best characters for me, he seemed really three-dimensional and way more coherent than most other characters.
I'm usually a big fan of the serious/goofy combination in couples but it just didn't work with Caro's dads for me. Dad was way too stern and serious at all times and Vati was way too goofy and also lowkey really inappropriate with his teenage daughter? Germans do have boundaries as well actually. And I just didn't like his random German expressions, it was way overdone and just not funny.
But all that was mostly bad in a fun way. There were a few things that did genuinely bother me. I just don't think storylines about adopted children looking for their birth parents need to be combined with those children having gay parents. If done with more nuance, it could have been a good storyline, but saying Caro feels loved by her dads is just not enough to make it not have a weird connotation. Plus the whole tragic backstory was just really unnecessary.
And the Harry Potter references always punched me a bit in the gut. Apart from the fact that I don't think it's great to include HP references in a queer book (and this wasn't released 10 years ago, it's relatively new), it was also just way overdone.
But overall still an enjoyable, silly read with some redeeming (albeit a bit overdone and clichéd) scenes.
maddandroid's review against another edition
4.0
Enjoyed this quite a bit, I love a book about a nerd especially a science nerd. The physics parts were interesting. The way that
Spoiler
the pill changed how everyone saw Caro was handled really well. I loved the scene at the game where she caused chaos. Also the stuff about consent was interesting, usually you wouldn't think that doing something to yourself to make you more appealing to sexual partners would involve their consent. Is it moral to have a sex pill?kittypdq's review against another edition
3.0
I read this book thinking it was the OTHER Love Hypothesis, by Ali Hazelwood. Hah. It was a cute book, for what it was. I’m not sure I fully bought into the ending. But an entertaining little story about friendship, and love and what it is and why and how it happens.
As an aside, the concepts of the Great Filter and the Fermi Paradox were briefly discussed, which were much more fleshed out themes of the book Bewilderment, by Richard Powers, which I also recently read. Funny how I seem to accidentally read books with a common thread.
As an aside, the concepts of the Great Filter and the Fermi Paradox were briefly discussed, which were much more fleshed out themes of the book Bewilderment, by Richard Powers, which I also recently read. Funny how I seem to accidentally read books with a common thread.
lazofiaczyta's review against another edition
2.0
Znalazłam na Lubimy Czytać w jednej z recenzji idealnie pasujące określenie opisujące moje odczucia co do tej książki - zażenowana, zdziwiona, zawiedziona. Cieszę się, że ją już skończyłam i mogę zapomnieć o niej. Ogrom żenujących i durnych żartów i sytuacji przytłoczył nieliczną ilość rzeczy, które mi się podobały. Mam wrażenie, że ta książka to młodzieżówka z lat 2010 tylko ubrana w bardziej nowoczesne (współczesne) szaty. Ogólne przesłanie niegłupie, ale sposób przekazania pozostawia bardzo wiele do życzenia.
bookbrowsingblog's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
This was such a fun, quick read! I did not expect the slightly "fantastical' twist at all, but it definitely added an interesting element to the story and brought up great discussions about confidence and being yourself.
The characters were generally well developed, but often felt a bit stereotypical in their personas. Overall they were realtable and fun to read about!
My only complaint is that this book is marketed as LGBTQ+, but for at least 70% of the book there is almost no indication of the main character being LGBTQ+. I appreciated the side characters having a lot of representation, but it did feel the book had been a little mis-sold. It also meant when s relationship did come about it was very rushed and then didn't feel overly authentic.
Overall an enjoyable read which I'd recommend if you need a lightweight contemporary!
This was such a fun, quick read! I did not expect the slightly "fantastical' twist at all, but it definitely added an interesting element to the story and brought up great discussions about confidence and being yourself.
The characters were generally well developed, but often felt a bit stereotypical in their personas. Overall they were realtable and fun to read about!
My only complaint is that this book is marketed as LGBTQ+, but for at least 70% of the book there is almost no indication of the main character being LGBTQ+. I appreciated the side characters having a lot of representation, but it did feel the book had been a little mis-sold. It also meant when s relationship did come about it was very rushed and then didn't feel overly authentic.
Overall an enjoyable read which I'd recommend if you need a lightweight contemporary!