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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
cute! transgender rep, vibey academic setting, cute love story. definitely a teen book with a silly plot at times and teens being teens but I had fun and loved all the characters.
hopeful
lighthearted
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
funny
lighthearted
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
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I will admit that a good chunk of the reason I'm giving this a higher review is because I love any kind of secret/hidden identity story. Probably one of my favorite things of all time. I really thought I was going to DNF this until about 40% of the way through, which is twice as long as I usually give a book, but it did win me over eventually.
There's a lot of repetition with Charlie and his concern of being discovered and being able to keep his grades up and stay at the school. While this was the focus, the way it was talked about was what started to drag.
I also had no idea what was going on with STRIP and the tutoring that Charlie got roped into.
There's a lot of repetition with Charlie and his concern of being discovered and being able to keep his grades up and stay at the school. While this was the focus, the way it was talked about was what started to drag.
I also had no idea what was going on with STRIP and the tutoring that Charlie got roped into.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Dysphoria
Moderate: Cursing, Classism
Minor: Homophobia, Infidelity, Transphobia, Outing
Y'all I'm so sorry but I just did not like this one. I was so excited because I really liked The Borrow A Boyfriend Club, but there were just several things I didn't love about this book. I thought the pacing was way off, which is something I felt for Powars's previous book, but not to the same degree as this one. I was also willing to be more forgiving of it last time since it was his debut novel, but I couldn't do the same here. It felt like the book was dragging yet the actual time elapsed was not a lot. Jasper was also really irritating to me for about 2/3 of the book, so that made it hard for me to want to root for the romance.
I also just have to say that a second chance romance vibe does not work for YA, in my opinion. I'm sorry but what does a middle schooler actually know about love? Crushes, sure, but to say that you had your heart broken at 12 just seems ridiculous to me, especially when the character can't be older than 15 or 16.
The intense heteronormativity in the book shocked me as well, especially considering that this is a queer love story and the MC is trans. I just found it a little strange that in the year 2025, we're somehow still harboring the delusion that everybody in same-gender schools is straight? The whole thing with the love letters is also just intensely straight, which I quickly grew tired of.
I did like the side characters, I just wish there was a little more of them, especially Delilah.
I also just have to say that a second chance romance vibe does not work for YA, in my opinion. I'm sorry but what does a middle schooler actually know about love? Crushes, sure, but to say that you had your heart broken at 12 just seems ridiculous to me, especially when the character can't be older than 15 or 16.
The intense heteronormativity in the book shocked me as well, especially considering that this is a queer love story and the MC is trans. I just found it a little strange that in the year 2025, we're somehow still harboring the delusion that everybody in same-gender schools is straight? The whole thing with the love letters is also just intensely straight, which I quickly grew tired of.
I did like the side characters, I just wish there was a little more of them, especially Delilah.
Read for my book club <3
It was... ok. I can't lie and say it didn't have me hooked in a way but for the most part I was a bit frustrated by the pacing, writing, and also the plot was a bit dumb. I mean, this school is quite ridiculous. They have the boys and girls on different sides of one fence and they keep them separated to the point that if boys and girls see each other briefly through the fence they're not allowed to smile and wave? What kind of traditions are these?
And the competitive nature of the school's curriculum is laughable. These are supposed to be genius kids who are competing to have the top 5 scores in their whole grade and their English Literature teacher is quizzing them on who spoke what line in a Shakespeare play? That's the academic rigor they're being put through? Ok... Charlie's the smartest smart boy he gets a special scholarship to attend this school and he's asking how rhythm can show emotion in a poem? Ok...
It also seems like there is literally only one grade level in this book, with only 15 students total attending the school. Powars did not do a great job establishing this book with a background of characters or really fleshing out the place that they're living in. However there is a map at the front in case you get lost!
Charlie is a frustrating character to follow because his perceptions of the world are so clearly off it's ridiculous. He's walking around "Nobody likes me, everyone is staring at me, nobody likes me and nobody wants to be my friend" while several boys are nearly tripping over themselves to be extremely friendly to the point that it's comedic. And I’ll say that I understand his anxieties they weren’t unrealistic, I was annoyed by how cartoonish everyone else looked trying to be his friend in the background. It wasn’t my favorite kind of writing, I suppose.
Jasper is annoying. I have nothing else to say here he was just annoying.
Delilah is there?? I guess?? She's allegedly Charlie's best friend and yet she is the most 2D character ever. I couldn't tell you much, she's just a 2D "takes no shit" type of girl, and conversations between her and Charlie were quite bland and unemotional to me.
The stakes in this novel were ridiculous, the mixer was honestly a let down with the way it was built up over the course of the novel, I saw no love letters! Why didn't I get to read more of the silly love letters they had to write I mean there were nearly a hundred I think?
Alright that's enough writing for this book.
It was... ok. I can't lie and say it didn't have me hooked in a way but for the most part I was a bit frustrated by the pacing, writing, and also the plot was a bit dumb. I mean, this school is quite ridiculous. They have the boys and girls on different sides of one fence and they keep them separated to the point that if boys and girls see each other briefly through the fence they're not allowed to smile and wave? What kind of traditions are these?
And the competitive nature of the school's curriculum is laughable. These are supposed to be genius kids who are competing to have the top 5 scores in their whole grade and their English Literature teacher is quizzing them on who spoke what line in a Shakespeare play? That's the academic rigor they're being put through? Ok... Charlie's the smartest smart boy he gets a special scholarship to attend this school and he's asking how rhythm can show emotion in a poem? Ok...
It also seems like there is literally only one grade level in this book, with only 15 students total attending the school. Powars did not do a great job establishing this book with a background of characters or really fleshing out the place that they're living in. However there is a map at the front in case you get lost!
Charlie is a frustrating character to follow because his perceptions of the world are so clearly off it's ridiculous. He's walking around "Nobody likes me, everyone is staring at me, nobody likes me and nobody wants to be my friend" while several boys are nearly tripping over themselves to be extremely friendly to the point that it's comedic. And I’ll say that I understand his anxieties they weren’t unrealistic, I was annoyed by how cartoonish everyone else looked trying to be his friend in the background. It wasn’t my favorite kind of writing, I suppose.
Jasper is annoying. I have nothing else to say here he was just annoying.
Delilah is there?? I guess?? She's allegedly Charlie's best friend and yet she is the most 2D character ever. I couldn't tell you much, she's just a 2D "takes no shit" type of girl, and conversations between her and Charlie were quite bland and unemotional to me.
The stakes in this novel were ridiculous, the mixer was honestly a let down with the way it was built up over the course of the novel, I saw no love letters! Why didn't I get to read more of the silly love letters they had to write I mean there were nearly a hundred I think?
Alright that's enough writing for this book.
funny
relaxing
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