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joanna1905's review
4.0
Edit: 4/01/19 - 3rd Reread
So I pretty much stand by everything I said in my second review, I still struggle to like Cassie’s character but when I try really hard to put myself in her shoes I definitely like her more.
While this isn’t my favourite of Becky’s works it’s still a fantastic read! She really does nail relatability in a super authentic not at all forced kind of way.
I absolutely love Reid as a love Interest and every time I read this I can’t help but desperately ship him and Molly!
A fantastic read.
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Edit: 6/07/18 - So I read this for a second time and I have some new thoughts. When I read this book the first time I really enjoyed it (I mean I gave it 4 stars), but it just didn't quite live up to SimonVs (nor did it live up to Leah). However, this is NO fault of the book but simply due to the fact that I related more to Simon and Leah than I did to Molly - particularly because we follow their journey accepting their sexualities.
Having said Molly is still totally relatable (this is a real strong point of Becky's, while all her characters are totally unique there is something in all of them that everyone can relate to). I particularly relate to Molly's inexperience with relationships and her (sometimes) self-consciousness about her size compared to her friends.
To be completely honest the main thing I didn't like about this book the first time was Cassie, I really didn't like the way she treated her sister and it constantly rubbed me the wrong way. But I'd die for Becky Albertalli, so going into this reread I put aside my feelings from the first read and tried to be more open-minded; and I definitely enjoyed it more. I tried to be more understanding of Cassie's pov (which can be difficult since the story is only told from Molly's pov) and in doing so I definitely liked her more. I still didn't LOVE her, but I liked her allot more and I did make me enjoy the book more!
Another one of Becky's talents is having a ridiculously (good ridiculously) diverse cast of characters. This book features a Jewish biracial lesbian couple who have three kids, two white girls (one of which is a lesbian), and a baby boy who takes after his black mother. One of the love interests is a pansexual Korean girl while the other is a straight Jewish boy who also has two mums. Never once does this representation feel forced or like Becky's trying to capitalize on the demand for more diverse literature. You can tell she really cares about having a diverse cast of characters that are just normal everyday people - there's no token gays bffs or token black sidekicks in her books.
To summerise, Becky Albertalli and her writing is the best thing to ever happen to this world.
The End.
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Another awesome book by Becky Albertalli! Honesty the way she gets into the minds of teenagers and represents them so accurately continually blows my mind; she's one of the few authors who writes authentic and realistic teens! While I can't say I loved this one as much as Simon Vs The Homo sapiens agenda, I think that's primarily because I related more to Simon than Molly; saying that Molly is still realistically relatable.
Another thing Albertalli does fantastically is integrating diverse characters in a super realistic way, I think often authors include diverse characters just for the sake of being diverse but never fully how to write them as real people not just as stereotypes.
Definitely worth the read and I look forward to her next work, 'Leah on the offbeat' which I think will prove to be even more relatable!
So I pretty much stand by everything I said in my second review, I still struggle to like Cassie’s character but when I try really hard to put myself in her shoes I definitely like her more.
While this isn’t my favourite of Becky’s works it’s still a fantastic read! She really does nail relatability in a super authentic not at all forced kind of way.
I absolutely love Reid as a love Interest and every time I read this I can’t help but desperately ship him and Molly!
A fantastic read.
___________________________________________________________________________________
Edit: 6/07/18 - So I read this for a second time and I have some new thoughts. When I read this book the first time I really enjoyed it (I mean I gave it 4 stars), but it just didn't quite live up to SimonVs (nor did it live up to Leah). However, this is NO fault of the book but simply due to the fact that I related more to Simon and Leah than I did to Molly - particularly because we follow their journey accepting their sexualities.
Having said Molly is still totally relatable (this is a real strong point of Becky's, while all her characters are totally unique there is something in all of them that everyone can relate to). I particularly relate to Molly's inexperience with relationships and her (sometimes) self-consciousness about her size compared to her friends.
To be completely honest the main thing I didn't like about this book the first time was Cassie, I really didn't like the way she treated her sister and it constantly rubbed me the wrong way. But I'd die for Becky Albertalli, so going into this reread I put aside my feelings from the first read and tried to be more open-minded; and I definitely enjoyed it more. I tried to be more understanding of Cassie's pov (which can be difficult since the story is only told from Molly's pov) and in doing so I definitely liked her more. I still didn't LOVE her, but I liked her allot more and I did make me enjoy the book more!
