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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
This was a story about Charlie, a trans boy going to an all boys boarding school. He is terrified of being uncovered and is thus not very happy with the fact he got assigned a roommate, even less so when that roommate turns out to know him from before he transitioned. What follows is sometimes a hard to get through story about what it means to be trans and coming of age.
Jasper was the absolute highlight of this book for me. The way he was so easily seen through yet Charlie did not see it at all was very funny to me. I love his character and his motivations though I found the conflict and characters to be a little junivenile, but it is a young adult, so to be expected.
Mostly I found Charlies absolute obsession and terror over being found out a little grating to read at times. It didn't always feel like a real look at anxiety and teenagehood. It felt overexaggerated and shallow. The characters also lacked depth sometimes but overall I did enjoy this book.
Jasper was the absolute highlight of this book for me. The way he was so easily seen through yet Charlie did not see it at all was very funny to me. I love his character and his motivations though I found the conflict and characters to be a little junivenile, but it is a young adult, so to be expected.
Mostly I found Charlies absolute obsession and terror over being found out a little grating to read at times. It didn't always feel like a real look at anxiety and teenagehood. It felt overexaggerated and shallow. The characters also lacked depth sometimes but overall I did enjoy this book.
lighthearted
medium-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
I truly wish I loved this book, but I simply didn’t.
It was one of my most anticipated reads this year. The premise and what I’d heard about the characters seemed promising and I was excited to finally get my hands on a copy, especially as a fan of Page Powar’s previous work.
It was one of my most anticipated reads this year. The premise and what I’d heard about the characters seemed promising and I was excited to finally get my hands on a copy, especially as a fan of Page Powar’s previous work.
It feels like a privilege for Charlie to be able to attend this school, and have absolutely no one question his identity despite harboring so many worries about it getting out. To my knowledge, this privilege is never quite brought up and it didn’t narratively make sense to me given the financial aspect and the timeline of events.
Charlie was a hard character to love, when so many of the other characters were better to me in every way. Despite how much he tries to worry about others, he’s so self centered about himself and his problems though this does get addressed within the book itself through his friendship with Delilah.
As mentioned before, he has the privilege of passing, but still constantly worries about not doing so though I personally understand how trans people can pick at their bodies as dysphoria picks at their brains no matter how hard they pass.
He was constantly angry with Jasper, his roommate and love interest, for fair reason. Though I felt it dragged out for so long, that when they finally got together it didn’t feel believable. It felt too quick, yet not quick enough, and I didn’t really believe he actually liked Jasper outside of a physical attraction.
When they kissed, I was disappointed that he thought all he was kissing him for was to get him out of his system, as if that’s all the kiss meant. I thought he’d think differently, given he spent the entire book mad that Jasper had kissed him while supposedly flirting with other girls, and that that kiss they shared two years ago hadn’t meant anything.
The pacing was off, I personally had issues with the trans representation in the book, the main character was hard to love and those issues made the otherwise cute premise simply okay.
The execution could have been a lot better, though I think I’d still recommend it to people.
emotional
funny
hopeful
damn i was fucking barking w/this book like awooga awooga it’s so pretty and fun
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for a free advanced reader’s copy. I received this copy in exchange for my honest review.
What a fun, goofy, yet sweet ride this book was. As much as I giggled at Powars two for two on the ‘secret romance club’ plot in the two books I’ve read, it really does work. The characters are charming and sweet, and Charlie is such a fun and transparently unreliable narrator, especially when it comes to the romance. I’m a sucker for the situations where the love-blind stubborn one is completely blind to the obvious way the romantic one treats them differently from everyone else.
Ben Balmaceda also knocked this narration out of the park, it was full of teen angst and hope and so much character that I couldn’t help seeing myself in Charlie’s over-achieving nature. This performance really sold the emotional highs of this book where stubborn, perfectionist, do it all yourself Capricorn King Charlie gets told he’s not alone (my eyes were definitely misty).
If you like goofy levels of tension, unreliable but relatable narrators, and everything that Tamaki and Haruhi had going on in Ouran Highschool Host club, I fear you’ll devour this book just as much as I did. What a slump killer this was! Thank you, Ben Balmaceda for your enchanting narration, and Page Powars for being reliably amazing!
What a fun, goofy, yet sweet ride this book was. As much as I giggled at Powars two for two on the ‘secret romance club’ plot in the two books I’ve read, it really does work. The characters are charming and sweet, and Charlie is such a fun and transparently unreliable narrator, especially when it comes to the romance. I’m a sucker for the situations where the love-blind stubborn one is completely blind to the obvious way the romantic one treats them differently from everyone else.
Ben Balmaceda also knocked this narration out of the park, it was full of teen angst and hope and so much character that I couldn’t help seeing myself in Charlie’s over-achieving nature. This performance really sold the emotional highs of this book where stubborn, perfectionist, do it all yourself Capricorn King Charlie gets told he’s not alone (my eyes were definitely misty).
If you like goofy levels of tension, unreliable but relatable narrators, and everything that Tamaki and Haruhi had going on in Ouran Highschool Host club, I fear you’ll devour this book just as much as I did. What a slump killer this was! Thank you, Ben Balmaceda for your enchanting narration, and Page Powars for being reliably amazing!
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes