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How to Be Remy Cameron by Julian Winters
3.0
funny lighthearted fast-paced
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Remy Cameron is known in school for being Black, gay and adopted. When his English teacher assigns an essay asking him who he really is, he has a hard time seeing himself through all the labels other people have attached to him.

This was a super quick, easy and light read. I think it was the first book that I’ve read where the main character is adopted and I really, really appreciated that. It’s not a perspective that we see very often in fiction.

I found myself not really falling in love with the characters in this though. It’s a curse of a lot of YA books that I read, but I find myself always disliking the main character’s best friend and that happened again here. I could not get behind Rio and I rarely understood her motivations or really anything about her. She felt very flat and a little unnecessary.

The romance between Remy and Ian was my favorite part. Even though Remy was almost unbearably awkward at the beginning (all the second-hand embarrassment!!), their interactions were always super sweet. I loved the focus on consent in their relationship as well as how Remy always respected that Ian wasn’t ready to be out.