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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
I've been waffling back and forth between 3 and 4 stars, but I decided to round up.
I loved that this book wasn't about the Issue of Being Gay, but instead was a fun love story about two girls and their insecurities. I really didn't like how the blurb gave away the last 1/3 of the book. Uncool, book people.
I also adored the relationship between Abby and Jax, their friendship was the cutest, and I enjoyed any time they interacted, but here are three I loved:
“Seriously,” [Jax] says. “You doing okay?”
I shrug. “Seriously? Probably not. I lost my only chance to be in love.”
“Shut the hell up,” he says. “There’s a new chance to love every goddamn day. Look at me, no luck at all this summer, and I’m not worried. Going to a party tonight, who knows what could happen. Hey!”
“Are you crying?” Jax asks with a horrified edge to his voice.
“No!” I am lying. Lying and crying. He sort of scatters extra napkins near my face, which—despite my tears—makes me burst into laughter. “Why are boys so scared of girl feelings?” I ask.
“Abbs, I’m a feminist,” he says. “I’m equally scared of all feelings.”
“Emotions aren’t actually bad,” I tell him. “You won’t fall apart because you’re having some right now.”
I loved that this book wasn't about the Issue of Being Gay, but instead was a fun love story about two girls and their insecurities. I really didn't like how the blurb gave away the last 1/3 of the book. Uncool, book people.
I also adored the relationship between Abby and Jax, their friendship was the cutest, and I enjoyed any time they interacted, but here are three I loved:
“Seriously,” [Jax] says. “You doing okay?”
I shrug. “Seriously? Probably not. I lost my only chance to be in love.”
“Shut the hell up,” he says. “There’s a new chance to love every goddamn day. Look at me, no luck at all this summer, and I’m not worried. Going to a party tonight, who knows what could happen. Hey!”
“Are you crying?” Jax asks with a horrified edge to his voice.
“No!” I am lying. Lying and crying. He sort of scatters extra napkins near my face, which—despite my tears—makes me burst into laughter. “Why are boys so scared of girl feelings?” I ask.
“Abbs, I’m a feminist,” he says. “I’m equally scared of all feelings.”
“Emotions aren’t actually bad,” I tell him. “You won’t fall apart because you’re having some right now.”
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
This was cute, but waaay too angsty for me. I’m bummed because I wanted a great new novel to obsess over about a girl who is a lesbian (yaaaas) and fat (YAAAASSSSS) but I couldn’t get over how childish everyone was acting. It’s not the worst thing I’ve ever read, but I definitely think I went in with my expectations too high. Womp 😞
tbh not totally sure how i felt about the ending of this book. a nice mostly light-hearted YA summer read for the most part, though. would totally want to be friends with this protagonist.
Spoiler
like i am not sure that i forgive jordi for what she did to abby, and i don't know if i support abby forgiving her and them getting back together. it doesn't feel like jordi has shown she gets it or wouldn't do something similar again, though maybe that could be true eventually. it just feels like abby is really hurt and then is coerced into being 'okay' with it.
This has to be just about my favourite YA book I've read in a long time. Abby is a glorious fat queer protagonist and the way that Spalding writes her relationships and interactions throughout one glorious summer is truly a joy to read, even when it hits super close to home (keep eyes out for the all too familiar mother-daughter tribulations, they got me good!) For me, this is probably overall a rounded up 4.5, but I also very purposefully rated it 5 stars at face value because my own little picks at this one are mostly YA gripes in general, and honestly, the way they're deployed makes a lot of sense for the genre, even if they were a little distracting for me (the plot feels a little fast, and there's one particular plot point where I thought we were setting up for some kind of twist but it was really just buying time for the appropriate plot beat to happen to resolve it in a kind of meh way). But even as someone who is not the target audience for YA in general, I adored this story and would recommend it without hesitation to any YA reader in my life, or anyone fat and queer and wanting to see a protagonist who does it with style.
This was exactly what I needed. A good time, this book is just a good time.
There’s wlw rep, latinx rep and fat rep. It’s the middle of winter here but this is very clearly a summer read and it made me feel so warm and happy inside.
It’s a soft sapphic summer romance and that should be enough to sell you on it.
It deals with self image and confidence, touches on family problems and portrays the struggles of giving and taking trust in teenage relationships and friendships.
Each character has a clear personality without becoming a caricature of a stereotype. There are also clear aesthetics to each character which helps with visualisation and helped me fall in love with how well the characters were depicted.
I was in a bit of a slump before I started reading this and it just made everything so much better, I highly recommend.
There’s wlw rep, latinx rep and fat rep. It’s the middle of winter here but this is very clearly a summer read and it made me feel so warm and happy inside.
It’s a soft sapphic summer romance and that should be enough to sell you on it.
It deals with self image and confidence, touches on family problems and portrays the struggles of giving and taking trust in teenage relationships and friendships.
Each character has a clear personality without becoming a caricature of a stereotype. There are also clear aesthetics to each character which helps with visualisation and helped me fall in love with how well the characters were depicted.
I was in a bit of a slump before I started reading this and it just made everything so much better, I highly recommend.