Reviews with content warning for Death - Can't Take That Away

Carey Parker aspires to be a diva and rock the house with her singing. Every note of all the greatest pop and Broadway tunes can be struck by them. Despite their brilliance, Carey finds it more difficult to discover their voice because of emotional wounds from an encounter with a homophobic classmate and their grandmother's developing dementia.

Once Carey meets guitarist/singer Cris, for the first time in their life, they feel noticed. The excitement of a brand-new romance gives Carey the courage to audition for the part of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, in the school musical, which sparks prejudice from her tormentor and other students. Carey, Cris, and their pals must stand up for their rights, and they won't be intimidated.

It was difficult for me to read this book since I didn't enjoy the writing style. The message is fantastic, and it's undoubtedly a touching read. I adore the plot, except for the last part. I believed that the resolution of all the problems was hastened. For my taste, there were also much too many pop references. If the pop culture references were toned down, I would have given this book a better rating.

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aspring's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced

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

4.5

i’m pretty sure steven salvatore writes specifically to hurt me. ouch.

the writing is full of drama and passion and a deeply desperate need to be loved, understood and accepted. it is brutal and honest and not entirely a happy story.

but it gives you hope and shows you that fighting for who you are is always worth it. even if you shouldn’t have to.

this was surprisingly heavy and it did take my by surprise so please please check trigger warnings for this if you need them <3

but i love this authors writing style and the way they write their characters. phenomenal as always.

also, the relationship isn’t the focus! don’t go into it expecting it to be :) this is, at its core, carey’s story of their fight to be recognised and treated like everyone else <3 (the lil bits of romance was very cute though! (and heartbreaking :,))

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cardanrry's review

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challenging hopeful informative fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

very very cringe i wanted to like this so bad

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jenny_librarian's review

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emotional hopeful informative inspiring fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

I will protect Carey Parker with my life. That kid is so precious. From the very first chapter I was 100% rooting for them.

While the beginning is pretty cute, it’s not an easy read. There’s a lot of queer pain and queerphobia in this book, which made it a bit harder for me to get through. I am very much a reader of queer joy and – while the ending was worth it – it was rough getting there.

I’m not a Mariah fan, but I recognize the fangirling (term used as genderneutral here) and obsession of a specific artist that you feel understands you better than you sometimes understand yourself.

There is one mention of HP that completely took me out the story, and that I find extremely disappointing, especially coming from a genderqueer author who has to know how harmful that woman is. It was a tiny thing, a single word used as a comparison, and I wish it had been changed before publishing.

As a whole, it is a hard but inspiring story of standing up for yourself, of friends having your back and of fighting for those who can’t use their voice yet.

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bookswtheo's review

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hopeful informative 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

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averyconfusedhomosapiensbooks's review

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emotional funny hopeful informative slow-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

2.25

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melaniereadsbooks's review

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challenging emotional 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? It's complicated

3.75

This book is a heavy-hitting YA contemp about a genderqueer teen dealing with extreme homophobia from classmates, teachers, and school board members. Throughout it all, Carey manages to stay hopeful and strong and surrounded by a few people that make their life better. I was so angry at the school. As someone who works for a small school district, I 100% know the likelihood a similar queer-phobic incident occurring, and the saddest part about that is most of the time things don't get changed like they did in this book. I'm glad for the hope of that, and I loved seeing Carey grow throughout the novel!

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foreverinastory's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The school/principal really made me mad. But otherwise I definitely loved this! However, the audio quality was TERRIBLE and it's not even from Netgalley--wtf @Bloomsbury!?!

Rep: white genderqueer MC with anxiety and anxiety/panic attacks, Black female side character, bisexual male love interest, disabled elderly grandmother who can't speak much--implied side effects of a stroke possibly.

CWs: Alcohol consumption, biphobia, bullying, death/death of grandparent, dysphoria, gaslighting, grief, hate crime, homophobia, lesbophobia, mental illness (anxiety), panic/anxiety attacks, misogyny, sexism, transphobia.

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