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jennireadsmaybe's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
When I tell y'all that I don't think I'll ever recover from the way The Feeling of Falling in Love wrecked me and restored me, I'm not lying. Mason Deaver beautifully weaves together the story of a messy, lonely, teenage trans boy who's terrified of falling in love. This is the sort of book that teenage Jenni would have devoured and felt so seen while doing it.
Deaver explores so many important themes throughout the book with kindness, care, and compassion. At it's heart, this is main character Neil's coming of age. It truly felt like a warm hug to read this book. It serves as a reminder that a person came feel lonely but not be alone. That lgbtq+ kids and teens are worthy of love, community, belonging, and so much more. I really think that everyone should read this. And a special thanks to @atmreads and @bookish.millennial for the amazing recommendation!!
Deaver explores so many important themes throughout the book with kindness, care, and compassion. At it's heart, this is main character Neil's coming of age. It truly felt like a warm hug to read this book. It serves as a reminder that a person came feel lonely but not be alone. That lgbtq+ kids and teens are worthy of love, community, belonging, and so much more. I really think that everyone should read this. And a special thanks to @atmreads and @bookish.millennial for the amazing recommendation!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Toxic friendship, Dysphoria, Transphobia, Alcoholism, Deadnaming, Vomit, Medical content, and Classism
Minor: Sexual content, Death of parent, and Outing
bookishmillennial's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial
This is ranking as one of my top five YA reads ever!!!!!!
When I talk about contemporary YA being inspiring and full of bravery and hope, this is what I’m talking about. Mason Deaver illustrated such an authentic, goofy, messy, and tender story of accountability, self-reflection, classism, privilege, gender & sexual identities, friendship & romance.
This is ranking as one of my top five YA reads ever!!!!!!
When I talk about contemporary YA being inspiring and full of bravery and hope, this is what I’m talking about. Mason Deaver illustrated such an authentic, goofy, messy, and tender story of accountability, self-reflection, classism, privilege, gender & sexual identities, friendship & romance.
Neil broke things off with his friend-with-benefits Josh, but Josh does not believe that Neil feels nothing romantically towards Josh.
Neil enacts the rule that Josh created, which states that if one of them becomes serious with someone else, they’ll stop hooking up. Neil pretends to date his roommate Wyatt and takes Wyatt home to Los Angeles for a family wedding to prove it!
While Neil navigates the transphobia of some family members, he also is encouraged to explore his feelings about the familial dynamics at play by Wyatt. Neil has spent most of his life feeling like his mom hasn’t paid too much attention to him, centering her high-profile career and amassing wealth instead. It was so incredibly relatable (and made me wince at the same because woof, it hurt) to hear Neil discuss how though he may be braver and confident with friends at the boarding academy, the boundaries & behavior he dismisses is different when he is around his family. He had this awareness of being able to expect more from those he felt truly in community with, like his friends, yet felt nervous and too exhausted to ask for more from his family members. Educating and being the only person who calls others in is a heavy burden, and I think MD illustrated this perfectly in Neil’s situation.
Meanwhile, Wyatt is introduced to a life of luxury that he simply never could have imagined, as his two moms work incredibly hard to buy him the second-hand clothes that Neil often obliviously pokes fun at. Wyatt bravely speaks up when he is uncomfortable, & I felt so proud of him for voicing valid concerns & forcing Neil to expand his perspective when it came to attitudes and behaviors around money. Most kids are well aware of how their family fits into a social class hierarchy, especially in the 21st century (it’s hard not to notice who is going on vacation, buying new clothes, gets the brand new iphone every year, versus who is *not* doing those things, especially at the height of social media) & Wyatt is not naive in the way others perceive him. I really appreciated this representation of different socioeconomic classes. Wyatt also explores his own gender identity & I adored how these two affirm each other in that journey.
Neil enacts the rule that Josh created, which states that if one of them becomes serious with someone else, they’ll stop hooking up. Neil pretends to date his roommate Wyatt and takes Wyatt home to Los Angeles for a family wedding to prove it!
While Neil navigates the transphobia of some family members, he also is encouraged to explore his feelings about the familial dynamics at play by Wyatt. Neil has spent most of his life feeling like his mom hasn’t paid too much attention to him, centering her high-profile career and amassing wealth instead. It was so incredibly relatable (and made me wince at the same because woof, it hurt) to hear Neil discuss how though he may be braver and confident with friends at the boarding academy, the boundaries & behavior he dismisses is different when he is around his family. He had this awareness of being able to expect more from those he felt truly in community with, like his friends, yet felt nervous and too exhausted to ask for more from his family members. Educating and being the only person who calls others in is a heavy burden, and I think MD illustrated this perfectly in Neil’s situation.
