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nightshaderoots's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The book was cute and has wonderful representation for poc, trans people nonbinary people, ace people, and so much other people looking for love. This book had really good characters but by the end of the book I still wasn't a fan of the main character.
It didn't really seem like Noah made much character development by the end of the book and if he did it didn't seem finished or well rounded.
In addition to that I will say I wished I had an older brother like Brian around as well as Becca and Devin. They really were stars in the book and made it as great as it was.
There is also a character who goes through various pronouns and then settles with the neopronouns e/em/ey/eir.
In addition to that I will say I wished I had an older brother like Brian around as well as Becca and Devin. They really were stars in the book and made it as great as it was.
There is also a character who goes through various pronouns and then settles with the neopronouns e/em/ey/eir.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Mental illness, Abandonment, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, and Vomit
Moderate: Gaslighting, Sexual content, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Transphobia, Bullying, Dysphoria, and Homophobia
kaylamoran's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Okay, so I know people are getting annoyed with adult reviewers saying this, but I have to. Devin and Brian were the only characters in the book that were even a little bit likeable. This made me have a really hard time caring about it.
I picked up this book because I needed something cute and fluffy and this was that.
I'm a bit confused by the genre though. It felt very juvenile (which is fine, not a bad thing) but then there was a lot of the f word so I'm confused as to who the audience was supposed to be.
I really wanted to love this, I just didn't.
I picked up this book because I needed something cute and fluffy and this was that.
I'm a bit confused by the genre though. It felt very juvenile (which is fine, not a bad thing) but then there was a lot of the f word so I'm confused as to who the audience was supposed to be.
I really wanted to love this, I just didn't.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Cursing, Dysphoria, Vomit, Alcohol, and Bullying
nerdysread's review
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-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
4.0
At first I was like « Gosh I hate Noah » then I realised that on some point he reminds me of my brother so… also he has such a good chemistry with Devin, and I was rooting for them as soon as Devin vomited on him. Also I loved Devin, e’s such a good person and gosh I felt em at some point
Also, great character development for Noah, and we stan
Also, great character development for Noah, and we stan
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Vomit and Alcohol
Minor: Drug use and Suicide attempt
matheo's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, and Vomit
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Panic attacks/disorders, Adult/minor relationship, Racism, and Dysphoria
Minor: Suicide attempt, Drug use, Bullying, and Alcohol
nickoliver's review
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I was a bit disappointed, tbh. I appreciated being able to read a book about a trans character without also having to deal with severe transphobia (there was transphobia in this, too, but it didn't feel as heavy as in some other books I'd read), but the main character Noah made a lot of my reading hard. It was refreshing to have a character who was quite self-confident about the way they looked, but he was also very entitled and self-absorbed (though the latter was challenged later in the book). Plus, his views on romance were confusing, and he moved way too quickly.
Moreover, the whole thing about the Diary made little sense to me. First of all, the way the meet cutes were written was very juvenile, sometimes over the top cheesy, and it always amazed me that people even believed him that they happened? They were also all very clearly written by the same person, tbh. Honestly, I didn't understand why he even did that Diary in the first place. Like, I get wanting trans people to have hope that there was love waiting for them too, but by publishing stories he invented, wasn't he making it seem like it was actually hopeless?
Secondly, I didn't quite understand how pretending to be in love with a boy would prove that he didn't write all the meet cutes himself? Just because he himself had (supposedly) a happy ending didn't mean that everything that was ever published on his blog couldn't be complete hogwash, and it was weird to me how everyone just believed him about himself and Drew, even though it couldn't have been more obviously fake (the timing, the way he wrote about it, etc.). I also found all the Tumblr asks Noah got very annoying, because they usually all said more or less the same thing (usually, they asked him to post more about himself and Drew and mentioned that he didn't answer asks a lot anymore) and just made it seem like Noah didn't care at all about his blog, which obviously portrayed all his desperate tries to save it in a ridiculous light. I felt like the whole story line around the Diary wasn't developed enough; there was too much left in the dark.
