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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
3 stars.
This was a solid, cute book, but it didn't quite do enough for me. There is nothing I can pinpoint that was bad about the narrative (except perhaps the insta-love) and, logically, I should have enjoyed it more. However, I just didn't feel compelled to keep picking it up and it didn't make me feel really anything, which is not what you look for in a rom-com sort of book.
I don't know. Maybe I just had expectations that were too high.
This was a solid, cute book, but it didn't quite do enough for me. There is nothing I can pinpoint that was bad about the narrative (except perhaps the insta-love) and, logically, I should have enjoyed it more. However, I just didn't feel compelled to keep picking it up and it didn't make me feel really anything, which is not what you look for in a rom-com sort of book.
I don't know. Maybe I just had expectations that were too high.
funny
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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Outing
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Ooof… this book was sad. I feel for kids who have to go through this.
4.5!!! I can’t remember the last time I stayed up until 1am to finish a book but man this one did it. So great, so touching, so well-thought out. Loved!!
I will never understand parents which are willing to disown their children. Specially if it’s for love. Like, it’s insane. Religion suppose to be about spirituality, not about hate and fucking heartbreak and broken families.
Also, about my anger for tanners parents. Spoiler alert, I guess.
Oh, they so supportive and great. But what the fuck was that part where they are like - oh yeah your boyfriend’s parents are homophobic assholes but we are definitely going to respect their wishes and forbid you to make out in only safe space you got. Yeah, totally logical, yeeeah.
Also also this “he’s an adult he can find his own place” - he’s fucking nineteen! I’m 32 and I have an actual paying job and I can’t “find my own place”. Not in this economy!
Also, about my anger for tanners parents. Spoiler alert, I guess.
Oh, they so supportive and great. But what the fuck was that part where they are like - oh yeah your boyfriend’s parents are homophobic assholes but we are definitely going to respect their wishes and forbid you to make out in only safe space you got. Yeah, totally logical, yeeeah.
Also also this “he’s an adult he can find his own place” - he’s fucking nineteen! I’m 32 and I have an actual paying job and I can’t “find my own place”. Not in this economy!
4.5 Stars
This was such a fantastically happy book. I gave me all the warm and fuzzy feeling that I want from a contemporary romance. But there was a lot of heart and beautiful character moments as well. Which I really appreciate. Autoboyography follows Tanner Scott, a bisexual main character who is back (temporarily) in the closet after moving from California to a majority Mormon Utah town three years earlier. Tanner is read to coast through his last semester of high school, but his best friend dares him to take the prestigious “Seminar” where students attempt to write a complete draft for a novel in 4 months. Tanner thinks it will be a breeze, but complications arise when he meets the class mentor Sebastian Brother, the Mormon prodigy who sold his own Seminar novel the year before.
Things I Liked
I really loved Tanner, and related to him quite a bit personality wise. He’s a very go-with-the-flow kind of person and I can relate. He’s also a bit of a procrastinator, but he is smart and dedicated to school. I LOVED that we get explicit conversations about Tanner being bisexual, and what being bi means for him vs what other people’s expectations are for him being bi.
Tanner’s parents were fantastic and so incredibly supportive. They were so lovely and caring and involved. I appreciated that they weren’t absent parents, especially given they both have demanding jobs that could have kept them off page. Tanner has a fantastic conversation with his dad about balancing friendships and romantic relationships and it was one of my favorite moments in the entire book!
I absolutely LOVED the romance in the story. Tanner and Sebastian are so cute and adorable and make me feel all the feels. Their relationship obviously isn’t smooth sailing and there are fights and frustrations, but I was completely invested in every minute of it - rooting for them and cheering them on.
My heart went out to Sebastian for the entire book. While I may have related to Tanner more, Sebastian had my heart. His journey in the story is both heartbreaking and inspiring. Coming from a deeply religious background, where his church community doesn’t tolerate same sex relationships, Seb has to deal with some internalized homophobia in himself and his family. Following him on his journey and seeing his growth was amazing. I was just so proud of him and where he ended up.
