A review by half_bloodreader
The Sky Blues by Robbie Couch

3.0

"The concept of the friend zone is inherently sexist, FYI, but I’d go with yellow anyway, because I think she’d care less about society’s meaning and more about that you remembered yellow’s her favorite color" 

Promposal countdown turns into anti-prejudice protest and Nancy Drew investigation
 Small town USA where majority is WASP
 Gay mc
 Supportive hot cocoa bestie
 Cinnamon gum giving, Ava DuVernay fan bestie, who is both straight and Black
 Iraqi American crush
 Trans side character
 Tight friend group 

This is a nice debut. There are some plot points that are left open and I would've liked seen resolved, but it's fine. Maybe the author is hoping for a college sequel? 🤷‍♀️ 

"She doesn’t know how to handle me. If I were Bree or Clare or one of the twins, she’d be grilling me with questions, calling the school, or filing a police report. But I’m not her kid. I’m not anyone’s kid."

Sky is one of the few openly gay students in a narrow-minded place. He's been taken in by his best friend Bree's family since his mother pretty much kicked him out during 🚨the holidays🚨 So Christian of her. 

Despite being out, Sky still bears the burden of being himself, and he feels the need to "tone down the gay", as he puts it, all the time. Partly in front of homophobe bullies of course, but even with his other bestie, Marshall because he's straight and happily dating, or any guy he perceives as masculine and straight. That really hurt me, because he checked himself so many times for things that feel so small and unrelated to one's orientation, instead of living his joy. 

"I'm learning in real time just how wrong stereotypes can be." 

Yes, Sky carries a lot of stereotypes, and makes assumptions. He correlates sporty bros with heteronormativity, for example. And he's going to learn how wrong he is 😝 I predicted that so early, it was so satisfying! 

Gotta love a queer author who writes such a queer character! I've seen that so much in the LGBTQ+ community, and it's good to have someone acknowledge being queer doesn't mean we are born experts. There's a lot of unlearning to do. 

"For the first time this week—or maybe for the first time ever—I know what I have to do. I know what I have to be. Tough." 

The cyber attack is both homophobic and racist. Sky gets support from his friends, but also from people he wasn't expecting! These will lead him to answers about his father.* I do wish there was more about the racist attack though. Ali was the only one carrying messages about both problems! 

*This is the plot line that deserved more for sure. It felt incomplete. 

The book could've done without the Harry Potter references, especially since it was released in 2021 and there's a trans side character. 

CW: self-destructive thoughts, existential angst 
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