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Overall I found this to be an enjoyable read. I cared about the main character and what happened to him. It was a fun story, and (spoiler alert) he managed to be very self-reflective and learn a lot from his mistakes, which I like in a narrator. I wouldn't recommend it for middle school kids because of the drinking and sexual content.
Some favorite lines:
"Acceptance is an affirmation that you're good enough."
"'It's hard to be different,' Scarborough said. 'And perhaps the best answer is not to tolerate differences, not even to accept them, but to celebrate them. Maybe then those who are different would feel more loved and less...well, tolerated.'"
"'Guilt is about something you do. Shame is about who you are. Guilt,' she'd explained, 'was useful because a person could learn from it and do better next time. Shame, on the other hand, was useless,' she'd always said. 'What is to be gained from thinking you're a bad person?'"
Some favorite lines:
"Acceptance is an affirmation that you're good enough."
"'It's hard to be different,' Scarborough said. 'And perhaps the best answer is not to tolerate differences, not even to accept them, but to celebrate them. Maybe then those who are different would feel more loved and less...well, tolerated.'"
"'Guilt is about something you do. Shame is about who you are. Guilt,' she'd explained, 'was useful because a person could learn from it and do better next time. Shame, on the other hand, was useless,' she'd always said. 'What is to be gained from thinking you're a bad person?'"
Read for “research” as I develop a LGBT collection for the YA section at work. Really loved this one - emotional and tangled. Eager for the second book!
How can you end a book like this?
At first, I promised myself that Im not gonna give anything less than 6/10 to this book (or any other book) if it's well written. And this book is: easy to read yet well written, even for someone like me whose mother tongue is not English. I enjoyed almost everything about this, except for the sporty parts and the chapters where Rafe is writing for his teacher.
And then. The end. What the hell.
After Rafe and Ben argues, I felt like the book wanted to convince me and Rafe that the world does not revolve around him and him being gay. And I was fine with that, really, but the book ended so abrutly with only Rafe that I felt like I was slapped. If the world does not revolve around Rafe, then whats up with Ben? Dont get me wrong, I was not looking for a happy end, but leaving Ben in the dark without an proper ending is just proves that Rafe is the center of all.
I would still recommend everyone this book who is interested in lgbtq+ books, because this is a good one with some thought provoking parts, but the ending killed it for me.
At first, I promised myself that Im not gonna give anything less than 6/10 to this book (or any other book) if it's well written. And this book is: easy to read yet well written, even for someone like me whose mother tongue is not English. I enjoyed almost everything about this, except for the sporty parts and the chapters where Rafe is writing for his teacher.
And then. The end. What the hell.
After Rafe and Ben argues, I felt like the book wanted to convince me and Rafe that the world does not revolve around him and him being gay. And I was fine with that, really, but the book ended so abrutly with only Rafe that I felt like I was slapped. If the world does not revolve around Rafe, then whats up with Ben? Dont get me wrong, I was not looking for a happy end, but leaving Ben in the dark without an proper ending is just proves that Rafe is the center of all.
I would still recommend everyone this book who is interested in lgbtq+ books, because this is a good one with some thought provoking parts, but the ending killed it for me.
I’ll be honest: I had a hard time starting this one. At the beginning it seemed...juvenile, some how? But as I got into it, I really started to fall in love with the characters. Will for sure read more by the author
I wanted to re-read this before Honestly, Ben comes out -- still just as good as I remember!
The premise is terrific and Konigsberg explores it thoughtfully. Memorable characters, a really well-drawn love interest, and funny dialogue. Loved it.
Overall I thought the book was fine. I enjoyed it enough to read it but I felt the end was flawed. Though I understand where Ben was coming from with his anger, I remember how it felt being in the closet. Even though Rafe was out at home, he was not comfortable coming out at school because of how he was treated differently at home because of being out. Been telling Rafe that he was lying to him because he had not come out to him isn't fair. Even if they had sort of been together. If I had read this before I was out that would have felt awful because I already felt like I was lying about myself to everyone.
I listened to this book (part of the summer Audio sync series). The premise is interesting - Rafe decides to identify as straight, even though he came out at a much younger age. His reason is that he is tired of wearing a label, and wants just to be a guy. (He can do this, as he is going away to school.) denying who you has complications and these become obvious, the more he settle into his role. In the end, of course, who he is becomes more important. I found his relationship with Ben to be problematic to the narrative of the story, which is why the 3 stars.