Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - Boys I Know

Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Boys I Know by Anna Gracia

11 reviews

bella613's review against another edition

emotional hopeful slow-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

4.75

Captures a female teenage experience very well. I liked this book a lot, although when it ended I thought my Libby app had randomly shut off for some reason. It was a little abrupt lol.

If you like this I'd also recommend Laurie Halse Anderson and Maurene Goo.

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daniellestarredpages's review

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Unfortunately, I DNFed this book. The main character's voice was insufferable to read from and the story wasn't interesting enough for me to push through. I read more than 50% of the book and the main character still hadn't started gaining any positive character development.

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addythebookbat's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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storieswithbee's review

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emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad tense 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

4.0

Genre: YA, Contemporary, Coming of Age

Age range: Mature Teen ( ~16+ )

Overall: 4/5

Characters: 5/5

Plot: 3/5

Writing and Setting: 5/5

Content warning: *themes surrounding racism, parental abuse/pressure, sexuality, identity, sexism, teenaged pregnancy, underage drinking, drug use*

I can’t express this enough… although the content warnings are surrounding some pretty heavy idea, it shouldn’t stop you from reading one of the best coming of age novels I have ever come across.

It’s hard to put into words how truely incredible this book was. It addresses and immerses itself into some very challenging, yet incredibly relatable themes for the average teenager, so much so, I found myself angry that I didn’t have this book as a teenager.

I think for some parents, this book could come across as a little bit confronting, especially considering the sexual themes and casualness that the characters talk about sex, but in a real world narrative, teenagers are having these discussions, they’re engaging in first time encounters, and because of that, there needs to be positive and down-to-earth representations for them to relate to. That’s exactly what this book is. It’s sex positive, it’s open to prodding that line of taboo subjects, and it’s done so in a way that is still age appropriate without actually giving the young audience a ‘full frontal’ sex scene, etc.

Adding to this, Gracia also explores the rough terrain of identity, racial stereotyping, and trans-generational conformity that a lot of teenagers nowadays struggle with. For me, and I’m sure a lot of readers, reading this book gave me a sense of being heard, seen, understood and validated.

I haven’t read a lot of books that explicitly highlight the complexities and the nuances of Asian culture within a Westernised world, but Gracia tied this in with the MC so incredibly well that it didn’t just feel like a cultural/ history lesson; it just felt so natural to the character and the story arch.

Characters: 5/5

Each and every character in this book was absolutely stunning in their simplicity… What I mean by this is that not a single character was this picture perfect, cookie cutter individual. All of them had their flaws. All of them felt real. All of them were beautifully frustrating, enjoyable, and human.

June, the MC, was an absolute delight to experience as a reader. Her inner monologue was embarrassingly similar to my own teenaged years and that made the book all the more hilarious and entertaining. I loved that she was constantly evolving and discovering herself and her place in her world.

Plot: 3/5

The plot itself wasn’t all that important to the main storyline. The main focus of the book was the character arch and the character development for June. Although this may be a turn off for some readers, I personally didn’t notice this factor all that much, because the progression of June from the beginning of the book in comparison to the end felt like such a special journey.

Writing and Setting: 5/5

The writing was easy to digest, entertaining, captivating, funny, and in parts, very ‘woke’ to a lot of social issues and themes. I liked that we only have the perspective of June throughout the book in first person POV because it really highlights her journey.

The settings within the book weren’t all that important to the storyline until June attends tours of the different universities. The way that Gracia uses description as a way to express June’s wants surrounding her post-high school studies was a technique that I almost missed in the whirlwind of the story, but I’m really glad I picked up on that. It’s a phenomenal example of ‘show, don’t tell’.

My thoughts:

I think this book could easily have a sequel. I am desperate to know how June progresses as she attends university and ages past high school, but at the same time I think there is something almost poetic about the idea of living within that moment of time with June and no further.

Thank you to Anna Gracia and her team for giving me the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book (even though I‘m frightfully late to the party 😅), in exchange for my honest review. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book, and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

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panickat123's review

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emotional reflective medium-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

2.75

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betweentheshelves's review against another edition

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emotional 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

3.5

I have mixed feelings about this book. I am here for the conversations about race, about June's exploration of sex, and about just messy relationships in general. That's what happens when you're a teen, and Gracia hit the nail on the head with that. June jumps into a series of messy relationships in this book, all for different reasons. It felt so high school and I loved that about this book.

For me, the plot itself felt kind of meandering. It's very much a character driven story, which I normally don't mind. It also fits the time of life June is in, trying to figure out what to do after high school, both meeting her own desires and her parents' expectations. June really struggles with this throughout the story, and it felt really genuine.

Overall, I enjoyed the conversations and the context in this book, it just overall wasn't necessarily a standout for me.

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alyssaarch's review

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emotional funny 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

3.75

Content Warnings

pagesofbellerose's review

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challenging emotional reflective tense medium-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

Disclaimer: I was provided both a physical and digital ARC by the publisher in return for my honest review. This does not affect my opinion.

Rating: Single Star (Recommended)

Boys I Know was everything it had said it would be and more. Depicting messy teenagers, hard situations and bad decisions with a mix of finding oneself amidst the problems spread around, this novel was a very enjoyable read.

Check out my full review on my blog Belle's Archive now!

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hershelves's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.0

Amy, Wendy, and Mrs. Chu are excellent representations of the overall Asian culture. Asian parents unknowingly pressure their kids to do well in school and, of course, in life. There are parts in this book that I don't like, despite the fact that I enjoy it and find it to be so relatable. The lack of trigger warnings is one of this book's main problems in my opinion. To be honest, I nearly DNF it.

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theoceanrose's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

5.0

I love June Chu.

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