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A review by kaikai1618
Only Mostly Devastated by Sophie Gonzales
3.0
**********Spoilers************
Pretty interesting book. I had some mixed feelings on the relationship dynamic, but I found each character's motives to be understandable even if I don't think I would have stayed in the relationship myself.
Good Things
-Highlighting on Bi erasure and explaining the issues with it
-not letting dudes who made gay jokes get away with it just because they were cool about Will liking guys in the end
-Laura's self reflection on and questioning of if the way she would use getting drunk as an excuse to kiss Rene okay when it made may have perpetuated certain bisexual stereotypes
-acknowledgement that there is not one way to be queer
-Ollie standing up for himself and being aware of how he was being treated unfairly
-Ollie's self reflection and seeing his own flaws
- the book actually making me realize that Ollie didn't compromise with Will (when Ollie himself realized it in the book)
-decent depth given to side characters instead of making them cardboard (considering how many there were)
-decent juggling of so many people
-Laura standing up for herself and being a badass who grows as a character
-Even with Will's growth, he didn't do a 180, he was still hesitant to come out of his shell in the end
-nice representation with sexualities beyond gay and racial minorities. I enjoyed the casual integration of latinx food in Will's house. It's nice sometimes to just have characters not be white and for it to not be the focus of the story.
Ehhhh Things
- though I understand where Will was coming from and why he acted as he did around his friends, I found his actions to be frustrating. I agreed with Ollie when he thought he deserved more that what Will was offering. Though Ollie didn't let Will walk all over him, I still feel iffy about the relationship. I can empathize, but I was not a fan
-it didn't pull my heart strings. Though I thought it delt with a lot of important topics pretty well, it didn't have that emotional pull keeping me going. I was always fairly interested, but not wowed.
- though Laura changed and I really liked her, I wish she made clearer amends with some of the other girls in her group. Laura is a proud, flawed character. It was never alluded that she actually apologized even though she vaguely acknowledges she was wrong once. It's clear that she lashes out in defense so I just wish that were cleared up more.
-Aunt Linda was cool and so was seeing the different ways that grief affects people. However, wish there was more put into this arch and I think it fell a little flat in the end where grief was acknowledged temporarily
-In the author's dedication at the beginning of the book it said that the book was for those who give but forget about themselves. At first I thought this was about Ollie since he always gave his energy to Will and his family only to be dismissed (more by Will. With his family he just never asked for anything and always gave to them). Then this was turned around to be about how Ollie never really compromised with Will and how Will was the selfless one. In all honesty I didn't think I agreed. Will, understandably, was not ready to be out and felt the need to act extra straight. This also meant he put on the front of a douche. I think both Ollie and Will had their own things they were dealing with (valid). To me though, I didn't think either of them was selfless. If anything, it only made me realize that since Will didn't offer up any information about himself and went along with what Ollie did (in stolen moments), he wasn't very fleshed out. Sure, we know he likes sports, is scared of judgement, and likes to help people, but it's hard to tell anything about Will's overall personality.
- this is a more tangential thought, but a part of me wanted Ollie to go off without any guy. There are so many situations where a closeted kid has to keep their relationship a secret with an uncloseted kid. I don't at all mean to minimize the struggle and experience of someone in the closet, but it didn't feel like either person was ready for this relationship. During the time that Will was unsure, their weird undefined relationship felt lukewarm to me. A part of me thought they should have just separated. Sometimes stories like this don't need to end with a relationship. I would have loved to just see them both grow on their own on two separate paths, then maybe see if it could work later. That could have been more powerful. Too many times I see characters and people irl grasping at straws when they should just let go and move on with some self reflection.
Pretty interesting book. I had some mixed feelings on the relationship dynamic, but I found each character's motives to be understandable even if I don't think I would have stayed in the relationship myself.
Good Things
-Highlighting on Bi erasure and explaining the issues with it
-not letting dudes who made gay jokes get away with it just because they were cool about Will liking guys in the end
-Laura's self reflection on and questioning of if the way she would use getting drunk as an excuse to kiss Rene okay when it made may have perpetuated certain bisexual stereotypes
-acknowledgement that there is not one way to be queer
-Ollie standing up for himself and being aware of how he was being treated unfairly
-Ollie's self reflection and seeing his own flaws
- the book actually making me realize that Ollie didn't compromise with Will (when Ollie himself realized it in the book)
-decent depth given to side characters instead of making them cardboard (considering how many there were)
-decent juggling of so many people
-Laura standing up for herself and being a badass who grows as a character
-Even with Will's growth, he didn't do a 180, he was still hesitant to come out of his shell in the end
-nice representation with sexualities beyond gay and racial minorities. I enjoyed the casual integration of latinx food in Will's house. It's nice sometimes to just have characters not be white and for it to not be the focus of the story.
Ehhhh Things
- though I understand where Will was coming from and why he acted as he did around his friends, I found his actions to be frustrating. I agreed with Ollie when he thought he deserved more that what Will was offering. Though Ollie didn't let Will walk all over him, I still feel iffy about the relationship. I can empathize, but I was not a fan
-it didn't pull my heart strings. Though I thought it delt with a lot of important topics pretty well, it didn't have that emotional pull keeping me going. I was always fairly interested, but not wowed.
- though Laura changed and I really liked her, I wish she made clearer amends with some of the other girls in her group. Laura is a proud, flawed character. It was never alluded that she actually apologized even though she vaguely acknowledges she was wrong once. It's clear that she lashes out in defense so I just wish that were cleared up more.
-Aunt Linda was cool and so was seeing the different ways that grief affects people. However, wish there was more put into this arch and I think it fell a little flat in the end where grief was acknowledged temporarily
-In the author's dedication at the beginning of the book it said that the book was for those who give but forget about themselves. At first I thought this was about Ollie since he always gave his energy to Will and his family only to be dismissed (more by Will. With his family he just never asked for anything and always gave to them). Then this was turned around to be about how Ollie never really compromised with Will and how Will was the selfless one. In all honesty I didn't think I agreed. Will, understandably, was not ready to be out and felt the need to act extra straight. This also meant he put on the front of a douche. I think both Ollie and Will had their own things they were dealing with (valid). To me though, I didn't think either of them was selfless. If anything, it only made me realize that since Will didn't offer up any information about himself and went along with what Ollie did (in stolen moments), he wasn't very fleshed out. Sure, we know he likes sports, is scared of judgement, and likes to help people, but it's hard to tell anything about Will's overall personality.
- this is a more tangential thought, but a part of me wanted Ollie to go off without any guy. There are so many situations where a closeted kid has to keep their relationship a secret with an uncloseted kid. I don't at all mean to minimize the struggle and experience of someone in the closet, but it didn't feel like either person was ready for this relationship. During the time that Will was unsure, their weird undefined relationship felt lukewarm to me. A part of me thought they should have just separated. Sometimes stories like this don't need to end with a relationship. I would have loved to just see them both grow on their own on two separate paths, then maybe see if it could work later. That could have been more powerful. Too many times I see characters and people irl grasping at straws when they should just let go and move on with some self reflection.