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4.22 AVERAGE
4.22 AVERAGE
One of the better "oh crap I am in love with my best friend" YA books. I loved it. I wish more religious people were like Ms. Carpenter.
A LOT of angst.
Like, heart-feels-heavy-for-this-poor-child and I-want-to-go-beat-some-sense-into-these-adults kind of angst for the reader.
A lot of people have given this book a lower rating because they don't like one of the characters (Baker). Unfortunately, I think Baker's extreme reaction to internalised shame and homophobia is pretty spot on. She's not a good person for how badly she blows up everything for herself and her best friend and other people in their friends' circle, but it's an unfortunately realistic reaction and character, in my view.
There's also a lot of religion in here, which was confusing to me because one moment, these kids who are apparently living in the 2010s who make fun of Jesus and drink, curse and have sex are also almost unable to say the word gay or find being queer so distasteful that they would literally harm someone because of it?
Those issues aside, this book made my heart hurt and it made me want to be someone like Ms Carpenter, their one teacher who is supportive and stands up for basic human decency to all.
If you like a coming of age queer romance that's very heavy on angst and religion, this is your jam.
Like, heart-feels-heavy-for-this-poor-child and I-want-to-go-beat-some-sense-into-these-adults kind of angst for the reader.
A lot of people have given this book a lower rating because they don't like one of the characters (Baker). Unfortunately, I think Baker's extreme reaction to internalised shame and homophobia is pretty spot on. She's not a good person for how badly she blows up everything for herself and her best friend and other people in their friends' circle, but it's an unfortunately realistic reaction and character, in my view.
There's also a lot of religion in here, which was confusing to me because one moment, these kids who are apparently living in the 2010s who make fun of Jesus and drink, curse and have sex are also almost unable to say the word gay or find being queer so distasteful that they would literally harm someone because of it?
Those issues aside, this book made my heart hurt and it made me want to be someone like Ms Carpenter, their one teacher who is supportive and stands up for basic human decency to all.
If you like a coming of age queer romance that's very heavy on angst and religion, this is your jam.
Okay, so I honestly wish I could give this book 4 and a half stars cause it was really good and I enjoyed it a lot. Loved pretty much all the dynamics: Baker and Hannah, Joanie and Hannah, the whole friend group together, etc. and thought the conflict and resolution for all of them was well laid out. I also love how realistic this story was in regards to sexuality and religion. It felt a little heavy handed at times re: the religion part but overall I think the message translated well and there was just enough good and bad to keep it balanced (pretty much how religion is in real life). It was definitely a heavy story though and at times it felt like Hannah (or Baker for that matter) was never gonna be happy or catch a break and my heart truly broke for her throughout this, so the ending made me very happy and it felt right.
My main gripe (and why i couldn’t give it the 5 stars I wanted to give it) was pretty much not getting a Baker POV. I loved how raw and angsty Baker and Hannah’s journey was and felt like they 100% deserved the ending they got, however at times it was hard to root for because we weren’t getting Baker’s side of things and it just felt like she was constantly leaving Hannah to deal with all the verbal abuse being hurled at her and it was hard to read imo. Especially because everything Hannah did was to defend Baker or protect her, whereas from just Hannah’s POV it looked like Baker couldn’t careless what Hannah was going through (even though we KNOW she did). So I wish we could’ve had chapters where we sat with Baker and could dig into her brain during the email fiasco and when she kept pushing Hannah away so we could’ve sympathized with her as well. Luckily the ending was good compensation and we finally got to hear Baker’s side of things.
Anyway, again really enjoyed this and also REALLY loved the sister relationship. I mentioned this above too but Joanie and Hannah pulled at my heartstrings and along with Baker and Hannah were definitely my main favorite parts of this story.
Best friends to lovers trope won this round!
My main gripe (and why i couldn’t give it the 5 stars I wanted to give it) was pretty much not getting a Baker POV. I loved how raw and angsty Baker and Hannah’s journey was and felt like they 100% deserved the ending they got, however at times it was hard to root for because we weren’t getting Baker’s side of things and it just felt like she was constantly leaving Hannah to deal with all the verbal abuse being hurled at her and it was hard to read imo. Especially because everything Hannah did was to defend Baker or protect her, whereas from just Hannah’s POV it looked like Baker couldn’t careless what Hannah was going through (even though we KNOW she did). So I wish we could’ve had chapters where we sat with Baker and could dig into her brain during the email fiasco and when she kept pushing Hannah away so we could’ve sympathized with her as well. Luckily the ending was good compensation and we finally got to hear Baker’s side of things.
Anyway, again really enjoyed this and also REALLY loved the sister relationship. I mentioned this above too but Joanie and Hannah pulled at my heartstrings and along with Baker and Hannah were definitely my main favorite parts of this story.
Best friends to lovers trope won this round!
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
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
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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