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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I'm all for a sort of "She's The Man" premise but actually explicitly queer, I thought I'd enjoy it. I'm in my second chance romance eraaaa. I was ready for a speedy read, wet my appetite, extremely accessible. But man, I really really didn't respond to this. No butterflies for the romance, pretty boring. The trappings of the academic competition fell flat rather than made me feel any level of anxiety.
I'm opting not to rate it because I don't think it's particularly helpful for me to pan a completely harmless, sweet enough in theory, trans romance! There's readership out there for this I'm sure. I'm not the audience.
(But I'd likely have given it a 1 or 1.5, I should have DNFed, everything about the bad experience I had is on me!)
I'm opting not to rate it because I don't think it's particularly helpful for me to pan a completely harmless, sweet enough in theory, trans romance! There's readership out there for this I'm sure. I'm not the audience.
i think most of my qualms with this book have to do with the fact that it's a YA romance, a genre i usually tend to steer away from. and so, i shouldn't be surprised that, even though it has a beautiful cover and an intriguing premise, it fell flat for me.
the romance just didn't feel believable to me. i believed that the characters were nervous around each other, and i believed they were attracted to each other, that they liked each other. but, to me, it was all way too superficial to warrant the love declarations we got in the end. although, to play the devil's advocate, these characters are only sixteen years old, so of course their first love is going to feel like the greatest of all time. i just don't really enjoy reading romances where the characters are so young that, obviously, they are not ending up together later in their lives.
also, for a story that centers around love in its written form, around poetry, there was surprisingly little poetry in the text itself. i have no idea what Jasper's writing looks like or how on earth he sold so many copies of it. i do not believe for one second that Charlie is a good writer, at least not as good as Jasper claims he is. i don't believe that he's as smart a student as the story makes him out to be. sure, we see him studying, but his "excellency" is told more than shown. i don't find him particularly brilliant and i don't find Jasper brilliant either. also, why is there a twelve year old at this high school? and more importantly why is he so insufferable?
i guess this book only works if you don't take it too seriously. it's a bit silly and ridiculous at times, and the characters are very over-the-top, which is entertaining if nothing else.
the romance just didn't feel believable to me. i believed that the characters were nervous around each other, and i believed they were attracted to each other, that they liked each other. but, to me, it was all way too superficial to warrant the love declarations we got in the end. although, to play the devil's advocate, these characters are only sixteen years old, so of course their first love is going to feel like the greatest of all time. i just don't really enjoy reading romances where the characters are so young that, obviously, they are not ending up together later in their lives.
also, for a story that centers around love in its written form, around poetry, there was surprisingly little poetry in the text itself. i have no idea what Jasper's writing looks like or how on earth he sold so many copies of it. i do not believe for one second that Charlie is a good writer, at least not as good as Jasper claims he is. i don't believe that he's as smart a student as the story makes him out to be. sure, we see him studying, but his "excellency" is told more than shown. i don't find him particularly brilliant and i don't find Jasper brilliant either. also, why is there a twelve year old at this high school? and more importantly why is he so insufferable?
i guess this book only works if you don't take it too seriously. it's a bit silly and ridiculous at times, and the characters are very over-the-top, which is entertaining if nothing else.
The trans representation didn't make a lot of sense with modern reality -- top surgery for minors is incredibly rare. The school also felt like a caricature with the cutthroat rankings, the weird scholarship that required a person to be in the top 5, and the strange policies. I really wanted to like it, but the characters aren't compelling enough for me to get past all this other weirdness.
shout out to the gays
this one was enjoyable but i wanted more - it ended too abruptly
btw special regard to the chapters of the book being named after classic literature
"Love is never not scary. It's a matter of wether you're enjoying that fear."
this one was enjoyable but i wanted more - it ended too abruptly
btw special regard to the chapters of the book being named after classic literature
"Love is never not scary. It's a matter of wether you're enjoying that fear."
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
slow-paced
funny
hopeful
lighthearted