avokaitotoast's reviews
14 reviews

Jay's Gay Agenda by Jason June

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lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

my advice before you read this book:
  • go into it knowing that it is for teens (but also written by someone who doesn’t know what teens do now)
  • know that there will be lots of (often cringe) talk surrounding sex and virginity
  • embrace the cringe and let it come full circle into camp territory.
  • do not take a shot every time u see the word „gawd“, „frack“, or „VSB“
  • chapter 18/19 are fairly explicit
  • 2 modern teen references are made in the entire book

don’t get me wrong — this book is a fine read. it kept me interested and id still recommend it to people looking for queer lit, there was just a cringy child-ness to the main character and his inner monologue. i’m also over reading (or watching) things strictly about teens and their sex lives. 

jay sort of gave me kurt hummel from glee but in 2020 vibes (only out gay kid in a small town w a dad who works on cars? literally kurt) and  i both loved and hated it. definitely a stereotype (which they are self aware of, it’s brought up how stereotypical jay is).

POS
  • easy read
  • enjoyable cringe to a certain point
  • fun to hate read

MAJOR NEGS
  • jay is supposed to be 17/18 but acts more like a 14/15 year old while discussing extremely adult topics (not a vibe)
  • discussion of the impacts of stereotypes is mentioned but when covering the topic of racial stereotypes it gets really weird… aka the only POC in the books essentially says „i used to hate that i’m asian and do xyz but now i embrace it“ and coming from a white author it feels very „i’m supposed to discuss race in my book bc it’s the PC thing to do“ but did not hit the mark at all

i don’t like giving negative reviews to queer lit (and i don’t think this is entirely negative — like i said, i did enjoy it a lot!!) because there is so little of it and i always want to support queer art. that being said, while it’s no great work of fiction, it’s a nice quick and enjoyable read if you don’t mind the extreme cringe and constant (i mean constant) dialogue surrounding sex and virginity.



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I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver

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emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective relaxing sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

So so so so good. I could have read this in one sitting if I didn’t have to work (fuck capitalism bruh). At first glance it’s a queer love story but i feel like the most important relationship in this book is the sibling relationship. The way they learn about each other, heal, and redefine their own version of family is so beautiful. It sort of sneaks up on you, just how heart warming this story is. warning for continuous (accidental) misgendering of the mc throughout the book (they aren’t out yet).
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The Mirror Season by Anna-Marie McLemore

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

⚠️TW!!
major: 
sexual assault
a boy is drugged and a girl is forced to give him a blow job, the scene isn’t described until page 250 and the scene can be skipped

revenge porn

minor:
racism (mostly micro aggressions a and racist “jokes” from antagonists, nothing violent, not a main theme but obviously important to the main characters journey)
homophobia (again nothing violent)

this was a really good but hard read. the writing style is beautiful and makes me want to read more by her. she has a way of writing realistic fiction in a way that feels like you’re reading a fantasy. some lgbtqia issues are addressed in a kind of cringe way but it’s kind of endearing. pretty fast read but i took my time with it and i’m glad i did. 

not major spoilers but kinda spoilers:
they do a really good job of talking about selective memory loss after trauma(/spoiler>

i good cried at the end.
The Passing Playbook by Isaac Fitzsimons

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emotional inspiring lighthearted fast-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

reads like a drarry fan fiction but hear me out i mean that as the best compliment ever — gay sports, enemies to lovers, evangelist parents force son to act like them — very very good read !!!
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