There was this pure jovial humor throughout the story that was really engaging and made connecting to the characters incredibly easy. And while the humor made the story really easy to read, it didn’t take meaning away from any of the more serious scenes. It was very well balanced.
Things I Didn’t Like
I would have liked to see more from Autumn and Tanner’s friendship. I feel like we didn’t really get much from them in the first half, and there’s some drama in the second half that made their interactions a little wonky. I feel like there were definitely some situations where Tanner could have used a friend and it would have developed their relationship, and Autumn as a character, further.
This was just the one of the best contemporary books I’ve read in awhile. We get a very honest look at how sexuality and religion intersect in people’s lives, and the struggles of reconciling both identities. Autoboyography is pitched as Fangirl meets Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, and if you like either of those books, you’ll probably like this as well. It’s a well crafted and humorous coming of age story, with heart and a swoon worthy romance you’re guaranteed to love.
I received a copy of the book from Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
It opens with a boy and a girl, a dare, and crumbs on a bed.
But where it really begins is with a double take and the words “His smile ruins me.”
This was such a fantastically happy book. I gave me all the warm and fuzzy feeling that I want from a contemporary romance. But there was a lot of heart and beautiful character moments as well. Which I really appreciate. Autoboyography follows Tanner Scott, a bisexual main character who is back (temporarily) in the closet after moving from California to a majority Mormon Utah town three years earlier. Tanner is read to coast through his last semester of high school, but his best friend dares him to take the prestigious “Seminar” where students attempt to write a complete draft for a novel in 4 months. Tanner thinks it will be a breeze, but complications arise when he meets the class mentor Sebastian Brother, the Mormon prodigy who sold his own Seminar novel the year before.
Things I Liked
I really loved Tanner, and related to him quite a bit personality wise. He’s a very go-with-the-flow kind of person and I can relate. He’s also a bit of a procrastinator, but he is smart and dedicated to school. I LOVED that we get explicit conversations about Tanner being bisexual, and what being bi means for him vs what other people’s expectations are for him being bi.
Tanner’s parents were fantastic and so incredibly supportive. They were so lovely and caring and involved. I appreciated that they weren’t absent parents, especially given they both have demanding jobs that could have kept them off page. Tanner has a fantastic conversation with his dad about balancing friendships and romantic relationships and it was one of my favorite moments in the entire book!
I absolutely LOVED the romance in the story. Tanner and Sebastian are so cute and adorable and make me feel all the feels. Their relationship obviously isn’t smooth sailing and there are fights and frustrations, but I was completely invested in every minute of it - rooting for them and cheering them on.
My heart went out to Sebastian for the entire book. While I may have related to Tanner more, Sebastian had my heart. His journey in the story is both heartbreaking and inspiring. Coming from a deeply religious background, where his church community doesn’t tolerate same sex relationships, Seb has to deal with some internalized homophobia in himself and his family. Following him on his journey and seeing his growth was amazing. I was just so proud of him and where he ended up.
There was this pure jovial humor throughout the story that was really engaging and made connecting to the characters incredibly easy. And while the humor made the story really easy to read, it didn’t take meaning away from any of the more serious scenes. It was very well balanced.
Things I Didn’t Like
I would have liked to see more from Autumn and Tanner’s friendship. I feel like we didn’t really get much from them in the first half, and there’s some drama in the second half that made their interactions a little wonky. I feel like there were definitely some situations where Tanner could have used a friend and it would have developed their relationship, and Autumn as a character, further.
This was just the one of the best contemporary books I’ve read in awhile. We get a very honest look at how sexuality and religion intersect in people’s lives, and the struggles of reconciling both identities. Autoboyography is pitched as Fangirl meets Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, and if you like either of those books, you’ll probably like this as well. It’s a well crafted and humorous coming of age story, with heart and a swoon worthy romance you’re guaranteed to love.
