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smilingc's review
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
0.5
~DNFed at page 128~
I actually picked this book up from a local thrift store. Reading the inner flap, the premis of the book was promising and had potential. The Book cover was also really cute and I enjoyed the design. Additionally, it was written by a POC and about the LGBTQ+ community which also attracted me because I need to expand my reading horizons.
It all goes downhill from there.
Starting off with the main characters, Noah, as a person. I’m all for characters that start out as misunderstood or are rude/mean/act a certain negative way as long as the plot and storyline redeem them or show you valid reasons for you to agree with their shitty behavior and empathize with them. This book didn’t do that. A lot of what Noah did felt rude, entitled, and childish. What did I consider rude, entitled and childish about him?
- Spent $400 dollars on his parents credit card at cafes and bus fare, then got angry that they froze the credit card and told him that he needed to get a job
- Treats his best friend less like a best friend and more like his website manager
- Treats his brother’s girlfriend with contempt despite her being nice in all their interactions and pointing him towards a possible job opportunity
- Doesn’t put any effort in getting a job, ends up working at a summer camp with his brother, and then gets angry that he has to work at the summer camp
- Gets vomited on and gets frustrated (valid) but then proceeds to have no empathy for the person who vomited on them and borderline cusses them out, caring more about their suede pants than about if the person is okay (not valid)
- Finds out the person who vomited has a “wealthy white person name” and rants about how their probably got the job really easily and are here for funsies to pass time while MC has “no choice” but to work and only got this job because his brother pulled some strings (mind you the brother offered this job weeks in advance and wouldn’t of had to pull strings if Noah had gotten a job somewhere else sooner like he was supposed to, had said yes to his brothers offer when he originally offered, or had never blew the $400 on the credit card in the first place)
But I digress.
The book has some romantic themes going on and I wasn't entirely sure what to feel about them either. I didn’t get a lot of romance, considering I only made it to page 128, but what I read wasn’t my cup of tea. The first(?)** couple got together as a fake couple. Okay okay, cool. I can get behind that. It's for the plot. What I couldn’t get behind were a few things:
- The romantic prospect was seemingly straight? But then was totally down for dating another guy? After only knowing him after two or three instances? Like, sure he reads your blog but he said it was for his cousin? Okay maybe I just don’t know shit but…
- They end up kissing so soon after getting together, like on the first date. I would have thought that on a plotline level they would have waited a little longer because the romantic tension really does something.
- Noah is 16 and the guy he's fake dating is 18, out of highschool. Technically its only two years but morally and legally I don’t like it. And I’m not just saying this because I don’t like the book. I genuinely don’t like it when a legal adult dates a minor whether it's fake or not.
Overall, I can’t say that I got a real great grasp on the book as a whole considering I didn't even get halfway through it, but the above issues were just so excessive and made my reading experience unenjoyable, to the point that I called it quits. I’m not one to DNF a book because I want to be able to fully say that I read the book and was able to get through it, but this one just made it on my very short list of DNF books. Even the most slow and agonizing reads were more enjoyable than Noah’s self-absorbed issues.
** I put the question mark because according to other reviews Noah doesn’t stay with the guy but i can’t say this with certainty since I didn’t read that far
I actually picked this book up from a local thrift store. Reading the inner flap, the premis of the book was promising and had potential. The Book cover was also really cute and I enjoyed the design. Additionally, it was written by a POC and about the LGBTQ+ community which also attracted me because I need to expand my reading horizons.
It all goes downhill from there.
Starting off with the main characters, Noah, as a person. I’m all for characters that start out as misunderstood or are rude/mean/act a certain negative way as long as the plot and storyline redeem them or show you valid reasons for you to agree with their shitty behavior and empathize with them. This book didn’t do that. A lot of what Noah did felt rude, entitled, and childish. What did I consider rude, entitled and childish about him?
