Reviews - And They Were Roommates

1.36k reviews for:

And They Were Roommates

Page Powars

3.8 AVERAGE

libraryofphoenix's review against another edition

3.75

funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

This book had such a unique plot that I have not seen before, but the execution was a bit underwhelming. Jasper broke Charlie’s heart at a summer camp before Charlie transitioned, so Charlie spends the majority of the book angry at Jasper for something Jasper did not know he did. Even after the rival stage in their relationship, it never fully felt like the two of them were getting closer (or Charlie less angry). I think the romance part of this book moved too fast without enough growth from rivals (kind of) to lovers. The two were always at odds with each other, and I would have liked to see them connect with each other more.

What saved this book for me was the secondary plot. Being at a boarding school was the perfect opportunity for a secret society type plot, which happened. It was an interesting concept that was a bit silly in theory, but I got so invested in it. The love letters were such a cute idea, and I think with some more time this would have made for the cutest romance plot. As is, it just fell flat.

I would recommend this book for any transgender people who are scared of never being ‘enough’ or passing enough for a certain gender. I think a lot of people would relate to all of Charlie’s anxieties. Also, anyone who loves a bit of light academia may enjoy this book.

Content Warnings

summerdrummer's review against another edition

3.25

funny 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: Yes

shaughnessy_o's review against another edition

2.0

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

n0ra's review against another edition

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

damien666's review against another edition

3.5

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.

eldritchshark's review against another edition

2.5

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.

When I first read that Charlie had come from a home with a single mother, whose bookstore was racking up a lot of debt, I had hoped Charlie hadn’t had top surgery. It feels indefinitely cruel to say that about a life saving procedure, but with how the narrative was presented it felt right to represent that especially given how Page Power's previous work ‘The Borrow a Boyfriend Club’ showcased someone who had as well.

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.