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arlo_____'s review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
lighthearted
relaxing
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
4.75
izzys_internet_bookshelf's review against another edition
2.0
2.5/5
I was really excited about the plot but I found that it was slow in some places but the main focus was the romance which was off and on for me in terms of enjoyment. In the end it was a nice book though, just wish there was more.
I was really excited about the plot but I found that it was slow in some places but the main focus was the romance which was off and on for me in terms of enjoyment. In the end it was a nice book though, just wish there was more.
bethany6788's review
emotional
reflective
sad
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
4.5
Hello and welcome to my pain and joy in book form. If you’ve watched my stories between today and yesterday, you’ve seen my journey with this book. Emotionally. I was put through the wringer. But oh my gosh was it worth it. Side note thank you to @stevensalvatorebooks for being so gracious with my many DMs and tags while I read this beautiful story.
Chase is a college freshman looking for his love story and he wants to be more secure in his identify. He doesn’t feel tied to a gender. He goes to college hoping to help grow and learn about himself while also falling in love. He ends up finding friendship, found family, and himself. <<< this is an extremely simple breakdown of this story but let’s get to the nitty gritty here!
This is not an easy book to read. It forced me to look inside myself and some of the feelings I have toward my body. Toward myself. Feeling like I’m not worthy of love and I’ll never be enough for someone else. Definitely felt like I was punched in the gut. Cause, ouch. Hiding within myself? Check. Holding pillows in front of my stomach? Check. Not wanting to be undressed in front of anyone else, even someone I want to be intimate with? Check. There were parts of this book where I was crying so hard because I’ve been Chase.
My god, Jack… where do I even start? His journey was complicated and made even more so by his upbringing. His growth and finding his way... Even when he was making mistakes, you were still rooting for him to figure things out. His poetry was beautiful but it was definitely a way to hide.
Those friends! I loved them. Benny was so sassy and fun. Rae was great and protective. Sofia and Chloe were wonderful mentors. X was a great friend. Rhett even came around!
Now for some of my favorite things in the book: the first day at the river. Chase’s art. The instructor. The story he told. The lighting and thunder. The concert. That epic first kiss. The first time mishaps. The first time with everything. That incredibly intimate drawing scene. The slam poetry. Chase’s confidence. Therapy!! The breakup was so well done. The reunion was too. Jack’s grand gesture at the end I mean swooooon!
If you can’t tell, I loved it so much.
Chase is a college freshman looking for his love story and he wants to be more secure in his identify. He doesn’t feel tied to a gender. He goes to college hoping to help grow and learn about himself while also falling in love. He ends up finding friendship, found family, and himself. <<< this is an extremely simple breakdown of this story but let’s get to the nitty gritty here!
This is not an easy book to read. It forced me to look inside myself and some of the feelings I have toward my body. Toward myself. Feeling like I’m not worthy of love and I’ll never be enough for someone else. Definitely felt like I was punched in the gut. Cause, ouch. Hiding within myself? Check. Holding pillows in front of my stomach? Check. Not wanting to be undressed in front of anyone else, even someone I want to be intimate with? Check. There were parts of this book where I was crying so hard because I’ve been Chase.
My god, Jack… where do I even start? His journey was complicated and made even more so by his upbringing. His growth and finding his way... Even when he was making mistakes, you were still rooting for him to figure things out. His poetry was beautiful but it was definitely a way to hide.
Those friends! I loved them. Benny was so sassy and fun. Rae was great and protective. Sofia and Chloe were wonderful mentors. X was a great friend. Rhett even came around!
Now for some of my favorite things in the book: the first day at the river. Chase’s art. The instructor. The story he told. The lighting and thunder. The concert. That epic first kiss. The first time mishaps. The first time with everything. That incredibly intimate drawing scene. The slam poetry. Chase’s confidence. Therapy!! The breakup was so well done. The reunion was too. Jack’s grand gesture at the end I mean swooooon!
If you can’t tell, I loved it so much.
uzername's review against another edition
3.0
2.6 stars. okay gripes aside the story itself was okay, simple coming of age type which was fine for what it was. my problem was that it was too long for that, i liked the beginning and the end but it drug on so much in the middle that i was forcing myself to push through it because ion like dnfing books. which also is odd because it still felt rushed despite being so long.
it was also very corny in some parts, like it felt like this was written by an out of touch middle aged white person who was searching up any and all slang to throw in.
these complaints are usually something i wouldn’t mind if i liked the characters, but i didn’t really fuck with anybody in this book besides maybe chase sometimes. Rae was ok just there, jack was boring, the ex best friend was boring and her motivations for doing what she did felt lack luster and benny felt too much of a gay stereotype.
I did tear up towards the end with the conflict but that was less about caring for the characters and writing and more about the situation in theory.