- Spent $400 dollars on his parents credit card at cafes and bus fare, then got angry that they froze the credit card and told him that he needed to get a job
- Treats his best friend less like a best friend and more like his website manager
- Treats his brother’s girlfriend with contempt despite her being nice in all their interactions and pointing him towards a possible job opportunity
- Doesn’t put any effort in getting a job, ends up working at a summer camp with his brother, and then gets angry that he has to work at the summer camp
- Gets vomited on and gets frustrated (valid) but then proceeds to have no empathy for the person who vomited on them and borderline cusses them out, caring more about their suede pants than about if the person is okay (not valid)
- Finds out the person who vomited has a “wealthy white person name” and rants about how their probably got the job really easily and are here for funsies to pass time while MC has “no choice” but to work and only got this job because his brother pulled some strings (mind you the brother offered this job weeks in advance and wouldn’t of had to pull strings if Noah had gotten a job somewhere else sooner like he was supposed to, had said yes to his brothers offer when he originally offered, or had never blew the $400 on the credit card in the first place)
But I digress.
The book has some romantic themes going on and I wasn't entirely sure what to feel about them either. I didn’t get a lot of romance, considering I only made it to page 128, but what I read wasn’t my cup of tea. The first(?)** couple got together as a fake couple. Okay okay, cool. I can get behind that. It's for the plot. What I couldn’t get behind were a few things:
- The romantic prospect was seemingly straight? But then was totally down for dating another guy? After only knowing him after two or three instances? Like, sure he reads your blog but he said it was for his cousin? Okay maybe I just don’t know shit but…
- They end up kissing so soon after getting together, like on the first date. I would have thought that on a plotline level they would have waited a little longer because the romantic tension really does something.
- Noah is 16 and the guy he's fake dating is 18, out of highschool. Technically its only two years but morally and legally I don’t like it. And I’m not just saying this because I don’t like the book. I genuinely don’t like it when a legal adult dates a minor whether it's fake or not.
Overall, I can’t say that I got a real great grasp on the book as a whole considering I didn't even get halfway through it, but the above issues were just so excessive and made my reading experience unenjoyable, to the point that I called it quits. I’m not one to DNF a book because I want to be able to fully say that I read the book and was able to get through it, but this one just made it on my very short list of DNF books. Even the most slow and agonizing reads were more enjoyable than Noah’s self-absorbed issues.
** I put the question mark because according to other reviews Noah doesn’t stay with the guy but i can’t say this with certainty since I didn’t read that far
chill_8's review against another edition
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? Yes
4.0
xoxo_jasmyn's review
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
4.75
vsprowls's review
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
gaymathnerd's review
MCD was too insufferable for me. I really tried to like it because I love trans stories, but I could not push through for this one.
wynplus1's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I really wanted to like this story because the premise is really cute, but it was just... not for me. I disliked more things than I liked.
Noah was a very difficult protagonist to follow and root for, because he's just so... insufferable. Entitled. Mean. There are a ton of words to describe him, none of them good. And like, in a way it's realistic - it's not like he's badly written necessarily, he's just an annoying Tumblr kid. I've met them - I've been them. Teenagers suck, and Noah is an example of that.
As for the romance plots... none of it really hit. Everything felt too rushed, too messy. I liked Devin, but as the reader, you don't really KNOW Devin. Noah hardly knows Devin. It's hard to care deeply about their relationship when Devin isn't really even introduced until like... half-way I think?
Something I DID appreciate though was the book's focus on like... terminally online culture and how Noah learns how to navigate his relationships in a real way versus what social media has led him to believe it should be.
Noah was a very difficult protagonist to follow and root for, because he's just so... insufferable. Entitled. Mean. There are a ton of words to describe him, none of them good. And like, in a way it's realistic - it's not like he's badly written necessarily, he's just an annoying Tumblr kid. I've met them - I've been them. Teenagers suck, and Noah is an example of that.
Something I DID appreciate though was the book's focus on like... terminally online culture and how Noah learns how to navigate his relationships in a real way versus what social media has led him to believe it should be.
graciemarie95's review
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
miacasey16's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
tailsbeth's review against another edition
3.5
Super sweet read for summer, I would recommend this as a good way for those outside of the community to learn about Trans people. Learned a lot & Noah's character was really well rounded, you didn't always agree with him as a reader but you could understand where he came from.