Another one of Becky's talents is having a ridiculously (good ridiculously) diverse cast of characters. This book features a Jewish biracial lesbian couple who have three kids, two white girls (one of which is a lesbian), and a baby boy who takes after his black mother. One of the love interests is a pansexual Korean girl while the other is a straight Jewish boy who also has two mums. Never once does this representation feel forced or like Becky's trying to capitalize on the demand for more diverse literature. You can tell she really cares about having a diverse cast of characters that are just normal everyday people - there's no token gays bffs or token black sidekicks in her books.
To summerise, Becky Albertalli and her writing is the best thing to ever happen to this world.
The End.
____________________________________________________________
Another awesome book by Becky Albertalli! Honesty the way she gets into the minds of teenagers and represents them so accurately continually blows my mind; she's one of the few authors who writes authentic and realistic teens! While I can't say I loved this one as much as Simon Vs The Homo sapiens agenda, I think that's primarily because I related more to Simon than Molly; saying that Molly is still realistically relatable.
Another thing Albertalli does fantastically is integrating diverse characters in a super realistic way, I think often authors include diverse characters just for the sake of being diverse but never fully how to write them as real people not just as stereotypes.
Definitely worth the read and I look forward to her next work, 'Leah on the offbeat' which I think will prove to be even more relatable!
nasher67671's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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? No
4.5
rainbowrachel's review against another edition
emotional
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? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fatphobia and Panic attacks/disorders
lbarsk's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars, really! A fun read with a truly diverse cast of characters. It felt VERY TRUE to teenagerdom, and I was empathizing with/rooting for Molly from day one.
I thought that AT TIMES the book had a sort of conflicting message -- in some parts it was "I love myself" unequivocally and proudly; in other parts it felt more like "I like myself a lot but would feel better with a boyfriend." HOWEVER, that's how a lot of teens feel, and that's how a lot of ADULTS feel, so I don't think the book should be discounted for that.
The portrayal of mental health issues here was stellar and felt very true-to-life, as did the Modern Day Teen Drama. The texting bits felt very natural (unlike some other YA *and adult* fiction novels) and the way the teens spoke with each other and, more importantly, THEIR PARENTS felt super accurate. I feel like dialogue in YA books can at times be like, over-the-top or "not actually how teens talk" and here it really felt like something that was happening to me and my friends during our teen years.
As I said in a status update when starting my read, Albertalli also gets MAD PROPS from me for both a) extreme knowledge of the DC/Maryland area and b) REALLY CAREFUL, THOUGHTFUL INCLUSION OF "CASUAL EVERYDAY JUDAISM." LIKE !!!! My heart sang. And like I said above, so so so nice to see this continuing YA trend of "diversity and inclusion without tokenizing everyone." We don't need to be giving out ally-cookies for that, but it's worth noting that Albertalli does it well and in a manner that didn't feel forced or like, reader-bait-y the way some other modern YA with "diversity" does feel.
In any event -- A GREAT READ. Made me smile a lot and felt realistic. Lots of love for Albertalli and her wonderful character Molly.
I thought that AT TIMES the book had a sort of conflicting message -- in some parts it was "I love myself" unequivocally and proudly; in other parts it felt more like "I like myself a lot but would feel better with a boyfriend." HOWEVER, that's how a lot of teens feel, and that's how a lot of ADULTS feel, so I don't think the book should be discounted for that.
The portrayal of mental health issues here was stellar and felt very true-to-life, as did the Modern Day Teen Drama. The texting bits felt very natural (unlike some other YA *and adult* fiction novels) and the way the teens spoke with each other and, more importantly, THEIR PARENTS felt super accurate. I feel like dialogue in YA books can at times be like, over-the-top or "not actually how teens talk" and here it really felt like something that was happening to me and my friends during our teen years.
As I said in a status update when starting my read, Albertalli also gets MAD PROPS from me for both a) extreme knowledge of the DC/Maryland area and b) REALLY CAREFUL, THOUGHTFUL INCLUSION OF "CASUAL EVERYDAY JUDAISM." LIKE !!!! My heart sang. And like I said above, so so so nice to see this continuing YA trend of "diversity and inclusion without tokenizing everyone." We don't need to be giving out ally-cookies for that, but it's worth noting that Albertalli does it well and in a manner that didn't feel forced or like, reader-bait-y the way some other modern YA with "diversity" does feel.
