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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
“I don’t actually care if you break my heart, Sebastian. I went into this knowing it could happen and I gave it to you anyway. But I don’t want you to break your own. You have so much space in your heart for your church, but does it have space for you?”
I wish I could give this book more stars. 😭😭😭
I wish I could give this book more stars. 😭😭😭
I’m giving this book 2.5/5 stars.
It was very dramatic and full of angst, it had good aspects but also lots of aspects that bothered me.
I like the representation in this book and some of the important topics that got discussed like religion and sexuality.
It was very dramatic and full of angst, it had good aspects but also lots of aspects that bothered me.
I like the representation in this book and some of the important topics that got discussed like religion and sexuality.
This was an impactful and necessary YA novel, and I think it does a nice job of highlighting the difficulties of growing up gay and religious, and the difficulty of trying to reconcile those things. This book did not oversimplify or make easy the task of coming to terms with your sexuality and rejecting your religion. Instead, it emphasizes the agony of feeling like you have to leave everything and everyone you love behind in order to be your true self. This is not an easy thing for anyone to go through, but especially not a teen. I hope that teens who are struggling with identity or religion can find some solace in this book, and can see a part of themselves in the characters.
What I liked:
Tanner critiques the Mormon religion without outright hating on it.
The romance was pretty cute.
A Bi character! Who self-identifies as Bi! (Not perfect representation, but still. I’m always happy to see that label explicitly used)
Decent character development for the main characters, especially Sebastian (everyone else stayed the same).
With that said, Let’s move on to what I didn’t like:
The relationship felt a bit insta-lovey, but I give it a pass because it’s the whole “overwhelmed by your first serious high school crush” type of thing.
I don’t really buy these uber-liberal, overly supportive parents uprooting their life and their happy and out child to go live somewhere where he has to go back in the closet for some of his most formative years. And then they get upset that he finds a boy he likes an wants to date, because the boy is Mormon and they hate the LDS church. But they live in Provo, so what is this poor kid supposed to do? His parents are doing all of this for his own safety, but they’re the ones that put him in these dangerous circumstances in the first place. Idk.
“Auddy” is a dumb nickname and she wasn’t a fully fleshed out character.
What I liked:
Tanner critiques the Mormon religion without outright hating on it.
The romance was pretty cute.
A Bi character! Who self-identifies as Bi! (Not perfect representation, but still. I’m always happy to see that label explicitly used)
Decent character development for the main characters, especially Sebastian (everyone else stayed the same).
With that said, Let’s move on to what I didn’t like:
The relationship felt a bit insta-lovey, but I give it a pass because it’s the whole “overwhelmed by your first serious high school crush” type of thing.
I don’t really buy these uber-liberal, overly supportive parents uprooting their life and their happy and out child to go live somewhere where he has to go back in the closet for some of his most formative years. And then they get upset that he finds a boy he likes an wants to date, because the boy is Mormon and they hate the LDS church. But they live in Provo, so what is this poor kid supposed to do? His parents are doing all of this for his own safety, but they’re the ones that put him in these dangerous circumstances in the first place. Idk.
“Auddy” is a dumb nickname and she wasn’t a fully fleshed out character.
Spoiler
I hated that she and Tanner have sex, and it’s blown off by both of them, AND Sebastian, as no big deal. Seems like needless drama to me, but I’ve read a couple of other Christina Lauren books, and a dramatic wrench is always thrown in near the end to unnecessarily raise the stakes.
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
emotional
funny
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
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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:
Complicated
O poveste queer, o poveste cute
Tanner are 15 ani și e îndrăgostit de Sebastian. Tanner are părinți care îl susțin în tot ceea ce simte, Sebastian are părinți conservatori. Doi băieți cu multe obstacole.
Mi-a plăcut mult cum e scrisă, dialogurile dintre personaje, descrierea trăirilor lor, detalierea vieții de mormon și mai ales relația dintre Tanner si Seb.
Trebuie să îi menționez neapărat pe părinții lui Tanner, doi oameni minunați și deschiși la minte. Felul în care îi acordă spijin lui Tanner e absolut ideal.
Îmi doream mai mult de la poveste dar tot trebuia să îmi aduc aminte că e YA și să o citesc ca atare.
Tanner are 15 ani și e îndrăgostit de Sebastian. Tanner are părinți care îl susțin în tot ceea ce simte, Sebastian are părinți conservatori. Doi băieți cu multe obstacole.
Mi-a plăcut mult cum e scrisă, dialogurile dintre personaje, descrierea trăirilor lor, detalierea vieții de mormon și mai ales relația dintre Tanner si Seb.
Trebuie să îi menționez neapărat pe părinții lui Tanner, doi oameni minunați și deschiși la minte. Felul în care îi acordă spijin lui Tanner e absolut ideal.
Îmi doream mai mult de la poveste dar tot trebuia să îmi aduc aminte că e YA și să o citesc ca atare.
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated