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ankysbookbubble's review
5.0
Thanks(!) NetGalley for giving me a chance to read and review this book!
Short Blurb:
Overweight and unhappy at home, Emmy gets sexually involved with a popular classmate so that people will think that she is worth liking. When she realizes that he is just using her, she decides to leave her home in Winnipeg to stay with her uncle's family in Vancouver. Emmy has always been intimidated by her perfect cousin Paige and Paige's cool friends, so she is surprised to find that the coolest of them is transgender. Emmy is instantly attracted to Jude (who used to be Judy), and starts hanging out at the coffee shop where he works. She even performs at the poetry slam Jude hosts there.
Emmy is never sure where she stands with Jude, and can't believe that such a confident, charismatic guy might actually be interested in her. Both her mother back in Winnipeg and Paige warn her away from Jude, saying that he will just use her and she will get hurt. But it's not until she almost falls again into the trap of casual sex to boost her self-esteem that Emmy realizes it's worth it to put your true self out there for real love.
Cover Review:
The cover is simple, yet alluring and I'd have definitely picked up the book and read more about it!
Review:
Love is Love is a heart touching story, one of the best I've ever read. The only thing I didn't like about it was its length. I wish it hadn't been such a short read! I wish there was more to it.
My favorite character was without doubt Jude. He's just the kind of guy that a girl deserves. He's fun, kind, caring and oh so understanding. At the same time, he's also not invincible as most guys are pictured in most novels/movies. He's not the kinda guy who hides his pain, atleast not from someone he trusts.
My least favorite character on the other hand was Emmy's mom. Sure there were others who weren't so good but what Emmy's mom did hurt me the most. How could she have so easily sent off her daughter? And then again, how could she ever think that she can dictate who Emmy should fall in love with? I hate that woman for being so blind to her daughter's pain.
My favorite parts were all of the Emmy and Jude parts, every single one of them.
The writing was capturing, compelling, while the story was something that'll stay in my heart forever.
If only it hadn't ended so quickly...
Love is Love gets 5 stars for its brilliance and for being so beautiful.
Short Blurb:
Overweight and unhappy at home, Emmy gets sexually involved with a popular classmate so that people will think that she is worth liking. When she realizes that he is just using her, she decides to leave her home in Winnipeg to stay with her uncle's family in Vancouver. Emmy has always been intimidated by her perfect cousin Paige and Paige's cool friends, so she is surprised to find that the coolest of them is transgender. Emmy is instantly attracted to Jude (who used to be Judy), and starts hanging out at the coffee shop where he works. She even performs at the poetry slam Jude hosts there.
Emmy is never sure where she stands with Jude, and can't believe that such a confident, charismatic guy might actually be interested in her. Both her mother back in Winnipeg and Paige warn her away from Jude, saying that he will just use her and she will get hurt. But it's not until she almost falls again into the trap of casual sex to boost her self-esteem that Emmy realizes it's worth it to put your true self out there for real love.
Cover Review:
The cover is simple, yet alluring and I'd have definitely picked up the book and read more about it!
Review:
Love is Love is a heart touching story, one of the best I've ever read. The only thing I didn't like about it was its length. I wish it hadn't been such a short read! I wish there was more to it.
My favorite character was without doubt Jude. He's just the kind of guy that a girl deserves. He's fun, kind, caring and oh so understanding. At the same time, he's also not invincible as most guys are pictured in most novels/movies. He's not the kinda guy who hides his pain, atleast not from someone he trusts.
My least favorite character on the other hand was Emmy's mom. Sure there were others who weren't so good but what Emmy's mom did hurt me the most. How could she have so easily sent off her daughter? And then again, how could she ever think that she can dictate who Emmy should fall in love with? I hate that woman for being so blind to her daughter's pain.
My favorite parts were all of the Emmy and Jude parts, every single one of them.
The writing was capturing, compelling, while the story was something that'll stay in my heart forever.
If only it hadn't ended so quickly...
Love is Love gets 5 stars for its brilliance and for being so beautiful.
jugglingpup's review against another edition
5.0
To see more reviews check out MI Book Reviews.
I got an ARC in return for an honest review on NetGalley.
I requested this book because there are still very few YA books where a trans man is one of the leads. It is especially rare when the book is from the perspective of the straight girl that is interested in him. So I was beyond stoked to read this book, but as always I had really low expectations as I am used to books about trans men or having a trans male character being pretty terrible.
This book blew my expectations out of the water. I am really particular when it comes to the grammar around transgender (Note: “transgender” is correct, “transgendered” is not). This book was amazing at getting that right. That alone made this book stand out for me. There was even a passage where the flippant cousin was shown to be pretty self-absorbed and uncaring that hit so close to home. The cousin had introduced the two main characters to each other, but then kept referring to Jude as “she”. Emmy was confused by that action. It was not confusing to me, that is the reality for trans teens. People you think are friends will actively misgender you. It made the book so much more realistic for me. Props to the author for either knowing that was shitty or doing her research on it.
There were scenes that made me physically uncomfortable. I am a trans man and I remember the issues I had/have with my body. I hate being touched, even to this day because of the breasts I used to have. Jude explains that he has body issues and he actively talks about his boundaries when it comes to touch. Emmy as a straight and cis woman doesn’t know basic trans manners, but is open to learning and she fumbles a lot. The fact that she is trying is so endearing. There is a scene where she actively describes feeling Jude’s breasts through his binder when they hug. It hit so close to home and my fears that people could tell what I was hiding. That Emmy thought it was appropriate to muse about Jude’s breasts was so painful, but so realistic.
I LOVE this book because it was so realistic and it didn’t beat me over the head with trans 101. I already know this and a lot of teens who will be reading the book are trans or know people that are. They don’t need the basics. I appreciate this book meeting me as an equal. Instead of “what is trans?” the author addresses “what is the appropriate way to interact with a trans person?”. There is even a whole section on asking about pronouns.
I got an ARC in return for an honest review on NetGalley.
I requested this book because there are still very few YA books where a trans man is one of the leads. It is especially rare when the book is from the perspective of the straight girl that is interested in him. So I was beyond stoked to read this book, but as always I had really low expectations as I am used to books about trans men or having a trans male character being pretty terrible.
This book blew my expectations out of the water. I am really particular when it comes to the grammar around transgender (Note: “transgender” is correct, “transgendered” is not). This book was amazing at getting that right. That alone made this book stand out for me. There was even a passage where the flippant cousin was shown to be pretty self-absorbed and uncaring that hit so close to home. The cousin had introduced the two main characters to each other, but then kept referring to Jude as “she”. Emmy was confused by that action. It was not confusing to me, that is the reality for trans teens. People you think are friends will actively misgender you. It made the book so much more realistic for me. Props to the author for either knowing that was shitty or doing her research on it.
There were scenes that made me physically uncomfortable. I am a trans man and I remember the issues I had/have with my body. I hate being touched, even to this day because of the breasts I used to have. Jude explains that he has body issues and he actively talks about his boundaries when it comes to touch. Emmy as a straight and cis woman doesn’t know basic trans manners, but is open to learning and she fumbles a lot. The fact that she is trying is so endearing. There is a scene where she actively describes feeling Jude’s breasts through his binder when they hug. It hit so close to home and my fears that people could tell what I was hiding. That Emmy thought it was appropriate to muse about Jude’s breasts was so painful, but so realistic.
I LOVE this book because it was so realistic and it didn’t beat me over the head with trans 101. I already know this and a lot of teens who will be reading the book are trans or know people that are. They don’t need the basics. I appreciate this book meeting me as an equal. Instead of “what is trans?” the author addresses “what is the appropriate way to interact with a trans person?”. There is even a whole section on asking about pronouns.
bookdeviant's review against another edition
1.0
See more of my reviews on my blog the Book Deviant
I would like to thank James Lorimer & Company for allowing me to have a copy of this book via NetGalley.
I have a bit to say about this book, so please be patient while I figure this out.
In truth, I was expecting this book to be much more harmful than what it was, based off the publisher provided summary on NetGalley and Goodreads. I knew this was going to be stuffed full of problems the moment I saw the cover and read the summary, and here's why: Jude, the trans love interest, is deadnamed in the summary, a common ploy that publishers do to try and draw people in with ~diversity~. Jude is also described as a "bad person" but it is never explained why he's a bad person. Besides him being trans and being "bad", that's all we learn about him from the summary. I was also concerned with the body type rep in this book, as the way Emmy being overweight was described was really iffy.
