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fionacashell's review against another edition
4.0
Probably somewhere between a 3 and 4 star read for me, rounding up. It was fun to read a story that is not afraid to be firmly set in Ontario. I also appreciate a young adult book that has the guts to make their queer protagonists kind of assholes. It made them feel more human rather than walking talking resources on how to be a Good Gay.
I thought the book did a great job of capturing how the experiences of queer youth in high school are so shaped by their immediate surroundings. Talia found her community with activists and grew up with a mother who would not accept her if she knew her identity, so it makes sense she would always be on the defensive. In the same way, it makes sense that Mark is not as concerned with the wider community because he is both handsome and has always found acceptance at home. It was interesting to see how they clashed and how they came to understand one another.
Given the amount of time that the story takes place over, I think the relationships progressed in a way that was realistic, although some storyline conclusions felt rushed. I think most of the aspects of the book I found to be less entertaining could be attributed to young adult contemporary works not being my top genre at this point in my life.
Overall, this book offers a realistic portrayal of how messy teenage relationships can be and a fun tribute to Toronto Pride (plus a character from Brampton which I am always down for).
I thought the book did a great job of capturing how the experiences of queer youth in high school are so shaped by their immediate surroundings. Talia found her community with activists and grew up with a mother who would not accept her if she knew her identity, so it makes sense she would always be on the defensive. In the same way, it makes sense that Mark is not as concerned with the wider community because he is both handsome and has always found acceptance at home. It was interesting to see how they clashed and how they came to understand one another.
Given the amount of time that the story takes place over, I think the relationships progressed in a way that was realistic, although some storyline conclusions felt rushed. I think most of the aspects of the book I found to be less entertaining could be attributed to young adult contemporary works not being my top genre at this point in my life.
Overall, this book offers a realistic portrayal of how messy teenage relationships can be and a fun tribute to Toronto Pride (plus a character from Brampton which I am always down for).
haileypassmoree's review against another edition
1.0
1.5
i am so happy to finally have finished this so i can move on. bex i hope you enjoy this more than me. i only continued through it for the little project we’re doing but i genuinely hope you like it more than i did.
the plot was cute and all but the two main characters were too selfish and self centred for me. and the character development, too unrealistic.
i am so happy to finally have finished this so i can move on. bex i hope you enjoy this more than me. i only continued through it for the little project we’re doing but i genuinely hope you like it more than i did.
the plot was cute and all but the two main characters were too selfish and self centred for me. and the character development, too unrealistic.
mackenzie72's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars. Cute little read, .5 extra star for east coast representation!!!!!
callieju's review against another edition
4.0
3.5⭐️ Cute book, loved how short and concise it was. The side characters were amazing, but I didn’t love the MCs. Anyways thought this was overall pretty good and a quick read.
cobaltbookshelf's review against another edition
2.0
2 stars for Mark little sister Paige, Talia and Mark were annoying.
cheye13's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I'd been waiting to read this for so long, and it was ultimately a disappointment. It had been pitched as a queer cousin road-trip and that is completely incorrect. It's more of an estranged family drama summer vacation featuring queer cousins. It's one of those dual-author books where you can tell precisely who wrote what, and not just because of the split character POV, but because the writing styles do not mesh. It was weirdly soap-boxy and very paint-by-numbers; every stage of the story felt disjointed and unrelated to the previous. I get what the authors were going for, but I think more cohesion during the outlining phase would've helped this come off as a linear narrative rather than a cherry-picked thematic salad.
cryptid_crow's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
3.0
Was start and stop until about halfway through. From there, the story became more cohesive.
lsparrow's review against another edition
3.0
A cute YA LGBT novel. A story about family and growing up. Way too many characters and situations that created great opportunities for learning about queer history to feel realistic but still sweet and fun.
christopherward's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
4.5
emg25's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Meh book. Don’t understand the title and the male narrator is a dick.