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3.31 AVERAGE
3.31 AVERAGE
DNF @ Pg 100
I wanted to love this SO DAMN BADLY, you have no idea. The premise was so many things I enjoy, and we do not get enough books with trans MCs, and I WANTED TO LOVE THIS.
Noah was the most irritating, obnoxious, unlikable sixteen-year-old. And I understand that at 16, everyone has personality flaws, things that are irritating as they grow up.
But really. Everything about Noah was irritating. Every. Single. Thing. The way he treats his friends, the way he thinks about life, his serious lack of ambition to do everything but want things dropped in his lap, the way he thinks about love.
Now, you might think, "Oh, well, you just didn't read far enough!". But I skim-read the entire rest of the book, hoping for something that would change my mind. And I can tell you, Noah never matures into a likable character.
I'm disappointed, but also kind of glad I only skimmed the rest, since I don't star rate things I don't finish 100%. I hope other people can enjoy this book in a way I couldn't. I really do.
I wanted to love this SO DAMN BADLY, you have no idea. The premise was so many things I enjoy, and we do not get enough books with trans MCs, and I WANTED TO LOVE THIS.
Noah was the most irritating, obnoxious, unlikable sixteen-year-old. And I understand that at 16, everyone has personality flaws, things that are irritating as they grow up.
But really. Everything about Noah was irritating. Every. Single. Thing. The way he treats his friends, the way he thinks about life, his serious lack of ambition to do everything but want things dropped in his lap, the way he thinks about love.
Now, you might think, "Oh, well, you just didn't read far enough!". But I skim-read the entire rest of the book, hoping for something that would change my mind. And I can tell you, Noah never matures into a likable character.
I'm disappointed, but also kind of glad I only skimmed the rest, since I don't star rate things I don't finish 100%. I hope other people can enjoy this book in a way I couldn't. I really do.
Rating: 3/5
I don't really know what to say about this one. I thought about DNFing this book at 50% but I decided to keep reading, which worked out great because I loved the last half of the book, but that first half was kinda hard to push myself through.
So I guess I start with the first half.
Right off the bat, I was thrown off by the youngness of the protagonist Noah. He's sixteen but he reads a lot younger and has many, many flaws. Which was kind of annoying at first but as he grew throughout the story and learned, I came to really enjoy his character. But wow is he super naive, selfish, and self-centered! It definitely felt overdone to me, but again this was a big focal point of his character arc. Now, Noah is a trans teen who writes a blog all about these fake meet-cutes, and we love the representation (which I personally can't speak on but, correct me if I'm wrong, I do believe the author is trans, and ownvoices reviewers seem to be saying that the trans rep is well-written). But, Noah ends up meeting a guy who he fake dates in order to save his blog, which I enjoy a good fake-dating trope, but I absolutely hated this dude and you could see all of the red flags from miles away, so yeah, this definitely hindered my enjoyment for the first half of this book. Luckily, this relationship isn't the "real" one.
Anyway, besides not enjoying either of the two main characters for the first half of the book, I am glad to not have DNF'd this book and kept trudging through because I loved all of the themes throughout this book. I loved the trans joy, the supportive families, the wonderful ace and nonbinary love interest who was exploring pronouns, and I was actually surprised to find that I loved the little camp scenes with the kids!
All in all, if you are interested at all in this book, read it! It's a very important book for teens exploring their identities and we need more books like it! So while this wasn't wholly my cup of tea, I am still glad to have read it and I am happy for all the other reviewers out there who are loving it and talking about how much it means to them!
Thank you to Netgalley and HarperTeen for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review!
I don't really know what to say about this one. I thought about DNFing this book at 50% but I decided to keep reading, which worked out great because I loved the last half of the book, but that first half was kinda hard to push myself through.
So I guess I start with the first half.
Right off the bat, I was thrown off by the youngness of the protagonist Noah. He's sixteen but he reads a lot younger and has many, many flaws. Which was kind of annoying at first but as he grew throughout the story and learned, I came to really enjoy his character. But wow is he super naive, selfish, and self-centered! It definitely felt overdone to me, but again this was a big focal point of his character arc. Now, Noah is a trans teen who writes a blog all about these fake meet-cutes, and we love the representation (which I personally can't speak on but, correct me if I'm wrong, I do believe the author is trans, and ownvoices reviewers seem to be saying that the trans rep is well-written). But, Noah ends up meeting a guy who he fake dates in order to save his blog, which I enjoy a good fake-dating trope, but I absolutely hated this dude and you could see all of the red flags from miles away, so yeah, this definitely hindered my enjoyment for the first half of this book. Luckily, this relationship isn't the "real" one.