And while this book wasn't as volatile as I was preparing myself for, there was still plenty of problems within. The best way to describe Love is Love is basically saying that it was well-intended, but ignorantly executed.
Throughout the book, I was waiting for poisonous comments to come for Jude, by Jude, or any number of other things. I just knew it was going to hurt. Specifically, they came from one character, Emmy's cousin, where she misgenders Jude constantly and calls him by his deadname. The cousin even introduced him to Emmy by his deadname, and she would always do it behind his back. Paige, the cousin, was one of the worst people ever, and she is constantly spouting transphobic remarks all throughout the novel, even going as far as saying being trans was a "phase" and that Jude wasn't right in the head. She's extremely disrespectful, full of herself, and--well, basically think of the mean, popular girl stereotype. That's basically her in a nutshell.
While most of the transphobia came from her, it was still spouted left and right, but thankfully not from Emmy. She actually defended Jude once, when Paige called him "she" behind his back, and I really appreciated that--until Emmy started becoming obsessed with Jude because he was so different and interesting. There was one scene in which Emmy was speaking with her mom, and her mom was going off on how being transgender wasn't normal, and that Emmy needed to be in a normal relationship. This conversation cued the second fucking time Emmy called her mother a wh*re. Jude called her out on using that as an insult, but the way he did it was so infuriating that I didn't even care that he did it--it came out as ridiculous and like he was oblivious!
Here's the catch--while the transphobia wasn't running as rampant as I was expecting, harmful stereotypes and beliefs were being subtly woven into the storyline. Jude's deadname was "Judy", which is a type of naming convention for trans people that has frankly gotten annoying. It's like Robert/Roberta or some shit. Then there was Emmy's basic stalking of Jude, and insisting that he was different and special because "he wasn't like other guys" because he was trans. It was almost like she was saying that she was in love with him only because he was transgender. Bach's handling of a transgender character was commendable for her first try, but Jude's character was so stereotyped that I was nearly screaming.
And this isn't even getting on how fatphobic this book is!!
I knew from the start that Emmy would have low positivity. Okay, I'm fine with that, maybe I'll relate to her on that level. But Emmy was so poisonous towards herself and other people, it was horrible. And, while most of it was her being self-deprecating, she was often mentally attacking other heavy people, and skinny people. She was just so negative I took a long break from this book, if only to prepare myself for the last half. There were even scenes in which Emmy was basically working out to impress Jude.
Emmy was described as a dog quite a few times, as well as a troll another. And this book isn't even written in first person--It's third person limited!! It was so toxic and I can only imagine young teens reading this and seeing themselves described as a troll.
Not as main, but Emmy was also mentioned to have anxiety, and take anti-anxiety medication . . . and I just have to say that nowhere in this book did it obviously come into play. Bach was trying to subtly include Emmy's anxiety with never directly stating it was her anxiety doing this to her. Bach kept skirting around subjects, as if they were too big to tackle and this behavior just belittled them.
one star - Overall?
When this book wasn't being insulting, it was just plain infuriating. Emmy was such an uncomfortable character to read about, because not only did she body shame to the extreme, but she was obsessed with Jude. Literally obsessed. And Jude just felt like any standard caricature of a random guy. There was nothing special about the characters, nothing interesting--just confusing or hurtful.
Would I Recommend?
I wouldn't waste my time on it. Especially trans readers, I found it hurtful with the stereotypes at the least, and the misgendering at the most. Bach didn't end up writing transphobic lines as I was expecting, but Love is Love could still very well be seen as harmful with how subtle the other problems are.
I would like to thank James Lorimer & Company for allowing me to have a copy of this book via NetGalley.
I have a bit to say about this book, so please be patient while I figure this out.
In truth, I was expecting this book to be much more harmful than what it was, based off the publisher provided summary on NetGalley and Goodreads. I knew this was going to be stuffed full of problems the moment I saw the cover and read the summary, and here's why: Jude, the trans love interest, is deadnamed in the summary, a common ploy that publishers do to try and draw people in with ~diversity~. Jude is also described as a "bad person" but it is never explained why he's a bad person. Besides him being trans and being "bad", that's all we learn about him from the summary. I was also concerned with the body type rep in this book, as the way Emmy being overweight was described was really iffy.
