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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
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:
Complicated
fast-paced
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Once again, I must admit the brutal reality that some YA books are starting to become too juvenile for me. Reading "And They Were Roommates" reminded me of the time in my early teens when I tried rewatching "Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends," only to be let down by the slow pacing and humor I had more or less outgrown. I'm still fond of Foster's nostalgically. I finished reading this book and even appreciated its academic, burnt-out, gifted kid representation. But my grievances towards this book remain.
There isn't a good way to start this without admitting right off the bat that the characters were annoying, and I felt completely indifferent towards the plot. As a protagonist, Charlie is fine. I found him to be whiny and somewhat rude to Jasper and Deliah when neither of these characters deserved that treatment. Yes, Charlie has every right to treat Jasper unfairly in the beginning, given the summer camp incident; however, whenever Jasper was genuinely considerate to Charlie, Charlie was unreasonably upset with him. Similarly, with Deliah, Charlie assumes way too quickly she's purposely ignoring him when, in reality, she's equally as overworked with school as he is. These examples are alright demonstrations of Charlie's paranoia, and I would've been fine with it if Charlie were self-aware of his attitude some chapters before the finale (not the last 3!!!). Speaking of Jasper and Deliah, Charlie's relationship with both of them felt hollow. For Jasper, it was a lack of tension to justify their will-they/won't-they; it was completely obvious from their first interaction that both of them were down bad. For Deliah, there aren't enough interactions between them to showcase the fact that they are best friends. Maybe some flashbacks or secret meetings would've helped.
Jasper, Deliah, Xaiver, and the other characters were fine. The only character I actually cared about was Blaze. When that eloquent, little, whimsical bastard shot down that giant plastic spider at the homecoming dance, I knew I would lay down everyone else in this book to save that kid.
So, besides the ranking system, Charlie's scholarship, and the preservation of his identity, the rest of the plot —the secret club of writing love letters for the male population to the separated female population —was dull. Thinking about it now, the plot felt like an episode of a Disney Channel TV show. Not to mention the inclusion of cringey teen slang and a themed setting that feels outrageously ridiculous, if somewhat aesthetically appealing...?
This story could work better as a teen sitcom if given the same amount of time and dedication as "The Summer I Turned Pretty" adaptation. Whether I would watch it is highly unlikely. But I wouldn't mind being proven wrong.
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
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
funny
hopeful
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
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
i wanted to like it but god this was not it. and I KNOW it's a lighthearted queer YA romcom but ive read a lot in that vein and that genre does not mean i have to like it just because it is a queer lighthearted romcom.
what i liked:
what i liked:
- the friends of Charlie (excluding Blaze)
- i do like this kind of private school set up with a group of boys who are presumed to be toxic and then are the exact opposite
what i disliked:
- these characters were not real people
- not a single thing the characters did was real
- there is no way jasper is a good letter writer OR a good poet
- there is definitely no way Charlie is a good letter writer
- and dont even get me started on Blaze the 12 year old because i will actually set fire to something
- i just didnt care
- the romance- or should i say: what romance?
- i mean come on
- i know they are like 16 but what do you mean they are IN LOVE? these boys fought for 300 pages and even then i wasn't like wow romantic tension, i was like wow these guys are annoying. i did not believe this romance at all.
- the whole summer plot- UGH. BAD. like what do you mean jasper didnt know he was in love until they kissed but after that decided that he was the love of his life? and then because of that summer they decide that no they are in love all is okay. NO.
- the PLOT
- the premise is SO GOOD- a roommate not recognised because they are trans= great!
- BUT- then you add in this whole letter writing thing and like? why do i care? i don't get the premise of the letter writing, don't get why jasper was so pressed to let Charlie write the letters, don't get why Charlie agreed when there were much simpler ways to get out of having a roommate etc etc etc
- not one thing that happened in this book was believable nor made me care about anything
- there was no set up, no stakes, no backstory or depth
- like it was half-given with the mum and the bookstore etc and then given up on. i needed more about the internal struggles, the push to be excellent etc., without just being told 'oh Charlie is good at this and has to be'
- i just DIDNT CARE ABOUT THEM
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
hopeful
lighthearted
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:
No