Meanwhile, Wyatt is introduced to a life of luxury that he simply never could have imagined, as his two moms work incredibly hard to buy him the second-hand clothes that Neil often obliviously pokes fun at. Wyatt bravely speaks up when he is uncomfortable, & I felt so proud of him for voicing valid concerns & forcing Neil to expand his perspective when it came to attitudes and behaviors around money. Most kids are well aware of how their family fits into a social class hierarchy, especially in the 21st century (it’s hard not to notice who is going on vacation, buying new clothes, gets the brand new iphone every year, versus who is *not* doing those things, especially at the height of social media) & Wyatt is not naive in the way others perceive him. I really appreciated this representation of different socioeconomic classes. Wyatt also explores his own gender identity & I adored how these two affirm each other in that journey.
Neil and Wyatt navigate so much in this coming-of-age novel, and though Neil especially fumbles through a lot (obviously our third-act break up, but don’t worry, this *is* a romance lol), the fact that these teens took the time to examine the harm they caused, and moved forward with much more intention and mindfulness was so lovely.
No review I write will ever do this book justice so please read it! Thank you sm to @atmreads for the rec <3
No review I write will ever do this book justice so please read it! Thank you sm to @atmreads for the rec <3
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Deadnaming, Vomit, Medical content, Toxic friendship, Classism, Dysphoria, Transphobia, and Alcoholism
Minor: Outing and Sexual content
pucksandpaperbacks's review against another edition
Thank you to Pride Book Tours and Scholastic for sending me an ARC in exchange for a review. All thoughts are my own.
CWs (also on the author’s website): Underage drinking, mentions of neglectful parenting, light mentions of surgery, transphobia, homophobia, scene depicting Neil being patted down and experiencing transphobia by TSA (pg 54-56), indirect deadnaming (Neil is deadnamed by the name is never mentioned on page and is simply alluded to), mentions of past sexual relationship, fade to black sex scene, light mentions of the passing of a father, light mentions of the passing of a grandfather.
CWs (also on the author’s website): Underage drinking, mentions of neglectful parenting, light mentions of surgery, transphobia, homophobia, scene depicting Neil being patted down and experiencing transphobia by TSA (pg 54-56), indirect deadnaming (Neil is deadnamed by the name is never mentioned on page and is simply alluded to), mentions of past sexual relationship, fade to black sex scene, light mentions of the passing of a father, light mentions of the passing of a grandfather.
If you like fake dating, enemies to friends to lovers, grumpy/sunshine, or there’s only one bed set at a wedding & boarding school, you’ll NEED to read Mason Deaver’s newest release, The Feeling of Falling in Love!
I love the fake dating trope and a grumpy main character, so it was inevitable I would fall in love with this book. But, it did make me cry uncontrollably. Thanks Mason 😒
I’m so glad I got a chance to read this book because it was a wild ride. At first, we learn how much of a jerk Neil, our main character is after he ends things with his childhood best friend who he has been hooking up with. Then, he proceeds to bribe his roommate, Wyatt (who he loathes) to come to his brother’s wedding with him so his best friend will get over him. Yes, Neil does NOT make good decisions.
However, throughout the course of the story, Neil does so many hurtful things. But, what I loved most is how he grows and develops as a sixteen year old and we, the reader learn why he acts like this. He’s just so angry.
After reading this, my first thought was, “I am so, so glad trans kids get stories like this.” It is very important to read different perspectives from trans characters because we are not a monolith. Seeing a trans boy who is so mad at the world and at his family is some of the best representation I could ask for. This book also talks about classism as Neil is born into a family of wealth versus Wyatt who is going to their boarding school under a scholarship.
Neil has gotten top surgery and is on T patches. I love seeing trans characters who are medically transitioning and not just taking shots.
This book has a queer & trans friend group and it is a queer romance. Wyatt comes out as non-binary and tests their pronouns throughout the book and I really enjoyed that storyline. It’s so important to see a kid just thinking about gender and not being 100% sure. Gender is confusing!
Wyatt and Neil's story is so complex but so fun to witness. One Direction fans will LOVE Wyatt for his love for Niall Horan and his southern charm while Neil may get on your nerves, he will hold a soft spot in your heart.
This book is so special and I’m so glad I got to read it. Please go and read it!
Wyatt and Neil's story is so complex but so fun to witness. One Direction fans will LOVE Wyatt for his love for Niall Horan and his southern charm while Neil may get on your nerves, he will hold a soft spot in your heart.
This book is so special and I’m so glad I got to read it. Please go and read it!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Transphobia, Grief, Alcohol, Sexual content, Deadnaming, and Homophobia
Minor: Medical content
Underage drinking, mentions of neglectful parenting, light mentions of surgery, transphobia, homophobia, scene depicting Neil being patted down and experiencing transphobia by TSA (pg 54-56), indirect deadnaming (Neil is deadnamed by the name is never mentioned on page and is simply alluded to), mentions of past sexual relationship, fade to black sex scene, light mentions of the passing of a father, light mentions of the passing of a grandfather.
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