Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by v_gonz
And They Were Roommates by Page Powars
2.75
Y'all I'm so sorry but I just did not like this one. I was so excited because I really liked The Borrow A Boyfriend Club, but there were just several things I didn't love about this book. I thought the pacing was way off, which is something I felt for Powars's previous book, but not to the same degree as this one. I was also willing to be more forgiving of it last time since it was his debut novel, but I couldn't do the same here. It felt like the book was dragging yet the actual time elapsed was not a lot. Jasper was also really irritating to me for about 2/3 of the book, so that made it hard for me to want to root for the romance.
I also just have to say that a second chance romance vibe does not work for YA, in my opinion. I'm sorry but what does a middle schooler actually know about love? Crushes, sure, but to say that you had your heart broken at 12 just seems ridiculous to me, especially when the character can't be older than 15 or 16.
The intense heteronormativity in the book shocked me as well, especially considering that this is a queer love story and the MC is trans. I just found it a little strange that in the year 2025, we're somehow still harboring the delusion that everybody in same-gender schools is straight? The whole thing with the love letters is also just intensely straight, which I quickly grew tired of.
I did like the side characters, I just wish there was a little more of them, especially Delilah.
I also just have to say that a second chance romance vibe does not work for YA, in my opinion. I'm sorry but what does a middle schooler actually know about love? Crushes, sure, but to say that you had your heart broken at 12 just seems ridiculous to me, especially when the character can't be older than 15 or 16.
The intense heteronormativity in the book shocked me as well, especially considering that this is a queer love story and the MC is trans. I just found it a little strange that in the year 2025, we're somehow still harboring the delusion that everybody in same-gender schools is straight? The whole thing with the love letters is also just intensely straight, which I quickly grew tired of.
I did like the side characters, I just wish there was a little more of them, especially Delilah.