And while this book wasn't as volatile as I was preparing myself for, there was still plenty of problems within. The best way to describe Love is Love is basically saying that it was well-intended, but ignorantly executed.
Throughout the book, I was waiting for poisonous comments to come for Jude, by Jude, or any number of other things. I just knew it was going to hurt. Specifically, they came from one character, Emmy's cousin, where she misgenders Jude constantly and calls him by his deadname. The cousin even introduced him to Emmy by his deadname, and she would always do it behind his back. Paige, the cousin, was one of the worst people ever, and she is constantly spouting transphobic remarks all throughout the novel, even going as far as saying being trans was a "phase" and that Jude wasn't right in the head. She's extremely disrespectful, full of herself, and--well, basically think of the mean, popular girl stereotype. That's basically her in a nutshell.
While most of the transphobia came from her, it was still spouted left and right, but thankfully not from Emmy. She actually defended Jude once, when Paige called him "she" behind his back, and I really appreciated that--until Emmy started becoming obsessed with Jude because he was so different and interesting. There was one scene in which Emmy was speaking with her mom, and her mom was going off on how being transgender wasn't normal, and that Emmy needed to be in a normal relationship. This conversation cued the second fucking time Emmy called her mother a wh*re. Jude called her out on using that as an insult, but the way he did it was so infuriating that I didn't even care that he did it--it came out as ridiculous and like he was oblivious!
Here's the catch--while the transphobia wasn't running as rampant as I was expecting, harmful stereotypes and beliefs were being subtly woven into the storyline. Jude's deadname was "Judy", which is a type of naming convention for trans people that has frankly gotten annoying. It's like Robert/Roberta or some shit. Then there was Emmy's basic stalking of Jude, and insisting that he was different and special because "he wasn't like other guys" because he was trans. It was almost like she was saying that she was in love with him only because he was transgender. Bach's handling of a transgender character was commendable for her first try, but Jude's character was so stereotyped that I was nearly screaming.
And this isn't even getting on how fatphobic this book is!!
I knew from the start that Emmy would have low positivity. Okay, I'm fine with that, maybe I'll relate to her on that level. But Emmy was so poisonous towards herself and other people, it was horrible. And, while most of it was her being self-deprecating, she was often mentally attacking other heavy people, and skinny people. She was just so negative I took a long break from this book, if only to prepare myself for the last half. There were even scenes in which Emmy was basically working out to impress Jude.
Emmy was described as a dog quite a few times, as well as a troll another. And this book isn't even written in first person--It's third person limited!! It was so toxic and I can only imagine young teens reading this and seeing themselves described as a troll.
Not as main, but Emmy was also mentioned to have anxiety, and take anti-anxiety medication . . . and I just have to say that nowhere in this book did it obviously come into play. Bach was trying to subtly include Emmy's anxiety with never directly stating it was her anxiety doing this to her. Bach kept skirting around subjects, as if they were too big to tackle and this behavior just belittled them.
one star - Overall?
When this book wasn't being insulting, it was just plain infuriating. Emmy was such an uncomfortable character to read about, because not only did she body shame to the extreme, but she was obsessed with Jude. Literally obsessed. And Jude just felt like any standard caricature of a random guy. There was nothing special about the characters, nothing interesting--just confusing or hurtful.
Would I Recommend?
I wouldn't waste my time on it. Especially trans readers, I found it hurtful with the stereotypes at the least, and the misgendering at the most. Bach didn't end up writing transphobic lines as I was expecting, but Love is Love could still very well be seen as harmful with how subtle the other problems are.
unusualsnowunicorn's review against another edition
3.0
I honestly really liked the idea of the book, but there was just parts of it I did not enjoy as much, and I wish it was longer or had more content.
sammah's review
3.0
Note: I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!
I liked this book, quite a lot actually. It was just very short, and I feel like it could have been really great if the content was expanded upon. It's nice just to see a well represented trans character in a YA book though, who has themselves at least somewhat together and knows the person they want to be and are striving for that.