What I did like about the book was Devin, specifically the way eir struggle with eir gender was explored. E changed eir pronouns several times, and I kinda liked that? It did happen very fast - I would've preferred it a bit more spaced out, tbh -, but I loved the way Devin and Noah talked about it, and how supportive Noah was. I haven't read many books yet with characters who use neopronouns, so this was nice. Devin was generally a great character, though e also kind of didn't feel as fleshed out as I wanted em to be? It was obvious e were going to be Noah's endgame, but I always felt like there was something missing there. The same goes for Becca. Both she and Devin were present in the story but often seemed to disappear behind Noah a little.
It took me a while to finish this - longer than I expected -, but that had less to do with the book and more to do with my current obsession of Our Flag Means Death that made me want to read more about queer middle-aged people in love and less about teenagers. So it's possible the reason I couldn't get quite as immersed in this as I'd wanted was because of that. Though I would've had the issues mentioned above nonetheless.
Moreover, the whole thing about the Diary made little sense to me. First of all, the way the meet cutes were written was very juvenile, sometimes over the top cheesy, and it always amazed me that people even believed him that they happened? They were also all very clearly written by the same person, tbh. Honestly, I didn't understand why he even did that Diary in the first place. Like, I get wanting trans people to have hope that there was love waiting for them too, but by publishing stories he invented, wasn't he making it seem like it was actually hopeless?
Secondly, I didn't quite understand how pretending to be in love with a boy would prove that he didn't write all the meet cutes himself? Just because he himself had (supposedly) a happy ending didn't mean that everything that was ever published on his blog couldn't be complete hogwash, and it was weird to me how everyone just believed him about himself and Drew, even though it couldn't have been more obviously fake (the timing, the way he wrote about it, etc.). I also found all the Tumblr asks Noah got very annoying, because they usually all said more or less the same thing (usually, they asked him to post more about himself and Drew and mentioned that he didn't answer asks a lot anymore) and just made it seem like Noah didn't care at all about his blog, which obviously portrayed all his desperate tries to save it in a ridiculous light. I felt like the whole story line around the Diary wasn't developed enough; there was too much left in the dark.
What I did like about the book was Devin, specifically the way eir struggle with eir gender was explored. E changed eir pronouns several times, and I kinda liked that? It did happen very fast - I would've preferred it a bit more spaced out, tbh -, but I loved the way Devin and Noah talked about it, and how supportive Noah was. I haven't read many books yet with characters who use neopronouns, so this was nice. Devin was generally a great character, though e also kind of didn't feel as fleshed out as I wanted em to be? It was obvious e were going to be Noah's endgame, but I always felt like there was something missing there. The same goes for Becca. Both she and Devin were present in the story but often seemed to disappear behind Noah a little.
It took me a while to finish this - longer than I expected -, but that had less to do with the book and more to do with my current obsession of Our Flag Means Death that made me want to read more about queer middle-aged people in love and less about teenagers. So it's possible the reason I couldn't get quite as immersed in this as I'd wanted was because of that. Though I would've had the issues mentioned above nonetheless.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Transphobia, Vomit, and Alcohol
Minor: Suicide attempt and Bullying
rayne_1906's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-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
Audiobook - 3 hours 30 minutes - I adored this book. The character's were loveable and mostly realistic, and the book didn't seem repetitive and overly drawn-out like a lot of books in the genre can sometimes be. I love reading from trans perspectives, and it was especially interesting to read about a character using gender neutral pronouns other than they/them, considering I think I've only read those a couple of times in the first place. I think it was interesting to see how the main character's views on relationships changed as he grew and experienced more things - I could relate to a lot of that. Being blinded by your first proper relationship, thinking it is perfect when in fact it is incredibly toxic and manipulative, and I think this character was cleverly written so we learned this alongside the main character, rather than it being obvious from the start and mentally screaming at the character for not seeing the frankly obvious red flags. I'm weak for LGBTQ books with happy endings and this did not disappoint.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Moderate: Alcohol, Vomit, Transphobia, Suicide attempt, and Drug use
noceur's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
1.5
I was so excited for this book but unfortunately it didn't meet my expectations. I thought this book was gonna be a cute romance story but honestly i didn't like the main character. I thought he was annoying, entitled and selfish. First of all he lacks basic human deceny and empathy like if someone throws up on you, you would ask them if they're okay not worry about your suede pants (i hated his suede pants btw they made me so furious idk why) Also the whole getting a job and his money problem(!) was stupid too. You can't expect that your parents will just throw money around for you. The romance was icky from the beginning too. I mean sorry but the dude he meets like one or two times happens to recognize the blog and they start dating ?? And don't get me started on the blog it overall didn't make sense. I can go on all the negative things i can say but i don't this to be any longer so i'm gonna talk about the only think i liked about this book : Devin. He was such a great character. I liked Devin exploring eir gender and changing pronouns throughout the story and honestly the whole book would have been so much betterit Devin was the MC. Even in the end i felt like Noah didn't really had any character development and Devin deserves better.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship and Transphobia
Moderate: Alcohol, Deadnaming, and Hate crime
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Vomit
longlost's review
emotional
lighthearted
relaxing
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
fun book. appreciated the subversion of romance tropes. emery lee's writing style was also very engaging and bouncy and id def be interested to read more of eir books. on that note i very much appreciated that a major character uses neopronouns.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Vomit, Transphobia, Cursing, and Mental illness
Minor: Racism, Drug use, Alcohol, Suicide attempt, and Bullying
elderflower's review
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-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
4.75
neopronouns, taylor swift, and veggie tales!