All in all it was okay, felt very wattpad fanfic-y but it wasn’t a terrible read, definitely didn’t need to be 400 pages though.
it was also very corny in some parts, like it felt like this was written by an out of touch middle aged white person who was searching up any and all slang to throw in.
these complaints are usually something i wouldn’t mind if i liked the characters, but i didn’t really fuck with anybody in this book besides maybe chase sometimes. Rae was ok just there, jack was boring, the ex best friend was boring and her motivations for doing what she did felt lack luster and benny felt too much of a gay stereotype.
I did tear up towards the end with the conflict but that was less about caring for the characters and writing and more about the situation in theory.
All in all it was okay, felt very wattpad fanfic-y but it wasn’t a terrible read, definitely didn’t need to be 400 pages though.
marieintheraw's review against another edition
4.0
I am convinced Steven Salvatore has one mission in life and it is to make me think so deeply every time I read one of their books. Their work is magical and brutal in a way that is clearly not for everyone, but in a way that just makes so much sense.
I received an ecopy of this book through Netgalley; however, my opinions are my own.
I received an ecopy of this book through Netgalley; however, my opinions are my own.
dantanian_noir's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
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
sweetrosegirl76's review against another edition
4.0
4-4.5! I really liked it! It's a pretty good book! I love the rep. Talks about body dysmorphia, eating disorders, gender identity. Body diversity. Idk if I'd reread it which is why I'm giving a 4. Maybe I would if I wanted to revist the gender identity discussion. It wasn't that prevalent in this book, I kinda hoped it would be bc I thought maybe it would help me with some questions I've been having lately but it didn't.
I like it, it's just harder for me to rate contemporary books higher bc even though that's all I'm reading lately, I don't really like contemporary
I like it, it's just harder for me to rate contemporary books higher bc even though that's all I'm reading lately, I don't really like contemporary
jsncnrd's review against another edition
4.0
4 / 4.5 -- This was such a fantastic story. I loved both Chase and Jack and found them to be realistic and truly human. We saw their good, their bad, and their ugly. I cared about both of them and spent a long portion of the book being completely uncertain as to what the ending of the book would be. There were excellent elements of fairytales that merged effortlessly with the other elements of the book.
The book was rooted in body dysmorphia and eating disorders. Those topics are very hard for a lot of people. But Steven Salvatore completely nailed it. It was explored with grace, delicacy, honesty, and compassion. The book gave us such an accurate depiction of body dysmorphia / ED's and dove into the thought processes behind it and how they seep into nearly every aspect of our lives.
There were some truly beautiful moments in the book that made me so happy. I also appreciated the raw, emotionally-charged (and sometimes NOT happy) moments that we got as well because it gave us so much character development.
Plus -- despite all the sweet moments we got, the book certainly didn’t sacrifice spice.
At times, I thought some of the dialogue was almost too “YaAsSs qUeEn”-y and it seemed a bit reductive to have that be an entire personality trait of queer characters. But otherwise, the characters were so much fun (i.e., Benny) that it didn’t make me love them any less.
SPOILERS BELOW
I was so happy with the ending that we got. It was satisfying (especially knowing how hard it was for Chase and Jack to get there), heartwarming, and true to the book’s title, because they lived. I would not mind another venture into the lives of Chase and Jack in the future to see what has happened since the ending of this book.
Overall, I truly enjoyed this read! I shed a few tears at certain points and had a giant smile on my face at other points. Steven Salvatore gave us peaks and valleys / highs and lows, and it made And They Lived …” a great book.
The book was rooted in body dysmorphia and eating disorders. Those topics are very hard for a lot of people. But Steven Salvatore completely nailed it. It was explored with grace, delicacy, honesty, and compassion. The book gave us such an accurate depiction of body dysmorphia / ED's and dove into the thought processes behind it and how they seep into nearly every aspect of our lives.
There were some truly beautiful moments in the book that made me so happy. I also appreciated the raw, emotionally-charged (and sometimes NOT happy) moments that we got as well because it gave us so much character development.
Plus -- despite all the sweet moments we got, the book certainly didn’t sacrifice spice.
At times, I thought some of the dialogue was almost too “YaAsSs qUeEn”-y and it seemed a bit reductive to have that be an entire personality trait of queer characters. But otherwise, the characters were so much fun (i.e., Benny) that it didn’t make me love them any less.
SPOILERS BELOW
I was so happy with the ending that we got. It was satisfying (especially knowing how hard it was for Chase and Jack to get there), heartwarming, and true to the book’s title, because they lived. I would not mind another venture into the lives of Chase and Jack in the future to see what has happened since the ending of this book.
Overall, I truly enjoyed this read! I shed a few tears at certain points and had a giant smile on my face at other points. Steven Salvatore gave us peaks and valleys / highs and lows, and it made And They Lived …” a great book.