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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
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
Thank you to @TBRAndBeyondTours, the publisher and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
CeCe Ross is one half of the internet famous pair #Cevie. But when Silvie breaks up with her, CeCe is devastated. She's lost her first love and worries she'll lose her followers as well. Then she meets Josh, new boy in town trying to make his way into the music world. Josh is not a social media person and CeCe doesn't want him to know she's internet famous just yet. But when her secrets catch up to her, CeCe is left to confront the hazy border of private vs public life, and figure out what fights are worth staking your reputation on.
This book was so freaking cute! Every time I picked it up, I didn't want to put it down and the pages would whiz by. I really hope this book helps fight bi erasure in all its forms. It had such a strong message of bi visibility and not assuming people in opposite gender relationships are straight.
Follow Your Arrow is such a timely novel, especially with how popular social media influencers have become. The app in this book sounds very similar to Instagram, and while I'm part of the small subset called Bookstagram, this book was so easy to relate to.
CeCe is a disaster bisexual and I love her. She's faced a lot of unresolved childhood trauma due to how her father left her family and it is addressed a bit in the story. There were so many causes close to CeCe's heart, yet she was hesitant to make waves due to the above trauma. Whenever CeCe would blame herself for her father's actions I wanted to give her the biggest hug and be like please no lil babe you are an angel.
I loved CeCe's friendship with Josh that slowly edged into more. It was so freaking cute and I loved them. I really appreciated that we also see CeCe and Silvie begin to reconcile and become friends again after their breakup. There's also several other queer side characters, as the GSA (Gender and Sexuality Alliance) is in charge of planning prom. The ending of this was so freaking cute and I definitely had some happy tears.
CeCe Ross is one half of the internet famous pair #Cevie. But when Silvie breaks up with her, CeCe is devastated. She's lost her first love and worries she'll lose her followers as well. Then she meets Josh, new boy in town trying to make his way into the music world. Josh is not a social media person and CeCe doesn't want him to know she's internet famous just yet. But when her secrets catch up to her, CeCe is left to confront the hazy border of private vs public life, and figure out what fights are worth staking your reputation on.
This book was so freaking cute! Every time I picked it up, I didn't want to put it down and the pages would whiz by. I really hope this book helps fight bi erasure in all its forms. It had such a strong message of bi visibility and not assuming people in opposite gender relationships are straight.
Follow Your Arrow is such a timely novel, especially with how popular social media influencers have become. The app in this book sounds very similar to Instagram, and while I'm part of the small subset called Bookstagram, this book was so easy to relate to.
CeCe is a disaster bisexual and I love her. She's faced a lot of unresolved childhood trauma due to how her father left her family and it is addressed a bit in the story. There were so many causes close to CeCe's heart, yet she was hesitant to make waves due to the above trauma. Whenever CeCe would blame herself for her father's actions I wanted to give her the biggest hug and be like please no lil babe you are an angel.
I loved CeCe's friendship with Josh that slowly edged into more. It was so freaking cute and I loved them. I really appreciated that we also see CeCe and Silvie begin to reconcile and become friends again after their breakup. There's also several other queer side characters, as the GSA (Gender and Sexuality Alliance) is in charge of planning prom. The ending of this was so freaking cute and I definitely had some happy tears.
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-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
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
• I’d email him, shouting in all caps that it was his job to have a conscience all the time, and represent all his constituents, not to only be a decent human being when it affected his own family.
• I’ve shouted until my throat was raw, dug my heels in, trying to get the other person to just have some compassion already, more times than I can count.
• But I’ve already lost her; if I lose my followers too, then I’ll really have nothing left. I’ll have to go back to being what I was: a girl mad at the world, with a messed-up family and more feelings and opinions than anyone has space or time for. No one wants that version of me.
• I’m better in pictures and writing. I know my angles and how to find my light. I know how to market myself. It’s easy to be witty when you can craft and delete and revise.
• But I understand what he means. Not the music stuff, but finding a thing that infuses itself into your DNA. It’s what political activism used to be for me.
• Josh is the rare kind of person who wears his whole self right there on his expression. He’s so … open. Genuine. Even when his views don’t align with the rest of the world’s, he still doesn’t try to mask them.
I remember what it was like, to be like that. To be so certain of myself and my thoughts that I would tell anyone what I thought at any moment, without a single second of hesitation, and without caring what they’d think of me. Josh has that glimmer in him, even if he doesn’t know it. And I want to hold on to it.
