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A review by bethany6788
And They Lived . . . by Steven Salvatore
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Hello and welcome to my pain and joy in book form. If you’ve watched my stories between today and yesterday, you’ve seen my journey with this book. Emotionally. I was put through the wringer. But oh my gosh was it worth it. Side note thank you to @stevensalvatorebooks for being so gracious with my many DMs and tags while I read this beautiful story.
Chase is a college freshman looking for his love story and he wants to be more secure in his identify. He doesn’t feel tied to a gender. He goes to college hoping to help grow and learn about himself while also falling in love. He ends up finding friendship, found family, and himself. <<< this is an extremely simple breakdown of this story but let’s get to the nitty gritty here!
This is not an easy book to read. It forced me to look inside myself and some of the feelings I have toward my body. Toward myself. Feeling like I’m not worthy of love and I’ll never be enough for someone else. Definitely felt like I was punched in the gut. Cause, ouch. Hiding within myself? Check. Holding pillows in front of my stomach? Check. Not wanting to be undressed in front of anyone else, even someone I want to be intimate with? Check. There were parts of this book where I was crying so hard because I’ve been Chase.
My god, Jack… where do I even start? His journey was complicated and made even more so by his upbringing. His growth and finding his way... Even when he was making mistakes, you were still rooting for him to figure things out. His poetry was beautiful but it was definitely a way to hide.
Those friends! I loved them. Benny was so sassy and fun. Rae was great and protective. Sofia and Chloe were wonderful mentors. X was a great friend. Rhett even came around!
Now for some of my favorite things in the book: the first day at the river. Chase’s art. The instructor. The story he told. The lighting and thunder. The concert. That epic first kiss. The first time mishaps. The first time with everything. That incredibly intimate drawing scene. The slam poetry. Chase’s confidence. Therapy!! The breakup was so well done. The reunion was too. Jack’s grand gesture at the end I mean swooooon!
If you can’t tell, I loved it so much.
Chase is a college freshman looking for his love story and he wants to be more secure in his identify. He doesn’t feel tied to a gender. He goes to college hoping to help grow and learn about himself while also falling in love. He ends up finding friendship, found family, and himself. <<< this is an extremely simple breakdown of this story but let’s get to the nitty gritty here!
This is not an easy book to read. It forced me to look inside myself and some of the feelings I have toward my body. Toward myself. Feeling like I’m not worthy of love and I’ll never be enough for someone else. Definitely felt like I was punched in the gut. Cause, ouch. Hiding within myself? Check. Holding pillows in front of my stomach? Check. Not wanting to be undressed in front of anyone else, even someone I want to be intimate with? Check. There were parts of this book where I was crying so hard because I’ve been Chase.
My god, Jack… where do I even start? His journey was complicated and made even more so by his upbringing. His growth and finding his way... Even when he was making mistakes, you were still rooting for him to figure things out. His poetry was beautiful but it was definitely a way to hide.
Those friends! I loved them. Benny was so sassy and fun. Rae was great and protective. Sofia and Chloe were wonderful mentors. X was a great friend. Rhett even came around!
Now for some of my favorite things in the book: the first day at the river. Chase’s art. The instructor. The story he told. The lighting and thunder. The concert. That epic first kiss. The first time mishaps. The first time with everything. That incredibly intimate drawing scene. The slam poetry. Chase’s confidence. Therapy!! The breakup was so well done. The reunion was too. Jack’s grand gesture at the end I mean swooooon!
If you can’t tell, I loved it so much.