Finally//Beautiful Stranger by Halsey
Finally//Beautiful Stranger by Halsey
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, and Transphobia
Minor: Religious bigotry and Suicide attempt
more content warnings: smoking, weedplumpaperbacks's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-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
4.0
I’ve been hearing good things about this book for months now, and I’m so glad I finally read it. I sped through this book because, even in its more emotional moments, it was a joy to read. Lee’s debut was the perfect blend of fluff and heavier stuff, and eir definitely an author to watch.
I loved Noah from the very beginning. Although he’s sometimes romantically misguided, he’s a total sweetheart. Becca and Devin ended up seriously growing on me. The friendships here are top tier. I also really liked Noah’s relationship with his older brother Brian, and how determined Brian was to be supportive. It was heartwarming.
I didn’t expect Drew to be such an asshole, and honestly, it was kind of sad to see that side of him come to light. I’d been shipping him and Noah since, like, their second meeting. But Drew is a manipulative bumwaffle that can choke on a cactus, and Devin is so much better. It’s not even a contest, really. E’s such a sweet person, and e and Noah together are basically a recipe for cavities, but whatever. They’re adorable together and I’m happy for them. The scavenger hunt was super cute. ❤️
This is the first book I’ve read that features a character experimenting with gender and pronouns, and also the first I’ve read where a character uses neopronouns. Figuring out those parts of yourself isn’t always easy, and that should be represented in YA. Props to Lee for doing so.
Lastly, I just want to say that I loved the Meet Cute Diary. It’s such a cute idea for a blog, and the message alongside it—that trans kids are just as deserving of love stories—is important and lovely.
I definitely want to buy a copy of this book, and I could see myself rereading it both as a pick-me-up and because I miss my cinnamon rolls.
Representation
I loved Noah from the very beginning. Although he’s sometimes romantically misguided, he’s a total sweetheart. Becca and Devin ended up seriously growing on me. The friendships here are top tier. I also really liked Noah’s relationship with his older brother Brian, and how determined Brian was to be supportive. It was heartwarming.
This is the first book I’ve read that features a character experimenting with gender and pronouns, and also the first I’ve read where a character uses neopronouns. Figuring out those parts of yourself isn’t always easy, and that should be represented in YA. Props to Lee for doing so.
Lastly, I just want to say that I loved the Meet Cute Diary. It’s such a cute idea for a blog, and the message alongside it—that trans kids are just as deserving of love stories—is important and lovely.
I definitely want to buy a copy of this book, and I could see myself rereading it both as a pick-me-up and because I miss my cinnamon rolls.
Representation
- triracial bisexual trans boy protagonist (Afro-Caribbean-Japanese)
- lesbian side character
- Cuban genderqueer asexual side character that uses neopronouns (xe/xim at first, then e/em)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Transphobia and Vomit
Minor: Alcohol, Bullying, Drug use, Racism, and Suicide attempt
Both “bullying” and “suicide attempt” refer to events that occurred prior to the story, in regards to a side character.