I received a copy of the book from Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
4 stars - I love this book; I’ve already read it twice in the span of 3 months. While the emotions are big (my most common complaint of books about contemporary high schoolers), the story is riveting and there is so much heart. Even though the conflict is obvious (Mormon bishop’s son falling in love with another boy... what could go wrong), I loved how it all played out. I liked that there was a moment of hope when Sebastian comes back, and then it all fell apart again. I liked how it was all rooted in this book that Tanner is writing. I LOVED how supportive Tanner’s parents are, I loved Tanner’s complicated relationships with Autumn, I loved Tanner’s inner monologue. I liked that the protagonists are distinct and flawed and likable. Also, it’s not just bashing religion - I thought it showed a lot of respect for LDS (granted, I am an atheist and was raised pretty anti-religion, so take this with a grain of salt) even though it could have been very anti-LDS given the subject matter.
I’ve read all Christina Lauren’s stand-alone novels, and I was really impressed with this - one of my favorites, even though it was really different (less explicit sex, male-male romance, YA).
I’ve read all Christina Lauren’s stand-alone novels, and I was really impressed with this - one of my favorites, even though it was really different (less explicit sex, male-male romance, YA).
This book left me speechless. There are so many things I could say about it, but since I am limited for my words, I will stick with only a few. The story between Tanner and Sebastian is something that simply cannot be made up, and I find that after reading all about the way they fell in love with each other and the obstacles they faced along the way--I am completely and utterly amazed.
I do not know another person who could show such a message through the words Christina Lauren wrote, and I will carry them with me until my bitter end. Sexual orientation is something many people struggle with, for they are uncertain where it will take them in life. Some believe that if they are different, they will not be accepted. But I believe that if we were all the same, this world would be all too plain.
We are expected to all have an infatuation with the opposite gender, but not everyone can be that way simply because they are told to. They cannot change who they are, and if they could, why would they want to?
When Sebastian says that he is not gay, I don't think I've heard something so sad. It tore my heart from my chest and stepped on it. He tries to change who is he so much but he can't, and that's what makes me so heartbroken by it. He doesn't want to love Tanner because he believes his God and his family and his town will frown upon him for it, but it's what he wants.
I would 100 percent recommend this book to anyone. It left me with a full heart and a wise soul. I will cherish the gift Christina Lauren's words have given me forever.
I do not know another person who could show such a message through the words Christina Lauren wrote, and I will carry them with me until my bitter end. Sexual orientation is something many people struggle with, for they are uncertain where it will take them in life. Some believe that if they are different, they will not be accepted. But I believe that if we were all the same, this world would be all too plain.
We are expected to all have an infatuation with the opposite gender, but not everyone can be that way simply because they are told to. They cannot change who they are, and if they could, why would they want to?
When Sebastian says that he is not gay, I don't think I've heard something so sad. It tore my heart from my chest and stepped on it. He tries to change who is he so much but he can't, and that's what makes me so heartbroken by it. He doesn't want to love Tanner because he believes his God and his family and his town will frown upon him for it, but it's what he wants.
I would 100 percent recommend this book to anyone. It left me with a full heart and a wise soul. I will cherish the gift Christina Lauren's words have given me forever.
It makes me happy to know that YA books like this exist in the world. Now it isn't perfect. It isn't #ownvoices. But I don't think it's meant to be the definitive book on bisexuality or the LDS faith. I think the subject matter is handled with care. I appreciated how the authors realistically explored these complex topics without being manipulative or judgmental. Plus, if it helps teens in similar situations feel less alone and a little more accepted- I'm all for it.
I curled up on the couch and pretty much devoured it in one sitting. I thought it was fantastic. It's a love story of equal parts angst and hope. I found myself alternating between wanting to throttle characters or embrace them with both arms.
I curled up on the couch and pretty much devoured it in one sitting. I thought it was fantastic. It's a love story of equal parts angst and hope. I found myself alternating between wanting to throttle characters or embrace them with both arms.