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A review by bookheathens
Old Enough by Haley Jakobson
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
» overview «
TWs (in story and mentioned in this review): rape/sexual assault, biphobia, bullying, transphobia (challenged in the moment), manipulation, gaslighting, domestic violence (mentioned, but occurs off page)
stars: ★★★★★
plot: ★★★★★
readability: ★★★★☆
characters: ★★★★★
writing: ★★★★☆
recommend: YES
» liked «
- the general feeling of a safe space for exploring genders, sexualities, queerness, and polyam.
- the journey that Sav (our female main character) goes on to work through her feelings about her rape/sexual assault.
- there was a broad and diverse group of side characters within the story from my perspective as a cis-bi-Caucasian woman.
- the perspective switches from Sav now (as a sophomore in college) to Sav then (growing up with Izzie through her Junior year of high school)
- queer supportive friend groups! End of. That's the entire like.
» "disliked" «
- Sav's inner monologue was repeated in a couple of instances. She would think something and then say it out loud. When you're listening to the audiobook, it could be not very clear. Not a big deal for me.
- I think there could have been an additional exploration of relationships between Sav and the side characters, but that's just me never wanting this story to end, so, like... Can we get some spin-offs? Please?
» overall «
I loved the coming of age, struggle with what justice means, and almost "love letters" to her childhood best friend. If Sav had shared some of those perspectives with her, they wouldn't have been so doomed from the start-esque.
I wasn't expecting to feel all the feels reading this, but I should have known better.
Overall, if you enjoy coming of age, queer romance, and people supporting people with a splash of college life, I think you'll enjoy this.
As for the audiobook performance, 10s across the board. I loved the narration, and by the end of the book, I knew who was talking based on the inflections/subtle voice changes/attitudes.
TWs (in story and mentioned in this review): rape/sexual assault, biphobia, bullying, transphobia (challenged in the moment), manipulation, gaslighting, domestic violence (mentioned, but occurs off page)
stars: ★★★★★
plot: ★★★★★
readability: ★★★★☆
characters: ★★★★★
writing: ★★★★☆
recommend: YES
» liked «
- the general feeling of a safe space for exploring genders, sexualities, queerness, and polyam.
- the journey that Sav (our female main character) goes on to work through her feelings about her rape/sexual assault.
- there was a broad and diverse group of side characters within the story from my perspective as a cis-bi-Caucasian woman.
- the perspective switches from Sav now (as a sophomore in college) to Sav then (growing up with Izzie through her Junior year of high school)
- queer supportive friend groups! End of. That's the entire like.
» "disliked" «
- Sav's inner monologue was repeated in a couple of instances. She would think something and then say it out loud. When you're listening to the audiobook, it could be not very clear. Not a big deal for me.
- I think there could have been an additional exploration of relationships between Sav and the side characters, but that's just me never wanting this story to end, so, like... Can we get some spin-offs? Please?
» overall «
I loved the coming of age, struggle with what justice means, and almost "love letters" to her childhood best friend. If Sav had shared some of those perspectives with her, they wouldn't have been so doomed from the start-esque.
I wasn't expecting to feel all the feels reading this, but I should have known better.
Overall, if you enjoy coming of age, queer romance, and people supporting people with a splash of college life, I think you'll enjoy this.
As for the audiobook performance, 10s across the board. I loved the narration, and by the end of the book, I knew who was talking based on the inflections/subtle voice changes/attitudes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia, Bullying, Rape, Sexual assault, and Transphobia
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Gaslighting
Minor: Domestic abuse