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A review by enchantingreads_rosyreviews
What It Means To Be Whole by Andrea Andersen
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
“’I really like you.’
‘Oh—thank fuck!’ Adam exhaled with a small smile...
‘Yeah, I—wait, what?’ I asked, smiling at his sudden relief...
Adam continued speaking into the safety of my skin, ‘I thought you were going to say something like, ‘We shouldn’t be doing this’ or ‘This was a mistake’. I would have died.’”
🌊
I have to hand it to Andrea, she truly created a one-of-a-kind world with her debut novel and series. I just can’t get enough. Not only does she represent typically underrepresented communities (like the deaf/hard of hearing community, the non-binary community, and the feminist male community), but she approaches these characters in realistic and beautiful ways. Her world is where characters are beautifully flawed, loved, and accepted by those closest to them. However, there's still plenty of tension between difficult parents who only see the world through a narrow scope, secret slow-burn pining that makes you want to throw the book across the room while at the same time knowing you would wrestle anyone who dared interrupt your reading because you simply can’t part with these characters for something so trivial as sleep or a conversation with a real human.
I also felt like the disability representation, while distinctive in the contemporary romance space, was approached with care and understanding to give the reader education and make them feel compassion. Have you ever seen a Dan Fogelman project (like his popular television series This Is Us)? Andrea’s characters are like Dan’s. They aren’t just one thing. Beck isn’t just hard of hearing. She’s complex: she’s confident, yet totally nervous around her crush, smart, compassionate, and brave (even if she’s scared to be). Adam isn’t just the shy, hot love interest in this story. He battles depression, bears the weight of others’ expectations, and is an unapologetic feminist. Life is never about one thing. We are constantly pulled in a million different directions and rarely, if ever, do our anxieties wait for us to have our shit together before they decided to crash the party.
Mixing in her special New Girl/Schitt’s Creek brand of comedy, Andrea gives us an entertaining story while commenting on inequalities and double-standards in our society. But we are also treated to quirky and memorable characters that everyone can relate to or can someone in their life to. Intimacy was approached realistically (even somewhat hilariously) while still delivering the spice adding to the overall comedic and quirky nature of the entire cast of characters to make this a very entertaining read. I am such a fan of this author and I can’t wait for more people to discover her incredibly uplifting, embarrassing, funny, and one-of-a-kind world. Don't sleep on this author or series!
I have to hand it to Andrea, she truly created a one-of-a-kind world with her debut novel and series. I just can’t get enough. Not only does she represent typically underrepresented communities (like the deaf/hard of hearing community, the non-binary community, and the feminist male community), but she approaches these characters in realistic and beautiful ways. Her world is where characters are beautifully flawed, loved, and accepted by those closest to them. However, there's still plenty of tension between difficult parents who only see the world through a narrow scope, secret slow-burn pining that makes you want to throw the book across the room while at the same time knowing you would wrestle anyone who dared interrupt your reading because you simply can’t part with these characters for something so trivial as sleep or a conversation with a real human.
I also felt like the disability representation, while distinctive in the contemporary romance space, was approached with care and understanding to give the reader education and make them feel compassion. Have you ever seen a Dan Fogelman project (like his popular television series This Is Us)? Andrea’s characters are like Dan’s. They aren’t just one thing. Beck isn’t just hard of hearing. She’s complex: she’s confident, yet totally nervous around her crush, smart, compassionate, and brave (even if she’s scared to be). Adam isn’t just the shy, hot love interest in this story. He battles depression, bears the weight of others’ expectations, and is an unapologetic feminist. Life is never about one thing. We are constantly pulled in a million different directions and rarely, if ever, do our anxieties wait for us to have our shit together before they decided to crash the party.
Mixing in her special New Girl/Schitt’s Creek brand of comedy, Andrea gives us an entertaining story while commenting on inequalities and double-standards in our society. But we are also treated to quirky and memorable characters that everyone can relate to or can someone in their life to. Intimacy was approached realistically (even somewhat hilariously) while still delivering the spice adding to the overall comedic and quirky nature of the entire cast of characters to make this a very entertaining read. I am such a fan of this author and I can’t wait for more people to discover her incredibly uplifting, embarrassing, funny, and one-of-a-kind world. Don't sleep on this author or series!
"'You don’t feel like your other half is out there somewhere?' Eloise pressed... 'We are all complete, individual people. There isn’t another half of us floating around out there, waiting to meet us, so that we can somehow become fulfilled... find someone who can elevate your life. Who can hold your hand along the way... I just think that the idea of needing someone is desperate and doomed to fail, whereas wanting someone is thoughtful and generally lasting.'"
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Ableism, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing, Misogyny, and Sexism
Minor: Alcohol, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting
The female main character (and a side character) are hard of hearing and use hearing aids to communicate verbally with those around them. However, once their hearing aids are out or the batteries die, they rely on ASL (American Sign Language) as the preferred method of communication. This book tackles various forms of ableism and disability struggles in an ableist society, but this is one of the main iterations of that commentary.