In any event -- A GREAT READ. Made me smile a lot and felt realistic. Lots of love for Albertalli and her wonderful character Molly.
readwithkiekie's review
4.0
I'm honestly surprised I enjoyed this book, mainly because I knew going into it that it would revolve around a Love triangle and I am not the one for them. I hate them. Truly. But over the chapters I found myself falling in love with Reid, I could picture him clearly. And while Molly wasn't the best of characters she was slightly funny at times.
Honestly, I'm excited for Leah on the Offbeat now.
Honestly, I'm excited for Leah on the Offbeat now.
art1610's review against another edition
When I started this book I read like 2 pages and thought 'nah. I'll read it later.' That was a couple months ago.
I got this book when I went to the library recently because I thought maybe this time I could read it. I start the book and almost die of laughter in the middle of class. Every chance I could get I read this book.
I can officially say that everyone and I mean EVERYONE should read this book. Molly's mind set is something I've never read before. I could relate to her. Like her grandmother during dinner, when she was frozen, because her grandma was calling her the f word in front of everyone.
When she was hurting because Cassie didn't tell her about Mina, I was hurting. Like who does that? She had to figure out from Facebook. And then Cassie gets mad when Molly doesn't tell her about Reid? It just happened that night!
Cassie just got on my nerves, but she redeemed herself. Now Reid, adorkable Reid. The adorable scene when they get together (Molly and Reid) is just...wonderful? Perfect? I don't know how to explain it. And the game they played in the grocery store!!! That was awesome!
The wedding, that was too pure. Nadine and Patty were too cute.
I got this book when I went to the library recently because I thought maybe this time I could read it. I start the book and almost die of laughter in the middle of class. Every chance I could get I read this book.
I can officially say that everyone and I mean EVERYONE should read this book. Molly's mind set is something I've never read before. I could relate to her. Like her grandmother during dinner, when she was frozen, because her grandma was calling her the f word in front of everyone.
When she was hurting because Cassie didn't tell her about Mina, I was hurting. Like who does that? She had to figure out from Facebook. And then Cassie gets mad when Molly doesn't tell her about Reid? It just happened that night!
Cassie just got on my nerves, but she redeemed herself. Now Reid, adorkable Reid. The adorable scene when they get together (Molly and Reid) is just...wonderful? Perfect? I don't know how to explain it. And the game they played in the grocery store!!! That was awesome!
The wedding, that was too pure. Nadine and Patty were too cute.
redrosesrot's review against another edition
5.0
A very funny and light-hearted read! The main character is basically me which made this an intensely personal and relateable read.
ritmanbooks's review against another edition
2.0
Desafortunadamente, este libro me ha decepcionado, ya que está escrito por una de mis autoras favoritas y no lo he disfrutado.
Básicamente, mi principal problema con esta novela fue que no conecté con ninguno de los personajes; de hecho, ni siquiera conecté con las situaciones que vivían ni, mucho menos, con sus acciones. Normalmente, me resulta muy fácil sentirme identificada con los personajes de esta autora, pero, en este caso, solo entendí un poquito a Reid.
Me pareció que los personajes tenían relaciones bastante tóxicas e, incluso, ellos mismos llegaban a ser tóxicos. Si a esto sumamos el lenguaje excesivamente soez, da como resultado una novela que no casa conmigo, en absoluto.
Ahora, tengo que ser sincera y decir que sí que ha tenido un punto muy bueno, y es que la diversidad está presente en cada una de sus páginas, de todas las maneras posibles (pansexualidad, matrimonio homosexual, la influencia de los cánones de belleza en los jóvenes, etc.). Eso me ha gustado muchísimo, pero, por desgracia, no salva el resto de la novela.
Personalmente, no la recomiendo.
Básicamente, mi principal problema con esta novela fue que no conecté con ninguno de los personajes; de hecho, ni siquiera conecté con las situaciones que vivían ni, mucho menos, con sus acciones. Normalmente, me resulta muy fácil sentirme identificada con los personajes de esta autora, pero, en este caso, solo entendí un poquito a Reid.
Me pareció que los personajes tenían relaciones bastante tóxicas e, incluso, ellos mismos llegaban a ser tóxicos. Si a esto sumamos el lenguaje excesivamente soez, da como resultado una novela que no casa conmigo, en absoluto.
Ahora, tengo que ser sincera y decir que sí que ha tenido un punto muy bueno, y es que la diversidad está presente en cada una de sus páginas, de todas las maneras posibles (pansexualidad, matrimonio homosexual, la influencia de los cánones de belleza en los jóvenes, etc.). Eso me ha gustado muchísimo, pero, por desgracia, no salva el resto de la novela.
Personalmente, no la recomiendo.