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jurgbury's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
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
4.5
This is a lovely YA book that I highly recommend but it does have more sexual content than a lot of other YA books. Enrique and Salem are darling characters and I enjoyed following their story over a summer and their relationships with their friends.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Racial slurs, and Racism
jaelovesbooks's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
I loved 90% of this book and I adored the main character. He was well written and interesting. His experiences were relatable. The 10% I took issue with concerned me deeply. It was his relationship with a teacher. Kids need queer adults in their lives and the MC definitely needed some advice from a mature queer person. BUT it wasn’t okay for the teacher to hit on him on an app (the MC lied about his age; teacher didn’t know) and then still invite him into his home alone once he found out that the his date was actually an underage student. The MC proceeds to hit on and flirt with the teacher; no, the teacher doesn’t reciprocate but he doesn’t put proper boundaries in place. I was frustrated because I really liked the teacher initially, but I don’t think it was appropriate how this interaction went in the book. If the teacher wanted to give advice, they should’ve gone to a public, neutral place. They absolutely should not have been alone in the teacher’s home. Also, this happened twice, and the teacher has to ask the MC to please note tell anyone. Absolutely sketchy. Different boundaries should have been modeled imo.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs, Sexual content, Racism, Homophobia, and Islamophobia
brokenbodybitch's review against another edition
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
I’m still unsure my feelings so I’m going to let it sit for a bit before I do a proper review but I enjoy it with the exception of a few things but my initial thoughts;
There is more sexual content in this book then make me comfortable for something being marketed as a ya book with 17yo characters to 14+…(from what I’ve seen) yes I was reading more graphic stuff younger but something about the frequency and level of detail coupled with the constant reminder they aren’t over 18 yet and it being marketed from what I’ve seen as 14+ just felt off and took me out of the story a quite often. yes, it’s like quite true to reality from what I remember about being 17 and I mean it was only like 3 years ago... but from the way I had seen it marketed it felt like it wasn’t what I would’ve expected.
I really love the mental health rep, the queer rep, I found the book really funny at times and I think the more emotional stuff was handled well (PLEASE CHECK CW/TW) but I just kept getting pulled out of the story so I need to sit with it a bit more or re read now that I know what to expect so I’m not so thrown by it
There is more sexual content in this book then make me comfortable for something being marketed as a ya book with 17yo characters to 14+…(from what I’ve seen) yes I was reading more graphic stuff younger but something about the frequency and level of detail coupled with the constant reminder they aren’t over 18 yet and it being marketed from what I’ve seen as 14+ just felt off and took me out of the story a quite often. yes, it’s like quite true to reality from what I remember about being 17 and I mean it was only like 3 years ago... but from the way I had seen it marketed it felt like it wasn’t what I would’ve expected.
I really love the mental health rep, the queer rep, I found the book really funny at times and I think the more emotional stuff was handled well (PLEASE CHECK CW/TW) but I just kept getting pulled out of the story so I need to sit with it a bit more or re read now that I know what to expect so I’m not so thrown by it
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Biphobia, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Transphobia, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Toxic relationship
Minor: Vomit, Drug use, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
The narrator/MC is a 17yo boy and there is a fair amount of sexual scenes throughout the book between 17yo’s, they aren’t overly graphic but they are quite frequent and not fade to black. ➖ There is a scene where a friend of his talks about using dating apps while under age and explains how he lies about his age to sleep with older people (adult/minor relationships) and at one point Quique decides to give it a try, there is no adult/minor relations however he does go over to this man’s house and it ends up being someone in a position of power over him, again it is not used and is handled well but the man isdrraytay's review against another edition
emotional
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, Mental illness, Sexual content, Biphobia, and Racism
Minor: Mass/school shootings
stuckinatimeloop's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia, Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, and Islamophobia
Moderate: Racial slurs, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Sexual content and Violence
tifcochran's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
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
I received this book from NetGalley for an honest review.
This book is marketed as a "Fun, Irrelevant Summer Romp", and i feel like the marketing team did not read this book. Though this is a book that takes place during summer and it is full of funny moments at times, i would not place this in the "romp" category. To me, it seems this book was marketed as a fully light hearted novel, where it does have very dark and emotional scenes.
Enrique "Quique” is a young, bi, high schooler who is trying to spend his summer meeting potential romantic prospects and getting over his crush he has on his best friend Saleem, while Saleem is away for a family Vacation.
Quique is an emotional mess, he struggles with anxiety and depression, he has low self esteem, and though in better understanding himself and his sexuality. The Way that Quique and side characters explore and communicate about their sexuality is refreshing and honest. Though, this book does have some sensitive teacher-student relationship that happens. It is handled well, and thoughtfully.
This book strikes a mix of funny and uncomfortable moments, that we all had growing up in high school and trying to understand who we are, who we love, and how we fit into our world. This is very much an Upper YA novel, with some mild sexual content throughout. When I was in High School, i wish there were more books like this one.
This book is marketed as a "Fun, Irrelevant Summer Romp", and i feel like the marketing team did not read this book. Though this is a book that takes place during summer and it is full of funny moments at times, i would not place this in the "romp" category. To me, it seems this book was marketed as a fully light hearted novel, where it does have very dark and emotional scenes.
Enrique "Quique” is a young, bi, high schooler who is trying to spend his summer meeting potential romantic prospects and getting over his crush he has on his best friend Saleem, while Saleem is away for a family Vacation.
Quique is an emotional mess, he struggles with anxiety and depression, he has low self esteem, and though in better understanding himself and his sexuality. The Way that Quique and side characters explore and communicate about their sexuality is refreshing and honest. Though, this book does have some sensitive teacher-student relationship that happens. It is handled well, and thoughtfully.
This book strikes a mix of funny and uncomfortable moments, that we all had growing up in high school and trying to understand who we are, who we love, and how we fit into our world. This is very much an Upper YA novel, with some mild sexual content throughout. When I was in High School, i wish there were more books like this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Alcohol, Biphobia, and Grief
Moderate: Homophobia, Islamophobia, and Racism
Minor: Racial slurs
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