• “And yeah, I connect with animals, but that connection very much does not translate to how I interact with people. I actually think I like animals so much because I’m sort of bad at the whole people thing. Animals are simpler. More genuine. Easier to read.”
“That’s not true, though,” I argue. “You connected with me. Like, right away.”
Josh’s gaze meets mine again, and stays there. “You’re an exception, CeCe. Trust me.”
I suck in a little breath.
This comfort between us, like we’ve somehow always known each other, is nice. Okay, it’s amazing. But it’s also horribly inconvenient, because it’s so easy to just say things like that, all genuine and exposed. And then the lines go blurry, and then … what?
• “Hey. CeCe.” It’s not until I’m looking at him again that he continues. “You’re always so worried about hurting people …”
“Yeah, but that’s the problem,” I retort. “With, like, the world. More people should be worried about that.”
“I know.” He tilts his head like he’s trying to figure out what he said that put me on the offensive. But it’s not what he said, exactly—it’s more that I’m tired of people acting like I care too much. “I mean, I agree. That’s not what I was going to say.”
I blink. “Oh.”
“I was going to say that I wish you’d be nicer to yourself too.”
• “It’s so opposite of who I am. It wasn’t just that I disagreed with it—everything in my soul actively fought it. I don’t know how to agree to disagree, and I don’t know how to respect someone just because he’s my parent. You’ve seen my bedroom,” I add.
• I shrug. “My dad and I fought. All. The. Time. Even when we tried to keep the conversation neutral, it ended up in a fight. He’d say something about a football game, and I’d get angry that he was still willing to support the NFL, after all the looking the other way about the brain injuries, or their players being accused of domestic violence. Or I’d say something about the weather, and he’d go off about how climate change isn’t real. And that was before it became really personal. You know, with the LGBTQ stuff.”
• “So many times,” I say, more quietly now, because Gabby’s going to be in earshot soon, “I’ve wished I could just tune out. Mind my business, and not get so worked up when I hear someone say something closed-minded or cruel.”
“Music is good for that,” Josh offers.
“Yes.” I laugh. “It is. Staying away from the news works too. And focusing your attention on lighter things. But then I feel guilty.”
“Guilty?” Josh looks confused. “Why?”
I take a breath, and admit something to him that I haven’t admitted to anyone. Not even Silvie. “Because I don’t really want to tune out. I could have followed in my dad’s footsteps. So many kids take on their parents’ views as their own. For some reason, my brain magnets have been configured to repel my dad’s, rather than cling to them. And I got the opportunity to figure out who I was really early in life. I was kind of forced into it, yeah, but I’ve come out the other side okay, I think.” I’m whispering now. I’m not even sure Josh hears that last part.
• I can’t shake the feeling that I’ve betrayed her somehow, by dating a boy. It doesn’t make any sense, especially for me—gender is truly not the thing that makes me attracted to someone. Silvie knows that. But this girl vs. boy thing is complicated. The image thing is complicated. And okay, maybe I still feel the need to justify it to myself too.
I always assumed I’d just date women. Like, forever. It’s what I know, and I know I like it, and I’m so entrenched in the queer community already … I’ve always been totally okay with boys being nothing more than a possibility.
And then Silvie left, and Josh showed up.
• Bi didn’t feel like a real option. Not until social media told me it was.” I glance at the crowd again; they’re still with me, still listening. Whew. “Isn’t it funny how our brains work sometimes?” I ask them. “How susceptible we are, even at a young age, to such internal and societal biases? Funny, and also depressing.”
“Preach!” a man in the crowd yells.
I grin and look back at my speech. “A little later, through those same online conversations, I realized that those ‘percentages’—the ‘I am seventy-eight percent attracted to A, nineteen percent attracted to B, three percent other,’ or whatever—aren’t set in stone. How could they be? The human heart and brain are complex organs. Figuratively speaking, they can change and grow just as much as any other aspect of a person. And when you consider the other big factor—that attractions vary based on the people the attractions are directed toward—all bets are off. When you’re bi and single and looking, you never know who your next partner may be, or how they’ll ID. You can guess, based on your feelings and your history, but you can’t be sure. You’re just a person looking for love. I think that’s pretty cool.”
• “When Silvie and I broke up, I couldn’t see myself falling for someone else—ever. I loved her so much.” I dare a glance at Silvie in the audience, and she shoots me a smile. “I thought we’d be together forever, even though, intellectually, I’m aware that the odds of marrying your high school sweetheart are incredibly low. So imagine my surprise when, after Silvie and I broke up, I did start to have feelings for someone new. Someone who happens to be a guy. I wasn’t seeking it, but there it was.”