Emmy was an interesting MC, but I wanted to know more about her past. We're thrown into her story in the middle of things, when she's being sexualized by a pretty skeezy seeming guy, and when her family life is already in a pretty big upheaval. I'd like to know more about Ron and Brendan, and why she ultimately dislikes the some so much. I'd like more too about her relationship with her mother, and why it's so rocky. I mean the obvious answer is that it all goes back to the death of her father, but it would be nice to see more.
I'd like to see more of Jude too, and how his own live evolved from his days as Judy to being who he truly is, inside and out. It would be wonderful to build on their relationship, and more about the trials that come with all of the emotional and physical changes.
All-in-all it was good, and the author dealt very well with the material. I just wish it was longer!
I liked this book, quite a lot actually. It was just very short, and I feel like it could have been really great if the content was expanded upon. It's nice just to see a well represented trans character in a YA book though, who has themselves at least somewhat together and knows the person they want to be and are striving for that.
Emmy was an interesting MC, but I wanted to know more about her past. We're thrown into her story in the middle of things, when she's being sexualized by a pretty skeezy seeming guy, and when her family life is already in a pretty big upheaval. I'd like to know more about Ron and Brendan, and why she ultimately dislikes the some so much. I'd like more too about her relationship with her mother, and why it's so rocky. I mean the obvious answer is that it all goes back to the death of her father, but it would be nice to see more.
I'd like to see more of Jude too, and how his own live evolved from his days as Judy to being who he truly is, inside and out. It would be wonderful to build on their relationship, and more about the trials that come with all of the emotional and physical changes.
All-in-all it was good, and the author dealt very well with the material. I just wish it was longer!
andrea_f's review
3.0
I'm not sure if I'll end up changing the rating to a 2 but I'm still thinking about it.
There are things that are really interesting about the story. The first thing that is worth mentioning is that the main character is fat and has an eating disorder. This is important to see in young adult literature because fat people are rarely represented in books in a positive light. The second thing that should be mentioned is that the romantic interest is a trans boy, who is misgendered a couple of times but the people misgendering him are immediately called out and seen in a negative light throughout the story. Those are the two most positive aspects to this. Well, there's also the fact that when the main character says something problematic she is called out.
On the negative side, I have to say that it tries to work with too many topics: alcoholism, addiction, self-esteem, eating disorders, acceptance, sex work, family issues among other things. If it had been longer, it would have probably been better because those are too many issues to fit in such a short book. Near the end there's also a weird comment about someone thinking they were asexual. It wasn't exactly negative but it definitely rubbed me the wrong way. I'm sad because this could have been a really good story with relevant topics but it fell really flat.
I received a copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
There are things that are really interesting about the story. The first thing that is worth mentioning is that the main character is fat and has an eating disorder. This is important to see in young adult literature because fat people are rarely represented in books in a positive light. The second thing that should be mentioned is that the romantic interest is a trans boy, who is misgendered a couple of times but the people misgendering him are immediately called out and seen in a negative light throughout the story. Those are the two most positive aspects to this. Well, there's also the fact that when the main character says something problematic she is called out.
On the negative side, I have to say that it tries to work with too many topics: alcoholism, addiction, self-esteem, eating disorders, acceptance, sex work, family issues among other things. If it had been longer, it would have probably been better because those are too many issues to fit in such a short book. Near the end there's also a weird comment about someone thinking they were asexual. It wasn't exactly negative but it definitely rubbed me the wrong way. I'm sad because this could have been a really good story with relevant topics but it fell really flat.
I received a copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
goingmissing's review
I loved the description of this book when I saw it in Netgalley's Pride Month email. Sadly, it just didn't work for me at all. It's much more of a short story than a "book" and the lack of depth to the characters and their relationships with each other left me feeling cold.
All we know about Emmy, our cis female MC, is that she likes to write poetry and has anxiety. She considers her weight her main feature, and admits herself that she has no personality. She's a 17 year old, but acts like someone much younger and less mature. At the beginning of the story, her mother packs her off to live with her aunt and uncle in Vancouver, and because the book is so short, we have no real idea why - just a hint of Emmy not being happy. When she arrives there, then hits the insta-love for Jude despite knowing barely anything about him except that he's the hottest person Emmy has ever seen and is a trans male. They meet approximately 4 times before she's head over heels in love with him. I'm vaguely baffled by the entire thing. Such a great concept and I would have loved to see it done justice.
