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A review by piratesprogress
Bloom by Kevin Panetta
3.75
If you've read, or watched, queer teen angst stories, you'll know the thrust of Bloom - a charming, funny, dickhead teen is Going Through It emotionally, and finds himself across a coming-of-age year with the help of a broad shouldered, empathetic himbo boyfriend. The family have money troubles. Our protagonist - Ari - doesn't see eye-to-eye with his father, but they love each other really. The friends all sound like teens from the television.
None of which is to say Bloom isn't well-written (it is!), gorgeously illustrated (it is!) or not worth your time (it is!), but to say that it's firmly one of those queer stories - within the first ten or so pages I knew where this story would go, and how it would play out. That in itself can be a comfort, but often for me places a ceiling on what I'll get out of it.
None of which is to say Bloom isn't well-written (it is!), gorgeously illustrated (it is!) or not worth your time (it is!), but to say that it's firmly one of those queer stories - within the first ten or so pages I knew where this story would go, and how it would play out. That in itself can be a comfort, but often for me places a ceiling on what I'll get out of it.