• “My mom and I do this two-choice thing. Like: Paninis or wraps? Bike ride or a walk? Beyoncé or Halsey?” The crowd laughs appreciatively, and I go on. “A two-choice system can help things feel easier. But there are more than two choices in life. There are infinite choices. And even when something isn’t a choice, like sexuality, you have a choice in how to talk about it.”
• “Yes,” I say, turning another page, “the labels, the letters in the initialism—LGBTQIAP—are important. Owning your identity is powerful, and something to be proud of. But sometimes the letters also box people in, put margins and rules on what does and doesn’t qualify, and who is and isn’t welcome, and what someone who IDs a certain way is and isn’t allowed to do.”
emotional
inspiring
reflective
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
One thing I hate most about reading is when you have high hopes for a book and then it doesn't live up to them. But that means there's also an opposite to that: when you pick up a book that interests you but that you don't have high expectations for, and it ends up being really good.
That was my experience with this book, and I loved it so much. It has so many amazing conversations, about being bi and biphobia, about social media and dealing with it in a healthy way, and so on.
One criticism is that while this book talked quite a lot about politics, it didn't really address CeCe's privilege as a white, cis, abled person. While she has good reasons to want to keep politics out of her social media initially, it's still a privilege to be able to do so, and I would have liked to see that addressed.
I did however really like CeCe, and I think she went through a lot of character development. Plus, I really loved the love interest in this book.
CW: biphobia
That was my experience with this book, and I loved it so much. It has so many amazing conversations, about being bi and biphobia, about social media and dealing with it in a healthy way, and so on.
One criticism is that while this book talked quite a lot about politics, it didn't really address CeCe's privilege as a white, cis, abled person. While she has good reasons to want to keep politics out of her social media initially, it's still a privilege to be able to do so, and I would have liked to see that addressed.
I did however really like CeCe, and I think she went through a lot of character development. Plus, I really loved the love interest in this book.
CW: biphobia
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Contemporary YA is absolutely my comfort genre, and this one filled my need of comfort. I downed it in 1 day, and loved so many aspects of the novel. The characters were charming, the relationships organic, and the way our main character tackled her problems was inspiring.
emotional
lighthearted
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia
Moderate: Bullying, Homophobia
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
fast-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
I came here for bi rep, and damn, I got it.
This was so good???? I literally couldn't stop reading once I started! It was funny, it was romantic, it was relatable, and best of all it tackled several issues prevalent in the real world. This book discussed biphobia, the good and bad parts of social media/having an online presence, political activism, messy families, first relationships/heartbreaks, and more!
I wanted more answers or closure from some parts of the plot, but they were left unanswered in the end so that's a bit of a setback. Still, this was such a solid read and I definitely enjoyed it a lot.
Creative blog will be posted soon as part of Follow Your Arrow: Book Tour hosted by TBR and Beyond Tours.
Find me elsewhere: Instagram | Twitter | Blog
This was so good???? I literally couldn't stop reading once I started! It was funny, it was romantic, it was relatable, and best of all it tackled several issues prevalent in the real world. This book discussed biphobia, the good and bad parts of social media/having an online presence, political activism, messy families, first relationships/heartbreaks, and more!
I wanted more answers or closure from some parts of the plot, but they were left unanswered in the end so that's a bit of a setback. Still, this was such a solid read and I definitely enjoyed it a lot.
Creative blog will be posted soon as part of Follow Your Arrow: Book Tour hosted by TBR and Beyond Tours.
Find me elsewhere: Instagram | Twitter | Blog
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia
Moderate: Bullying
internalized biphobia, invasion of privacy (photos being taken without permission), cyberbullying (hate/biphobic comments on social media)
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
Full review to be published on March 7 (along with an interview with Jess!) at kaitplusbooks.com as part of the TBRandBeyond Blog Tour!
For right now: I'm crying happy tears again. Going to paste one of my very favorite quotes from the book here, because honestly it sums up my feelings towards the book pretty well: "I hope you like it, but it’s okay if you don’t. Because I LOVE IT."
Blog | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Pinterest | Storygraph
For right now: I'm crying happy tears again. Going to paste one of my very favorite quotes from the book here, because honestly it sums up my feelings towards the book pretty well: "I hope you like it, but it’s okay if you don’t. Because I LOVE IT."
Blog | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Pinterest | Storygraph
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia
Moderate: Bullying
Minor: Homophobia, Racism, Xenophobia
hopeful
lighthearted
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia, Bullying
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Transphobia