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A review by danielghurst
Anything But Fine by Tobias Madden
5.0
ANYTHING BUT FINE tells the story of Luca, a teenaged ballet dancer who suffers a career-ending injury, which forces him into unfamiliar territory, as he deals with starting at a new school, envisioning a new future for himself, and developing a huge crush on a straight boy. Several threads wind together in this book as Luca balances all his various relationships with his crush, his father, his old friends vs. his new friend, his recovery, and his future prospects. While every plot line gets appropriately messy, the author does a neat job of balancing them to create a nicely paced and well-rounded story. He strikes a lovely balance of humor, romance, and heartfelt moments too.
It's not a perfect book. Some characters go the way of cliche, and the plot is a tad predictable. I also feel like sometimes Luca gets blamed for things clearly out of his control, while other times he gets off easy for making harmful mistakes. That being said, this is a solid read for anyone who enjoys contemporary young adult books, especially queer ones, and reading a story set outside of the US is always a treat.
It's not a perfect book. Some characters go the way of cliche, and the plot is a tad predictable. I also feel like sometimes Luca gets blamed for things clearly out of his control, while other times he gets off easy for making harmful mistakes. That being said, this is a solid read for anyone who enjoys contemporary young adult books, especially queer ones, and reading a story set outside of the US is always a treat.