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A review by baudshaw
Theoretically Straight by Alexander C. Eberhart, Amy Bailey
5.0
Slight spoilers I guess, for the basic plot.
This is the second in a strangely popular subgenre of “Southern gay romance”, and I’d say it’s better than the first one I’ve read. That being said, this book seems to be made for preteens and young teens more than anything.
The plot is mostly simple enough to understand while still having good twists and turns to keep me interested. It mostly revolves around the boy Theo, who struggles with repression and denial regarding his crush Caleb.
Despite the story being told in a switching perspective between Theo and Caleb, it’s obvious that Theo is the main character. His development is honestly quite intriguing to see, and I thought all the other characters were handled well. The writing is very talented (if a bit corny and strange at times). I found some parts a bit funny where it kind of became a gay instruction manual (there are times where the relationship advice seems more directed to the readers), but it works for the audience.
There’s just two things I don’t really like. For one, I think the part of the book between the first kiss and the fall festival (the part between 50-70%) is a bit boring and doesn’t really wow me. Next, I think it’s a massive missed opportunity that Halloween doesn’t play a bigger role in the story. There’s a lot of horror and spooky elements in the book, so I’m genuinely baffled why they time-skipped over Halloween.
In general, it’s a great book. I’d love to see these characters fleshed out and expanded more.
EDIT: After reading the second part, I’d say it retroactively makes this book a lot greater. In some ways, this book can be read standalone without ever looking at the sequel, but I like the expansion to the world and the characters brought by the second novel. Also, what I really like is the teenagers here actually act like teenagers. They feel slightly awkward, which is a really interesting thing to see. I don't like when child characters are written like mini-adults.
This is the second in a strangely popular subgenre of “Southern gay romance”, and I’d say it’s better than the first one I’ve read. That being said, this book seems to be made for preteens and young teens more than anything.
The plot is mostly simple enough to understand while still having good twists and turns to keep me interested. It mostly revolves around the boy Theo, who struggles with repression and denial regarding his crush Caleb.
Despite the story being told in a switching perspective between Theo and Caleb, it’s obvious that Theo is the main character. His development is honestly quite intriguing to see, and I thought all the other characters were handled well. The writing is very talented (if a bit corny and strange at times). I found some parts a bit funny where it kind of became a gay instruction manual (there are times where the relationship advice seems more directed to the readers), but it works for the audience.
There’s just two things I don’t really like. For one, I think the part of the book between the first kiss and the fall festival (the part between 50-70%) is a bit boring and doesn’t really wow me. Next, I think it’s a massive missed opportunity that Halloween doesn’t play a bigger role in the story. There’s a lot of horror and spooky elements in the book, so I’m genuinely baffled why they time-skipped over Halloween.
In general, it’s a great book. I’d love to see these characters fleshed out and expanded more.
EDIT: After reading the second part, I’d say it retroactively makes this book a lot greater. In some ways, this book can be read standalone without ever looking at the sequel, but I like the expansion to the world and the characters brought by the second novel. Also, what I really like is the teenagers here actually act like teenagers. They feel slightly awkward, which is a really interesting thing to see. I don't like when child characters are written like mini-adults.