Anyway, besides not enjoying either of the two main characters for the first half of the book, I am glad to not have DNF'd this book and kept trudging through because I loved all of the themes throughout this book. I loved the trans joy, the supportive families, the wonderful ace and nonbinary love interest who was exploring pronouns, and I was actually surprised to find that I loved the little camp scenes with the kids!
All in all, if you are interested at all in this book, read it! It's a very important book for teens exploring their identities and we need more books like it! So while this wasn't wholly my cup of tea, I am still glad to have read it and I am happy for all the other reviewers out there who are loving it and talking about how much it means to them!
Thank you to Netgalley and HarperTeen for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review!
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
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
3.25?? ish?
i liked this book, it was super cute and wholesome! i liked the characters and the storyline! also i really loved some of the conversations and topics that were brought up! however this would’ve gotten four stars however there were a few things i was icky about. first of all and this is fully my fault but the love interest felt 18 while the mc felt 14?? the mc was kind of an ass honestly. now yes its my fault but the live interest was just so much more mature and the mc was so immature that them being only one year apart felt odd. and yea i know this is ya i cant be expecting very mature characters but the difference of maturity truly felt huge. but the mc was honestly kind of an ass. entitled, rude and self absorbed amongst other things. in addition to this, two characters were having a discussion about their sexuality and one character says something along the lines of “sounds like you’re bi”. the other character then answers “well guess im bi then” and then rolls with it. while conversations such as these can get the ball rolling, coming to a conclusion that fast felt very odd and made me uncomfy. there was another instance similar to this one that i forgot about.
in conclusion, fun read but several things made me feel icky which is why its not a 4 star read!
i liked this book, it was super cute and wholesome! i liked the characters and the storyline! also i really loved some of the conversations and topics that were brought up! however this would’ve gotten four stars however there were a few things i was icky about. first of all and this is fully my fault but the love interest felt 18 while the mc felt 14?? the mc was kind of an ass honestly. now yes its my fault but the live interest was just so much more mature and the mc was so immature that them being only one year apart felt odd. and yea i know this is ya i cant be expecting very mature characters but the difference of maturity truly felt huge. but the mc was honestly kind of an ass. entitled, rude and self absorbed amongst other things. in addition to this, two characters were having a discussion about their sexuality and one character says something along the lines of “sounds like you’re bi”. the other character then answers “well guess im bi then” and then rolls with it. while conversations such as these can get the ball rolling, coming to a conclusion that fast felt very odd and made me uncomfy. there was another instance similar to this one that i forgot about.
in conclusion, fun read but several things made me feel icky which is why its not a 4 star read!
There's a lot to like about this book. It's one of few YA books out there that has non-binary and transgender characters. It heartened me to see this kind of representation: We need more of it.
As far as the plot of the story, about a third of the way in I had an inkling of where things were headed. Without any spoilers, I'll say that my hunch was correct. Unfortunately, it was the same storyline that has been repeated in other romantic-comedy type books. And for that, it gets a solid 3 stars.
As far as the plot of the story, about a third of the way in I had an inkling of where things were headed. Without any spoilers, I'll say that my hunch was correct. Unfortunately, it was the same storyline that has been repeated in other romantic-comedy type books. And for that, it gets a solid 3 stars.
emotional
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Great representation in this one. I learned a lot, I feel like, about what some trans youth might experience. I loved the mental health representation. A character experiences anxiety and the panic attacks described were spot on. I had major issues with the main character most of the time though. I couldn’t tolerate their selfishness or how disconnected they could be from reality. But somehow they had extreme compassion for this character with anxiety and that was nice to see. The plot of the book was just very meh for me. I almost DNF’d because the story just didn’t seem to go anywhere. But I’m glad I pushed through. There were some cute moments and teachable moments in this one. But I really did struggle to push through the storyline for several reasons. While this book wasn’t my cup of tea, I can see how it could make an impact and bring hope and positivity to trans youth today.
dnf: 10%
não estava odiando esse livro, só não estou na vibe de romances e não tava me prendendo, 100% estarei dando uma chance futuramente
não estava odiando esse livro, só não estou na vibe de romances e não tava me prendendo, 100% estarei dando uma chance futuramente
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
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