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dojipengin's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Grief, Violence, Abandonment, and Racism
Minor: Transphobia, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Drug abuse, and Vomit
cutepatzie's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
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? No
4.25
Love how this book shows how amazing is a queer community, I did not expect that the book about time traveling will be interesting. But it is. I love some of the characters. But I wish the ending was a bit darker, but overall it's still a good book and very informative.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Racial slurs, Classism, Biphobia, Hate crime, Lesbophobia, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Death, Alcohol, Drug use, and Police brutality
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Car accident, and Bullying
agavemonster's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.75
Charming and interesting plot, the romantic chemistry and flirty subway sex was great (other reviewers, quit your pearl-clutching and go get laid - people get discreetly frisky on public transit sometimes and it's the best), and I loved the rocky and codependent relationship August had with her mother due to the latter's obsessive lifelong search to solve a childhood mystery. (Didn't buy the ultra-quick turnaround the mom does to suddenly being a good and supportive mom after her daughter snaps at her once on a phone call , but whatever.)
A beef I have with the author in both of their books is their inability to give any of the characters a distinctive tone of voice, attitude, or style of speaking. Every single person speaks in witty quips, Twitter-trending jokes of the moment, and popular memes. Even characters who were raised in significantly different settings and upbringings (e.g., Connecticut WASP, Caribbean immigrant, socially isolated white Southern girl) speak exactly the same way and bring the exact same chemistry and tone to a conversation. You could swap the names around in the dialogue tags to change who said what and it would be seamless. A sign of poor and unoriginal writing. The overall fanfic-like writing style was also another point off ("all x and y," as in "all long legs and leather jackets," and "too-" as in "too-fast breathing" were two frequently repeated offenders). And the fact that these exact same criticisms apply identically to Red, White, and Royal Blue show that it's a major issue in the author's work. Dialogue and gestures (like the ever-present jaded flipping someone off) could even be swapped between One Last Stop and RWRB and you wouldn't be able to tell based on tone alone!!
My biggest problem with this book, however, was the egregious use of the term "gay panic" to mean someone getting flustered because they have a gay crush. Despite all the historical research the author did to fill in the characters' queer history (including research on protests of the justice system and homophobically motivated attacks and murders?!?! hello?!!!), they clearly grabbed this phrase as another meme from Tiktok and didn't even bother to web search it. The first result when you do: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay_panic_defense
I get that it's just another piece of popular online slang and nobody seems to know their history anymore, but it made my stomach drop, completely took me out of the setting, and made me think that none of these characters have actually experienced repercussions for being visibly out. It strengthens my conviction that the author sourced almost 100% of their knowledge on queer life from broad-strokes research, rather than writing about what they truly know. Any LGBT person growing up in America older than 25 today, let alone the multiple drag queens of color in the book, would be intimately familiar with Matthew Shepard's story in particular and the threat of bodily harm by vengeful straight men in general, and I'm surprised the author's multiple sensitivity readers didn't catch that. Thumbs down. The charming chemistry between the heroines is not enough to outweigh the neverending "witty banter" and the rock in my stomach at "gay panic."
P.S. Two other annoyances I had that didn't fit into the main body of my review (I discuss racism and suicide):(1) Jane was an active protester of the Vietnam War, more-or-less anarchist who throws Molotov cocktails, and daughter of Chinese immigrants living in the Bay Area during the late '60s and early '70s, but there was no mention of her participating in or even being familiar with the Black Panther protests or the Third World Liberation Front? Again with the relatively shallow dip into the history of protest and resistance, just enough to get some juicy goodies for character development without understanding the bigger picture. (2) Multiple discussions between August and Jane about whether Jane was meant to die back in 1977, what it means that she might die when they try to rescue her from being trapped on the subway, etc., and even the climax of the book where August stomps on the third rail to keep Jane there when the second surge comes. But no acknowledgment that wanting to die or not caring if you die is suicidal ideation (also, stepping on the third rail, as August does, is a suicidal action), and how Jane clearly has issues around that given her loss of her family/her whole life and her existence as a queer woman of color in a racist, homophobic world. Also, the way that Augie basically tries to drink himself to death because of his survivor's guilt after the gay club was attacked. Maybe the author was trying to address queer suicidal urges with a light touch, since I saw it peeking through here and there without feeling forced, but given their relatively clumsy hand on other tough topics and social issues, I doubt it.
A beef I have with the author in both of their books is their inability to give any of the characters a distinctive tone of voice, attitude, or style of speaking. Every single person speaks in witty quips, Twitter-trending jokes of the moment, and popular memes. Even characters who were raised in significantly different settings and upbringings (e.g., Connecticut WASP, Caribbean immigrant, socially isolated white Southern girl) speak exactly the same way and bring the exact same chemistry and tone to a conversation. You could swap the names around in the dialogue tags to change who said what and it would be seamless. A sign of poor and unoriginal writing. The overall fanfic-like writing style was also another point off ("all x and y," as in "all long legs and leather jackets," and "too-" as in "too-fast breathing" were two frequently repeated offenders). And the fact that these exact same criticisms apply identically to Red, White, and Royal Blue show that it's a major issue in the author's work. Dialogue and gestures (like the ever-present jaded flipping someone off) could even be swapped between One Last Stop and RWRB and you wouldn't be able to tell based on tone alone!!
My biggest problem with this book, however, was the egregious use of the term "gay panic" to mean someone getting flustered because they have a gay crush. Despite all the historical research the author did to fill in the characters' queer history (including research on protests of the justice system and homophobically motivated attacks and murders?!?! hello?!!!), they clearly grabbed this phrase as another meme from Tiktok and didn't even bother to web search it. The first result when you do: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay_panic_defense
I get that it's just another piece of popular online slang and nobody seems to know their history anymore, but it made my stomach drop, completely took me out of the setting, and made me think that none of these characters have actually experienced repercussions for being visibly out. It strengthens my conviction that the author sourced almost 100% of their knowledge on queer life from broad-strokes research, rather than writing about what they truly know. Any LGBT person growing up in America older than 25 today, let alone the multiple drag queens of color in the book, would be intimately familiar with Matthew Shepard's story in particular and the threat of bodily harm by vengeful straight men in general, and I'm surprised the author's multiple sensitivity readers didn't catch that. Thumbs down. The charming chemistry between the heroines is not enough to outweigh the neverending "witty banter" and the rock in my stomach at "gay panic."
P.S. Two other annoyances I had that didn't fit into the main body of my review (I discuss racism and suicide):
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Homophobia
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
spaghettireads's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Death
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
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