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A review by greenie_
Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-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
5.0
A very powerful story about queer life in the 80s-90s and the HIV/AIDS pandemic. I loved the character of Stephen and Art especially. However, the politics could come across a bit heavy handed at points, where it felt like more of a transcript of an activist speech than a felt/experienced reality for the characters. Mostly, it was very good.
Some of the storylines also felt overly cliche:
Spoiler 1. The "love triangle" between Judy, closeted Reza and Art was kinda overdone. I could see it coming from a mile away and was dreading it. It wasn't satisfying. I'm frankly tired of people blowing up friendships over love triangles in every single story and Iwish there'd been more nuance and creativity to it.
2. Stephen's death. We all knew it was coming, but it was such a typical "death of the mentor father figure" situation. Why not have the nice person with a horrible disease live for once?
3. Art leaving Reza. Not only was this disappointing from an "obligatory tragic layering to YA novel ending" sense but it was also a really unsatisfying way to end Art's development. Judy and Reza significantly changed as people, but Art never does. He begins angry and impulsive and ends in a similar way. We never know what becomes of him except for vague hints. He ends up feeling like more of a means for Reza to change than as a person on his own. Perhaps his idealism could've been tempered by cynical realism, and he'd have been willing to take advantage of his parents' college money to enact change from within the system. As much as I loved this story I was disappointed by Art's lack of development in the end, because he was my favorite character.
I'm sorry if this slight bit of ranting makes it seem like I didn't enjoy the book, or had serious issues with it. I only complain about it so passionately because I love it so much. It's certainly one of my favorite books that I have ever read, one of the most powerful.
Some of the storylines also felt overly cliche:
Spoiler 1. The "love triangle" between Judy, closeted Reza and Art was kinda overdone. I could see it coming from a mile away and was dreading it. It wasn't satisfying. I'm frankly tired of people blowing up friendships over love triangles in every single story and Iwish there'd been more nuance and creativity to it.
2. Stephen's death. We all knew it was coming, but it was such a typical "death of the mentor father figure" situation. Why not have the nice person with a horrible disease live for once?
3. Art leaving Reza. Not only was this disappointing from an "obligatory tragic layering to YA novel ending" sense but it was also a really unsatisfying way to end Art's development. Judy and Reza significantly changed as people, but Art never does. He begins angry and impulsive and ends in a similar way. We never know what becomes of him except for vague hints. He ends up feeling like more of a means for Reza to change than as a person on his own. Perhaps his idealism could've been tempered by cynical realism, and he'd have been willing to take advantage of his parents' college money to enact change from within the system. As much as I loved this story I was disappointed by Art's lack of development in the end, because he was my favorite character.
I'm sorry if this slight bit of ranting makes it seem like I didn't enjoy the book, or had serious issues with it. I only complain about it so passionately because I love it so much. It's certainly one of my favorite books that I have ever read, one of the most powerful.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Homophobia, and Terminal illness
Minor: Fatphobia and Death of parent