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danajoy's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.75
If you want a complete escapist, Aquamarine meets little mermaid but queer YA story then this might be the book for you.
If you want a romance that feels well rounded with completely realised characters that you buy the love between then this could be a disappointment.
Out of the Blue is conceptually fun and filled with representation. I love the Nonbinary merfolk and that the cast don't have to come out.
Sean is a life guard that finds 'Ross' when they wash up on the beach to start their coming of age journey on land. Sean is heartbroken after being dumped for someone else by his boyfriend and 'Ross' thinks humanity is horrible and destructive and can't wait for the month to be over so they can return to the sea.
I read a review that I can't help but agree with. The main couple's relationship is based on lust and never really evolves beyond it but they call it love. It is all horny teenagers who are more interested in making out or having sex than anything else.
The writing is quite juvenile but the content isn't really. It feels like there is some disconnect between the target demographic and the writing style as I assume this is meant to be older YA.
If you want a romance that feels well rounded with completely realised characters that you buy the love between then this could be a disappointment.
Out of the Blue is conceptually fun and filled with representation. I love the Nonbinary merfolk and that the cast don't have to come out.
Sean is a life guard that finds 'Ross' when they wash up on the beach to start their coming of age journey on land. Sean is heartbroken after being dumped for someone else by his boyfriend and 'Ross' thinks humanity is horrible and destructive and can't wait for the month to be over so they can return to the sea.
I read a review that I can't help but agree with. The main couple's relationship is based on lust and never really evolves beyond it but they call it love. It is all horny teenagers who are more interested in making out or having sex than anything else.
The writing is quite juvenile but the content isn't really. It feels like there is some disconnect between the target demographic and the writing style as I assume this is meant to be older YA.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Car accident, Infidelity, and Sexual content
ezwolf's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Crest is a merperson about to take their Journey to the human world, in the next month they need to help a human out of good will in order to make the choice to stay a merperson or become human. If they choose to be selfish and not help anyone, they will be forced to be human forever.
I will start out by saying I really liked the way that the merpeople were not gendered and that the author took every chance to make every character queer in some way and there was no homophobia or purposeful misgendering. There was also some good attention brought to body positivity. It also didn't end quite like I expected it too which was a pleasant surprise.
But otherwise this book really played into every cliche trope and had some weird plot holes. Like that merpeople don't have a gender binary but that when they send their children to land their bodies are set to the human gender binary without any in put from the merperson. Crest even makes a comment about they didn't know why they'd been given this body. Crest also talked about how they were given "human lessons" but then didn't know how to cross a street or open doors or what phone apps were (but then was able to open and use YouTube fine on their own).
Also the amount of pop culture references was incredibly over the top (including the name Ross, which I thought was a coincidence and I just don't like the name because I don't like the character from FRIENDS, but more than likely Crest was given the name Ross as a reference since there is a reference to Chandler too).
Thank you to Net Galley for making this book available in exchange for an honest review!
I will start out by saying I really liked the way that the merpeople were not gendered and that the author took every chance to make every character queer in some way and there was no homophobia or purposeful misgendering. There was also some good attention brought to body positivity. It also didn't end quite like I expected it too which was a pleasant surprise.
But otherwise this book really played into every cliche trope and had some weird plot holes. Like that merpeople don't have a gender binary but that when they send their children to land their bodies are set to the human gender binary without any in put from the merperson. Crest even makes a comment about they didn't know why they'd been given this body. Crest also talked about how they were given "human lessons" but then didn't know how to cross a street or open doors or what phone apps were (but then was able to open and use YouTube fine on their own).
Also the amount of pop culture references was incredibly over the top (including the name Ross, which I thought was a coincidence and I just don't like the name because I don't like the character from FRIENDS, but more than likely Crest was given the name Ross as a reference since there is a reference to Chandler too).
Thank you to Net Galley for making this book available in exchange for an honest review!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity and Sexual content
Minor: Mental illness, Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Sexual assault
betweentheshelves's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Before becoming a full-fledged merperson, they have to take a Journey on land and help a human. Crest is not excited to be on their Journey. After all, humans are the ones responsible for the pollution of the planet. But if they don’t complete their Journey, they risk being stuck on land forever.
Meanwhile, Sean has recently been dumped. Completely devastated, his summer plans are ruined. But when Crest washes up on land nearby where Sean is a lifeguard, it might just be an act of fate. If Crest can help Sean get his boyfriend back, they can get back to the ocean. And Sean will be happy with his ex. However, fake dating only works if you don’t develop feelings for each other.
Thanks to NetGalley and HarperTeen for an advanced copy of Out of the Blue to review! I enjoyed Jason June’s debut YA from last year, Jay’s Gay Agenda, so I was excited for what this one had in store. Unfortunately, it was a bit of a mixed bag for me.
What I appreciated about this book was the mythology and the lore June put behind merpeople. It was an overall different approach, and I think it worked well for this particular story. Making merpeople nonbinary is brilliant, and I loved the idea of them having to help humans on land before becoming a full member of their society. Such an overall fun concept that I haven’t seen done before.
For the most part, the characters were well-writtne, too. Sean and Crest/Ross were the best narrators for this story, and each of their voices were distinct. I do wish some of the side characters had been more developed, especially Miguel. That storyline felt a bit rushed to me, and I wanted it to be explored more.
The pacing is what really took me out of this story. It felt like the first half dragged a bit too much, while the second half was too fast. Cutting out some of the unecessary plot elements would have helped to make the pacing feel more even. Some of the dialogue also felt…off to me. Not necessarily with Crest, because that made sense. But with some of the other characters. Also, the plot twists felt a bit convenient for me.
Despite that, I do think the story itself is entertaining enough and will make a great summer read!
-----
Okay I was so excited for this book, but it didn't hook me like Jay's Gay Agenda did. Which is a bummer because we love a gay book about merpeople! Stay tuned for a full review to come next week.
Meanwhile, Sean has recently been dumped. Completely devastated, his summer plans are ruined. But when Crest washes up on land nearby where Sean is a lifeguard, it might just be an act of fate. If Crest can help Sean get his boyfriend back, they can get back to the ocean. And Sean will be happy with his ex. However, fake dating only works if you don’t develop feelings for each other.
Thanks to NetGalley and HarperTeen for an advanced copy of Out of the Blue to review! I enjoyed Jason June’s debut YA from last year, Jay’s Gay Agenda, so I was excited for what this one had in store. Unfortunately, it was a bit of a mixed bag for me.
What I appreciated about this book was the mythology and the lore June put behind merpeople. It was an overall different approach, and I think it worked well for this particular story. Making merpeople nonbinary is brilliant, and I loved the idea of them having to help humans on land before becoming a full member of their society. Such an overall fun concept that I haven’t seen done before.
For the most part, the characters were well-writtne, too. Sean and Crest/Ross were the best narrators for this story, and each of their voices were distinct. I do wish some of the side characters had been more developed, especially Miguel. That storyline felt a bit rushed to me, and I wanted it to be explored more.
The pacing is what really took me out of this story. It felt like the first half dragged a bit too much, while the second half was too fast. Cutting out some of the unecessary plot elements would have helped to make the pacing feel more even. Some of the dialogue also felt…off to me. Not necessarily with Crest, because that made sense. But with some of the other characters. Also, the plot twists felt a bit convenient for me.
Despite that, I do think the story itself is entertaining enough and will make a great summer read!
-----
Okay I was so excited for this book, but it didn't hook me like Jay's Gay Agenda did. Which is a bummer because we love a gay book about merpeople! Stay tuned for a full review to come next week.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity
Minor: Sexual content
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