Scan barcode
cor_luz's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Transphobia and Toxic relationship
Minor: Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Vomit
mikaclapson's review
lighthearted
relaxing
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Transphobia, Panic attacks/disorders, and Mental illness
wahlpapers's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
4.5
I was not immediately hooked because I didn't like Noah all that much. He is careless with his parents' money, a problem which is only barely solved. Thankfully his other flaws gave him a place to grow from. As Noah started to face consequences and learn from them, I got hooked on Meet Cute Diary. He has a problem with boundaries, rash decisions, and living in the real world. All realistic for a teen and all of these helped to build the story. Noah is lucky to have a good support system and learns not to take it for granted.
For every queer Tumblr kid (past and present), Meet Cute Diary is going to feel like a familiar setting. The site functions are described well, the users are painfully real, and Noah's stress over follower numbers really took me back to high school. Emery Lee handles world building in a way that connects for both those in-the-know and those that aren't. E seems to be very good at world building in general. I have never been to Colorado, but I could understand what the summer camp, mountain, bookstore, and more were like. I could step into Noah's summer and didn't want to leave any more than he did.
I know there are others out there, but this is the first contemporary YA romcom (my favorite genre) that I've read with a trans main character. I've read some in the genre by trans authors, but it makes me happy to read about a trans teen finding love, especially with a genderqueer love interest. By halfway through the book, Noah finds himself in a love triangle. Drew, a fan of the blog, and Devon, his summer camp co-worker. Devon uses the same pronouns as Lee, E/Em/Eir/Eirs. Throughout the book, Noah and Devon inspire each other to be their more authentic selves. For Devon, this includes experimenting with pronouns. Noah never bats an eye. I am a cis person, so it is not my place to rank how well the trans experience was incorporated into the book, but I will say that it made me feel happy and as though everything flowed well.
Remember that messy characters do not equal a messy book. Characters make mistakes which makes them that much more real. For the Tumblr kids and those that want to see more trans love stories, check Lee's book out!
For every queer Tumblr kid (past and present), Meet Cute Diary is going to feel like a familiar setting. The site functions are described well, the users are painfully real, and Noah's stress over follower numbers really took me back to high school. Emery Lee handles world building in a way that connects for both those in-the-know and those that aren't. E seems to be very good at world building in general. I have never been to Colorado, but I could understand what the summer camp, mountain, bookstore, and more were like. I could step into Noah's summer and didn't want to leave any more than he did.
I know there are others out there, but this is the first contemporary YA romcom (my favorite genre) that I've read with a trans main character. I've read some in the genre by trans authors, but it makes me happy to read about a trans teen finding love, especially with a genderqueer love interest. By halfway through the book, Noah finds himself in a love triangle. Drew, a fan of the blog, and Devon, his summer camp co-worker. Devon uses the same pronouns as Lee, E/Em/Eir/Eirs. Throughout the book, Noah and Devon inspire each other to be their more authentic selves. For Devon, this includes experimenting with pronouns. Noah never bats an eye. I am a cis person, so it is not my place to rank how well the trans experience was incorporated into the book, but I will say that it made me feel happy and as though everything flowed well.
Remember that messy characters do not equal a messy book. Characters make mistakes which makes them that much more real. For the Tumblr kids and those that want to see more trans love stories, check Lee's book out!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Racism, Suicide attempt, Transphobia, and Bullying
Minor: Drug use, Dysphoria, and Vomit
fynnnnnn's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-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
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, and Transphobia
Minor: Bullying, Alcohol, and Drug use
notsunny's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia and Transphobia
scarroll178's review
emotional
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide attempt and Transphobia
Minor: Vomit
wooyouknow's review
1.0
i am convinced i have never hated a main character as much as i hated noah. noah if you're reading this, lets fistfight. i'll beat ur ass
also, drew really said gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss minus the girlboss
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Moderate: Transphobia
Minor: Suicide attempt
kitstbr's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-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
4.0
honestly, I think the main reason I loved this book so much is because of Devin. e’s just one of the most relatable characters I’ve read about recently and I absolutely loved watching eir relationship with Noah grow (hello, friends to lovers >>>). I also just really loved the writing style and how the book explored Noah’s struggle to separate his life in the real world from his life running the meet cute diary. also, this is like the first book I’ve read that really explored just having no clue what your gender identity is and trying to sort out all the emotions that go along with that, which I really appreciated.
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicide attempt and Transphobia
harrydaylight's review
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
4.0
This is such a cute book (as the title suggests). It’s frustrating at parts (honestly the better half of the book), because the MC is an asshole sometimes and he is so clearly in a relationship that’s wrong for him and he doesn’t realize it. But I think all of this was intentional, just so we could see him grow. And grow he does!
The love interest is between labels. There’s a lot of gender questioning and pronoun questioning, and neopronouns!!! This is the first book I’ve read where a character uses neopronouns and it was pretty cool.
Meet Cute Diary talks a lot about coming out multiple times, as different things, and how scary it can be to realize a label no longer fits you and having to come out all over again. That is something I can relate to and it felt so nice to read about it, to see characters going through that exact same thing you’ve struggled with.
All in all, there’s a lot of good rep in this, especially trans rep, as both the MC and the LI are trans. I’d definitely call this book insta-love, but I’m not too mad about it honestly, it was a quick read for me and it was just adorable.
The love interest is between labels. There’s a lot of gender questioning and pronoun questioning, and neopronouns!!! This is the first book I’ve read where a character uses neopronouns and it was pretty cool.
Meet Cute Diary talks a lot about coming out multiple times, as different things, and how scary it can be to realize a label no longer fits you and having to come out all over again. That is something I can relate to and it felt so nice to read about it, to see characters going through that exact same thing you’ve struggled with.
All in all, there’s a lot of good rep in this, especially trans rep, as both the MC and the LI are trans. I’d definitely call this book insta-love, but I’m not too mad about it honestly, it was a quick read for me and it was just adorable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia and Panic attacks/disorders
i_readsandbujos's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Transphobia