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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I was so happy for these boys near the middle that I had to put the book down and walk away, that way I knew they were happy. But then I connected with them again and went along for a true, honest journey.
I consumed this book, and in return Tanners hopefulness consumed me.
I feel like recently I've been reading books with quite the complex synopses. Fortunately, the synopsis of Autoboyography can be wrapped up in a single sentence, bisexual boy falls in love with in-denial-about-being-gay Mormon boy. This was a bit of a difficult read for me, mainly because I have a complicated relationship with my own religion, and religion plays a HUGE role in this novel, in fact religion is the main conflict of the story. While I do think the religion aspect was very well handled, if it's not your cup of tea then maybe avoid this one, because it can be real frustrating at times.
So let's start off by talking about our characters. Tanner is a teenager entering his final semester of high school. Under the pressures of his best friend, Autumn, Tanner enrols in a class called the Seminar. The Seminar is a class where students are expected to finish writing a novel by the time the semester is up, and there Tanner meets and falls for his TA, Sebastian. Tanner falls for Sebastian relatively quickly, but somehow this novel feels as though it's dodged the instalove trope. Tanner is a fantastic protagonist and by the end of the novel you'll feel like you just made a new friend. Tanner can be lazy, he's the type of guy to think with his heart and not his head, and he is so open about meeting new people and having new experiences, he's such an enjoyable perspective to read from.
Sebastian is defined by his religion, he belongs to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). Unfortunately said religion is not big on accepting homosexuality. Sebastian was a frustrating love interest to say the least. Naturally he is very hot and cold towards Tanner, this is understandable given his inability to accept his sexuality.However, I still haven't quite forgiven Sebastian for hurting Tanner so much and so often. Sebastian is also so kind, and this is reflected through his actions towards the other characters. He and Tanner were very well suited for each other, and their interactions made their feelings very sweet and very believable. I like how one of the major themes of the novel was accepting one's sexuality, and I feel that this was well handled through Sebastian's character. It was also interesting to see this theme play out through the love interest, as opposed to the main character being the one having to overcome this issue.
I feel like I'm on a roll lately in terms of picking up YA contemporaries with strong parental involvement (A Short History of the Girl Next Door and Far From the Tree are excellent at this too). We have both sides of the support spectrum here, Tanner's parents 100% support his bisexuality, whereas Sebastian's parents 100% do not approve of the queer community. Support towards sexuality aside, the separate family dynamics were well fleshed out and essential to the story, this was an added dimension to the novel, and it made it more than just a romance.
There were so many things this novel did right. I love how Autoboyography addresses how consuming first serious relationships can be. Tanner's parents become concerned when Tanner, at some point in the novel, wants to devote all his time to Sebastian. Something that is hardly ever recognized in romance books is the fact that first serious relationships can be all-consuming, they manage to monopolize your time and have potential to affect the other non-romantic relationships in your life. I love that this topic was addressed by Tanner's mom, and how Tanner recognized how problematic things were getting. I also love how sex was something that got talked about. I won't go too much in depth about how sex was handled (because spoilers), but ultimately I was very satisfied. I also love the bisexuality representation. Christina Lauren did a lot of research before writing this book (and they're great for including book references at the end of the novel). I do not identify as bisexual so I can't say how accurate the representation was, but I personally loved it. The authors address the issue that bisexuality isn't always taken seriously, something that needs to change.
As for criticisms, Christina Lauren's writing is by no means bad, but it's nothing worth talking about either. Near the end of the novel the story alternates perspectives between Tanner and Sebastian, and changes from first person narrative to third person. While I understand the reasoning behind this, I do feel it disrupts the flow of the novel.
If you're looking for a really cute and really sweet queer romance then check this one out! :)
So let's start off by talking about our characters. Tanner is a teenager entering his final semester of high school. Under the pressures of his best friend, Autumn, Tanner enrols in a class called the Seminar. The Seminar is a class where students are expected to finish writing a novel by the time the semester is up, and there Tanner meets and falls for his TA, Sebastian. Tanner falls for Sebastian relatively quickly, but somehow this novel feels as though it's dodged the instalove trope. Tanner is a fantastic protagonist and by the end of the novel you'll feel like you just made a new friend. Tanner can be lazy, he's the type of guy to think with his heart and not his head, and he is so open about meeting new people and having new experiences, he's such an enjoyable perspective to read from.
Sebastian is defined by his religion, he belongs to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). Unfortunately said religion is not big on accepting homosexuality. Sebastian was a frustrating love interest to say the least. Naturally he is very hot and cold towards Tanner, this is understandable given his inability to accept his sexuality.
I feel like I'm on a roll lately in terms of picking up YA contemporaries with strong parental involvement (A Short History of the Girl Next Door and Far From the Tree are excellent at this too). We have both sides of the support spectrum here, Tanner's parents 100% support his bisexuality, whereas Sebastian's parents 100% do not approve of the queer community. Support towards sexuality aside, the separate family dynamics were well fleshed out and essential to the story, this was an added dimension to the novel, and it made it more than just a romance.
There were so many things this novel did right. I love how Autoboyography addresses how consuming first serious relationships can be. Tanner's parents become concerned when Tanner, at some point in the novel, wants to devote all his time to Sebastian. Something that is hardly ever recognized in romance books is the fact that first serious relationships can be all-consuming, they manage to monopolize your time and have potential to affect the other non-romantic relationships in your life. I love that this topic was addressed by Tanner's mom, and how Tanner recognized how problematic things were getting. I also love how sex was something that got talked about. I won't go too much in depth about how sex was handled (because spoilers), but ultimately I was very satisfied. I also love the bisexuality representation. Christina Lauren did a lot of research before writing this book (and they're great for including book references at the end of the novel). I do not identify as bisexual so I can't say how accurate the representation was, but I personally loved it. The authors address the issue that bisexuality isn't always taken seriously, something that needs to change.
As for criticisms, Christina Lauren's writing is by no means bad, but it's nothing worth talking about either. Near the end of the novel the story alternates perspectives between Tanner and Sebastian, and changes from first person narrative to third person. While I understand the reasoning behind this, I do feel it disrupts the flow of the novel.
If you're looking for a really cute and really sweet queer romance then check this one out! :)
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
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
CUTIES
überraschend catchy
Sehr cute kisses, krass dass das gay sein für seb nicht so challenging war, eher das coming out und dazu stehen,
Warum Tanner mit Auddy geschlafen hat werde ich nie verstehen -> richtig unnötig
Ende irgendwie rushed... hätte mir mehr über die tatsächliche Beziehung gewünscht aber at least wissen wir dass sie wieder zueinander gefunden haben
überraschend catchy
Sehr cute kisses, krass dass das gay sein für seb nicht so challenging war, eher das coming out und dazu stehen,
Warum Tanner mit Auddy geschlafen hat werde ich nie verstehen -> richtig unnötig
Ende irgendwie rushed... hätte mir mehr über die tatsächliche Beziehung gewünscht aber at least wissen wir dass sie wieder zueinander gefunden haben
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
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
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
cute, impactful novel.
i actually quite liked reading about dealing with LGBTQ+ within a religion.
this is one of those books that's hard for me to wrap my head around to form a solid opinion. there were points where the story seemed to drag on. it was very character-driven, which already makes the story slow. nonetheless, the writing was good, and the subject matter was a good choice to write about.
i actually quite liked reading about dealing with LGBTQ+ within a religion.
this is one of those books that's hard for me to wrap my head around to form a solid opinion. there were points where the story seemed to drag on. it was very character-driven, which already makes the story slow. nonetheless, the writing was good, and the subject matter was a good choice to write about.
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced