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ellie_debney's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming and Transphobia
squirrel66's review against another edition
emotional
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
Das Hörbuch hat mich überraschend gut abgeholt. Ich bin 10 Jahre älter als die Figuren in der Geschicht und bin meist kein Fan von Romance und YA Büchern (bin dabei auch oft genervt von den gewählte SprecherInnen). Aber hier hat mich die Story reingezogen. Gefühle und Gedanken, die ich als cis hetero Person nicht kenne, habe ich nachvollziehen können, und das aufgeregte Verliebtsein eines Teenagers hab ich fast selbst wieder gefühlt. Manches war mir etwas dick aufgetragen und kitschig, aber das war verkraftbar und ist Geschmackssache. Die Charaktere finde ich passend dargestellt, es sind halt Teenager die in einigen Dingen Fehler machen bzw sich unreif verhalten. Die Geschichte war echt unterhaltsam und ich denke, dass sie für viele Menschen einen echten Mehrwert hat.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming and Transphobia
beansandrice's review against another edition
It was toooooooo real legit. Great writing!!! i just could not handle the Events That Were Transpiring. I'd really like to return someday.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia
wardenred's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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? Yes
5.0
“The issue is that we’ve never really gotten to see our own stories,” Declan tells me. “We have to make those stories ourselves.“
Ugh. Kids these days. How I envy them sometimes. I wish I had books like this growing up!
This was an absolutely lovely story with so much packed into it, and such a wonderful balance between dealing with the pain transphobia causes and experiencing the joy of self-discovery and settling into your skin. I found Felix an extremely relatable character between his struggles to figure out the details of his gender identity, and his worries about possibly having one marginalization too many, and how he reacted to his mother abandoning him by gravitating toward the choices that will get him hurt when it comes to feelings, and the whole big damn mess he created with that love triangle / catfishing scheme. A lot of it threw me right back into my own messy teenage years.
I really loved how flawed and messy in that uniquely teenage way all the central characters were, and how alive they all felt on the page. At the same time, some of those emotional peaks, especially in the second half of the book, sometimes made it difficult to stay immerse—which I think wasn’t so much the book’s flaw as just my experience as an adult reader. I had to remind myself that yeah, that’s exactly what teens can be like. Everything is always so extreme, so larger than life, and nope, they can’t just temper down the feelings and talk it out because they’re *still learning how to do that.* Communication is a skill, and the characters in this book definitely work on developing it in a realistic, relatable way.
There were also some structural tricks here I really liked, such as the very first scene doing so much foreshadowing in terms of everything from plot to theme, or specific scenes kind of mirroring each other, like the one where Felix has an important face-to-face conversation with Ezra while texting Declan and the one where he has an equally important face-to-face interaction with Declan while pretty much talking to Ezra in his head. At the same time, in the late part of the story, if I’m very strict, I have to admit there were some parts where the structure got sloppy-ish as the emotions heightened. I really don’t want to be strict, though. I just want to be happy this book exists. <3
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming, Alcohol, Bullying, Transphobia, and Abandonment
sharkgirl15's review against another edition
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia and Outing
drawahardline's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
bisschen pipi in den äuglein und riesiger detektivmoment, weil ich fast von beginn an wusste, wer es war - i am so smart yesyes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Deadnaming, Outing, Emotional abuse, Transphobia, and Homophobia
Moderate: Abandonment
chelseazhao's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
4.0
I absolutely loved the representation here. And how we really got to experience Felix's transness and questioning. And even the exploration of gender.
I do not really like purely high school contemporary books nowadays, and so there were some things here that turned me off from the story. There was also a lot of underage drinking for characters who were 17 in the US.
And FYI, there are quite a few HP references.
I do not really like purely high school contemporary books nowadays, and so there were some things here that turned me off from the story. There was also a lot of underage drinking for characters who were 17 in the US.
And FYI, there are quite a few HP references.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Transphobia, and Outing
shannan1773's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia
courtknee__vn's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
I really loved this!! Felix was such a great mc and I loved getting to see his growth throughout the story! I really enjoyed how messy he was, it felt really authentic to being a teenager and questioning your identity. My heart broke when he saw the pictures and his deadname plastered all over the school and when he was being harassed on Instagram! I think the only thing that kept me from giving it 5 stars is that I could’ve done without the Declan storyline and I didn’t feel like the love triangle was necessary 🤷🏻♀️ besides that though, I loved it and I’m so glad I finally picked it up! 🧡
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Outing, and Bullying
gabyteresa's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia