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

I've definitely heard mixed things about this book. Overall, I did enjoy it, but I also understand where the criticism is coming from.

This book can be really rough to read; it shows a lot of violent homophobia and transphobia, both from peers and from people in positions of power. I think there are two very important things this book showcases through its story:
1. The most important thing you can have in life is people on your side. Casey would not have been able to do what they did alone, and its only because they had so many people willing to fight for and beside them that they were able to maintain the starring role in the school musical and continue their dreams of being a diva. From their mom, to their queer teacher, to their lifelong best friends, to their newfound friendships, and their newfound romantic interest, they needed everyone's help. The best things happen together, and community and solidarity is one of the most important things marginalized people can have in the fight for rights and liberation.
2. Unfortunately, you won't achieve everything you set out for.

The homophobic teacher they were trying to get fired ultimately only got fired because he didn't actually have teaching credentials. If not for that, they would never would have been able to get him fired because the school board just didn't care enough about the harm he was causing students because it wasn't physically violent.

It's a sad but unfortunate truth that no matter how hard you work, you aren't always going to win the fight. But that isn't a reason to stop trying or celebrate the victories you do get.

The two major criticisms I've heard about the book are often about how tough the book can be to read and about the way the characters of color are portrayed. As I said, the book can be really tough to read, and I think it could be especially tough to read as a young queer and trans teen. Unfortunately, it is realistic, and as tough as it is, I do think it will do a lot for good in the right hands. I do think the criticism surrounding the characters of color is valid, given how the the white main character is able to keep their starring role thanks to the work and sacrifices of the people of color around them. I think the author was trying to show community and solidarity at work, however, I think it would have been better coming from an author of color as opposed to a white author.

Ultimately, I did enjoy the book and I will continue to read Steven Salvatore's future work.

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dlrosebyh's review

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emotional inspiring 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

3.75

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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radiosilent8's review

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hopeful inspiring fast-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

3.5

The writing and pacing of the book were not my favourite and the characters felt kind of flat and often only did tjings for the sake of plot movemen (hence the 3 stars). Also, this books was pretty much just 400 pages of miscommunication, and that was quite annoying as one of my least favourite tropes. However, i really loved the discussions of gender and the queer rep was incredible. As annoying as i sometimes fpund Carey, they were also really relatable at times and really inspiring in their confidence and ability to stabd up for themself. I also loved the musical aspects of the book, even though i thought that Careys lyrics were kind of awful

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sopesock's review

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medium-paced

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

2.0

ohhhhhhh good god.
i wanted to like this so bad, but. no.
i really wish i’d DNF’ed it but i was curious and stupid enough to keep reading.

this was a LOT.
if you like mariah carey (an unreasonable amount), or completely avoidable drama, congrats, i’ve got a book for you!

tbf: if this had been an ACTUAL musical, it could have worked.
the randomly-bursting-into-song (CRINGE), creating a whole movement because of one (1) queerphobic teacher (i wish!) and insta love turned heartbreak were insufferable to read, but as a movie — maybe!

there was just so much ~there~ …

pop culture references AAAALL around (they CAN be done well but this is not how you do it!)
anonymous school gossip blog (SERIOUSLY! what is it with YA novels and this trope?? is that an american thing,?? what school actually HAS that)
“omg im shy 🥺” main character who is very much Not shy and actually a little embarrassing in their confidence.
dialogues that feel copy pasted from bad romance novels
a whole ass revolution in a high school? i am once again wondering if that is an american thing but it seemed incredibly unrealistic

let me give examples.

1. mariah carey and sam smith..? i mean oookay, but: these two are not ACTUALLY a thing with teens. so the fact that everyone understood carey’s references / info dumping was just not realistic. (also it was unnecessary and annoying to actually print all that wikipedia-type info. i get it they like mariah carey. please give me a break)

3.

…but i'm no drummer or guitarist or background bitch. I'm a fucking diva.

… what?

carey to me was just such a strange character, they weren’t exactly self centered and not exactly unlikeable either but just so .. melodramatic? (literally lol).
all of the relationship drama was so forced it didn’t even make any logical sense. just talkkkkkk to each other

4.

You're the first thing I think about in the morning and the last thing I think about at night, and when we're not together I want to be with you.

ITS JUST NOT GOOOOOD WHAT CAN I SAY

5. a walkout that is suddenly a huge protest and BAM suddenly there’s a lot of police (i saw another reviewer say that that the way cops are portrayed here is also lowkey problematic and, fair) now oops! suddenly the news are there and investigating IN FAVOR of you (unlikely?) and next thing you know (spoiler) mariah carey wants to meet you. (????)
what even went on.

i could keep going with all the things i didn’t like but it feels so mean, so i’ll just say SOMEthing positive:

mr kelly, we love you. a supportive teacher we love to see it!
carey’s mom, we love you too.
i liked the bracelet idea and that they still made room to criticize the fact that colors are gendered. i also liked that their gender identity was more casual than i expected, like at least there wasn’t big drama with coming out to friends and family, they were all quite sweet
salvatore CAN write !! their writing style isn’t bad at all i just did not like the tropes they were writing

—> two stars just for these reasons.

i was just happy to have finished this. good representation does not make a good book; and idk what the other reviewers liked so much about this, i was really disappointed. (but good for them !!! genuinely !!! i don’t wanna say don’t read this book just because i hated it, maybe it’s just me.)

🤠🤠🤠

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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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