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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
hopeful
lighthearted
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
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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
I read this in one sitting in less than 3 hours! I liked it! I do wish maybe there had been a flashback or something to their original meeting as it was only referenced. A Jasper POV would be cute!
challenging
emotional
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:
Yes
| Favorite Quote | (Placeholder)
| My Review | A brilliant premise that suffers from its genre limitations.
Before my critique, I want to highlight that I loved the refreshing perspective of a trans main character. The very real fears and obstacles the trans community face was expressed and illustrated beautifully. That alone is the reason this book sits at three stars for me. The romance, unfortunately, leaves a lot to be desired.
To start, I found the “meet-cute” puzzling. It would have been better to see what brought Jasper and Charlie together in the first place. It’s hard to imagine they would get along, much less have a fling. I also feel this story should have taken place in college. It would’ve been more interesting to read about adult conflicts and proper romantic tension, which are things the YA genre, by the nature of its audience, seems to lack.
I am aware that I am not the target audience, yet I can’t help but feel disappointed anyways. If I was in my teens, I may have enjoyed this more.
| My Review | A brilliant premise that suffers from its genre limitations.
Before my critique, I want to highlight that I loved the refreshing perspective of a trans main character. The very real fears and obstacles the trans community face was expressed and illustrated beautifully. That alone is the reason this book sits at three stars for me. The romance, unfortunately, leaves a lot to be desired.
To start, I found the “meet-cute” puzzling. It would have been better to see what brought Jasper and Charlie together in the first place. It’s hard to imagine they would get along, much less have a fling. I also feel this story should have taken place in college. It would’ve been more interesting to read about adult conflicts and proper romantic tension, which are things the YA genre, by the nature of its audience, seems to lack.
I am aware that I am not the target audience, yet I can’t help but feel disappointed anyways. If I was in my teens, I may have enjoyed this more.
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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
Thank you to Page Powars, Macmillan, and Netgalley for the copy of this book!
And They Were Roommates by Page Powars is a queer coming of age book set in a very exclusive boarding school in upstate New York. The main character, Charlie, is dealing with internal and external pressures that set him apart from his peers. Not only is he the Excellence Scholar for his year and needs to maintain a top five class rank to keep his scholarship, he is trying to keep his trans identity a secret from everyone for fear of expulsion from such an institution and because he desperately wants to be perceived by others as the boy he is. To make matters worse, he is having trouble adjusting to the rigor and intense nature of school, and the boy who broke his heart at camp pre-transition is his current roommate, who doesn’t recognize him. Filled with hijinks surrounding a love letter writing and delivery scheme run by a secret society in exchange for a single room, Charlie explores who he is as a person and how to become more comfortable with himself. Furthermore, the book is filled with other very wacky and diverse supporting characters that make Charlie’s first semester at Valentine Academy for Boys even more memorable.
If you can’t tell, I enjoyed this book. The writing is phenomenal, and I love how all the characters were self-centered, imperfect, and annoying, albeit to differing degrees, because that is how actual teenagers are. My one issue is that it was assumed that a large part of why Charlie wanted a single room is because he wants to keep his being trans a secret from the school and the other students, for fear of being judged or treated differently. This makes complete sense. However, Charlie is also distraught that he is going to be kicked out of the academy if they find out that he is trans, which was simply stated as a fact. It is assumed that describing the academy as ‘traditional’ immediately means that they have outdated beliefs and prejudices, which I did not find to be the case, despite the bizarre grade-based ranking system and strict separation between the boys’ and girls’ schools. I think this nuance could have been better explained and explored, especially at the start of the book. That being said, this book got better and better the more I read, and I am looking forward to reading more from Powars as he has a meaningful perspective and a unique writing style that makes his books engaging and challenging in all the right ways.
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I have to start this review by saying that I’m usually not a romance book person, but that’s usually because I can never relate to the characters. They’re almost always straight, and if they’re not, then they’re cisgender. So when I saw the main character is both trans and queer, I had to read this. Well okay I didn’t “read” it as some ppl are picky about, I listened to Ben Balmaceda read it! I adore his voice sm.
But oh my god this was such an amazing read!! I found myself giggling and kicking my feet on Charlie’s behalf. Being able to read a story where someone like me can both fall in love and have someone fall in love with him, made me so so happy. I need more trans and queer romance books and I’m happy that this is the first of hopefully many.
But oh my god this was such an amazing read!! I found myself giggling and kicking my feet on Charlie’s behalf. Being able to read a story where someone like me can both fall in love and have someone fall in love with him, made me so so happy. I need more trans and queer romance books and I’m happy that this is the first of hopefully many.
funny
hopeful
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:
Complicated
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
????? not for me i fear because wtf is this school????? wtf is going on with jasper being so insuffrable???
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes