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aarnireads's review against another edition
3.0
Look, I get that Noah is a little brat who has clearly been spoiled and now that he has to do things on his own - well. But teenagers tend to think they know everything and can do everything: teenagers like Noah are still learning the world and themselves, and relationships and all. Sure, I am not trans and I am not a teenager anymore but I remember what it was like.
I thought this book was very cute but also an entertaining look into one boy's journey and growth into being just a little bit less selfish and having a wake-up call he desperately needed.
Sometimes you just need the one thing that makes you go huh, I've been going about this the wrong way entirely and I think Noah did get that. If he hadn't grown at all, I would have been much more annoyed by this book lmao.
the whole point of the story was that Noah had an idealized image for a relationship and for a life, and he needed to be snapped out of it. 16 is very young, but also old enough to start realizing that the world doesn't revolve around you.
sidenote, yes the stories in his blog were obviously fake, but also.. people see what they want to see. It made sense to me that people would flock to it, especially if most of the followers were young and hopeful. And that Noah would get an inflated sense of ego from it - honestly, if you're under 18, your internet time should seriously be restricted. Lmao.
I thought this book was very cute but also an entertaining look into one boy's journey and growth into being just a little bit less selfish and having a wake-up call he desperately needed.
Spoiler
listen, i cheered when he and drew broke up because holyshit it was painful. Neither of them were good to each other or right for each other. Noah prioritised his dumbass tumblr-blog over actually caring about Drew as a person and Drew cared little for actually communicating and well, liking Noah as a person. Devin is mature and sweet and too good for Noah but maybe that's what Noah needs.Sometimes you just need the one thing that makes you go huh, I've been going about this the wrong way entirely and I think Noah did get that. If he hadn't grown at all, I would have been much more annoyed by this book lmao.
the whole point of the story was that Noah had an idealized image for a relationship and for a life, and he needed to be snapped out of it. 16 is very young, but also old enough to start realizing that the world doesn't revolve around you.
sidenote, yes the stories in his blog were obviously fake, but also.. people see what they want to see. It made sense to me that people would flock to it, especially if most of the followers were young and hopeful. And that Noah would get an inflated sense of ego from it - honestly, if you're under 18, your internet time should seriously be restricted. Lmao.
somesortofwitch's review against another edition
5.0
This book means a lot to me, and I wish there were more! I love it.
lucy__342's review
Too cutesy for me, I think it is a very good YA romance for those who enjoy that
erdfraeulein's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
wicked_bibliophile's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-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? It's complicated
5.0
thereader222's review against another edition
2.0
I didn’t really like it at first but it slowly grew on me, cute and sweet moments are my kryptonite. The representation is so awesome to see, I have never heard of xe/xem and e/em pronouns before, and the fact that the author uses e/em I think it really shows an honest representation of discovering yourself and your identity. Then again, I’m not trans so you can take this whole review with a grain of salt since this is about a trans boy, especially what I just said because I don’t actually know if it’s accurate (it just seemed more authentic coming from a trans person). At first Noah annoyed the crap out of me, but it got better. Maybe I just blocked out all his annoying attitude, but there were many times I was reminded. He could be so self centered, particularly with Becca. Though they have been besties for a while, most of their interactions are quite negative with Noah having little regard for Becca’s feelings and troubles. Minor spoiler: they are still besties in the end, but she is definitely more forgiving than I would have been. I really loved the development of Noah’s relationship with Drew and Devin and how they influenced the other. It was cool realizing their true selves and feelings alongside Noah and made for some great drama (which I am all here for). Also, I loved how awkward they could be (particularly Devin). As someone who gets awkward around people I’ve just meet, I felt seen in many scenes where characters get flustered and question if they are or aren’t friends, or maybe something more. It does feel like Noah could have “saved” things sooner but he is a dumb teenager so it’s kinda realistic he’s fighting tooth and nail to keep his precious blog afloat. I think the little snippets of blog post throughout the novel were fine, it does feel kind of unnecessary as what the blogs convey is said a second later in the actual writing. Also, I don’t know why Noah needed his stories to be real, which is essentially the main catalyst of the book. Like most representation in media is made up, like in books or movies, so I can’t see how so many people would be mad about his stories being fake if it’s a normal occurrence. Or if he did want real stories, why did he wait so long to ask for submissions publicly, the fake stories would have also seemed more believable. Overall, I had a good time reading, especially as we got to towards the end, it satisfied my silly little romance desires. There are some things I find questionable, in the sense that it isn’t completely realistic. It was fine but Noah was such a turd, I think Devin would have made a more interesting main character.
yellowswagger's review against another edition
3.0
This was a tough one to rate. Ultimately, I think this story comes together at the end, and I think it does a really good job at showing trans characters with supportive family. An 18 year old choosing to date someone more than a year younger than him makes me extremely uncomfortable if I’m being honest. I can appreciate that Noah isn’t perfect, but he still has a long way to grow by the end of the story. It was cute at times and had an excellent approach to pronouns with gender identity exploration. If you’re looking for a love story, I would not recommend. If you’re looking for a trans affirming story, I would through this title in the ring.
dl307's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
cass_lit's review
3.5
This was cute, I loved the discussions, and I’m so glad it exists for teens to read as they figure themselves out… but boy was Noah so exhausting to read from lol