A review by nitya
Meet Cute Diary by Emery Lee

challenging emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I WANTED to like this more than I actually did. The fake dating subplot pulled me in but after some events... It kind of lost its appeal. And I realize Noah is 16 and being dramatic, immature and a bit self-centered comes with the territory. But there were times when he was annoying, extremely judgmental and showed a lack of empathy (which didn't really change at the end of the book). I am still WTFing at the hatred of handouts/charity. Okay, so Maggie turned out to be garbage, but why are you looking down at bookselling??? It may not be the most thrilling job to you but it still pays the bills. And you WERE asked by your parents to get a job ($400 in one week spent on Ubers when Denver is bike/walk friendly... My parents would have taken my card too), so elitism isn't really helpful. I was hoping there would be some character growth, but it didn't happen. 

I am glad Drew was left behind, but I also wish there was more page time spent on Devin. I dunno, it felt unbalanced. As the actual love interest and a wonderful character in eir own right, e deserves way better than being treated like an afterthought. E was so sweet and actually gave Noah perspective and STILL was taken for granted. 

And Becca and Brian called Noah out but forgave him waaaaay too easily, imo. I also don't understand why Noah put his brother down, especially on pronouns?? No one is born woke, dude. Brian is listening and doing his best, and being condescending isn't helpful either. Social justice awareness is not a GD competition. 

While this didn't work for me personally, I am happy trans kids are getting books written by trans and nonbinary authors and more stories that don't end tragically. 
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