*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book.*
All we know about Emmy, our cis female MC, is that she likes to write poetry and has anxiety. She considers her weight her main feature, and admits herself that she has no personality. She's a 17 year old, but acts like someone much younger and less mature. At the beginning of the story, her mother packs her off to live with her aunt and uncle in Vancouver, and because the book is so short, we have no real idea why - just a hint of Emmy not being happy. When she arrives there, then hits the insta-love for Jude despite knowing barely anything about him except that he's the hottest person Emmy has ever seen and is a trans male. They meet approximately 4 times before she's head over heels in love with him. I'm vaguely baffled by the entire thing. Such a great concept and I would have loved to see it done justice.
*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book.*
thequeerbookish's review against another edition
1.0
This book couldn't work.
Its 176 pages long and we've got a character who needs to learn to accept herself, needs to learn to trust her love interest, falls in love with said love interest and then have a lot of drama and resolve everything? How should that be possible? But I wanted to give it a chance. Maybe it could have worked out?
I've re read the description... I can't remember the trap of casual sex? And again? Was there anything in it about casual sex? But let's start at the beginning.
There is no drama in this book. I was promised drama. I wanted drama. To be honest it is very boring to read and there is not much happening. The things that are happening are way too easy. You will not be surprised that there is insta love in Love is Love.
I'm really sad about this because this book could have been great. There is a trans* male love interest and a fat girl MC. You don't read about characters like this very often.
But then they get rushed through everything and it's without any emotion or... anything really. It's not been that long that I've read this but I feel like I can't remember a thing about it. If it weren't for my notebook...
Disclaimer: I received a free copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you.
Its 176 pages long and we've got a character who needs to learn to accept herself, needs to learn to trust her love interest, falls in love with said love interest and then have a lot of drama and resolve everything? How should that be possible? But I wanted to give it a chance. Maybe it could have worked out?
I've re read the description... I can't remember the trap of casual sex? And again? Was there anything in it about casual sex? But let's start at the beginning.
There is no drama in this book. I was promised drama. I wanted drama. To be honest it is very boring to read and there is not much happening. The things that are happening are way too easy. You will not be surprised that there is insta love in Love is Love.
I'm really sad about this because this book could have been great. There is a trans* male love interest and a fat girl MC. You don't read about characters like this very often.
But then they get rushed through everything and it's without any emotion or... anything really. It's not been that long that I've read this but I feel like I can't remember a thing about it. If it weren't for my notebook...
Disclaimer: I received a free copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you.
themaliciousreader's review against another edition
3.0
I was provided an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Emmy, 17, is not doing great ever since her dad died. Her mom, remarried, is tired of dealing with her moods and sends her from Winnipeg to Vancouver where Emmy can live at her uncle’s. Emmy is not really getting along with her cousin, Paige, but when she meets Jude, a trans guy who’s a friend of Paige, she’s instantly smitten.
I liked Jude. But... I didn’t like Emmy, Paige, Emmy’s mother or anyone else… Except maybe Emmy’s uncle?
The book was very short and felt more like a novella than a full novel, but it was still filled with drama, too much drama.
Emmy annoyed me most of the time and the connection between her and Jude didn’t seem genuine…
Basically, the synopsis seemed really interesting but the execution disappointed me...
Emmy, 17, is not doing great ever since her dad died. Her mom, remarried, is tired of dealing with her moods and sends her from Winnipeg to Vancouver where Emmy can live at her uncle’s. Emmy is not really getting along with her cousin, Paige, but when she meets Jude, a trans guy who’s a friend of Paige, she’s instantly smitten.
I liked Jude. But... I didn’t like Emmy, Paige, Emmy’s mother or anyone else… Except maybe Emmy’s uncle?
The book was very short and felt more like a novella than a full novel, but it was still filled with drama, too much drama.
Emmy annoyed me most of the time and the connection between her and Jude didn’t seem genuine…
Basically, the synopsis seemed really interesting but the execution disappointed me...
alliewithbooks's review against another edition
2.0
For the most part, I really did enjoy this book. We follow Emmy as she is being sent off to her aunt and uncle's house to get away from her mom and her step-father in Winnipeg. Once with her aunt and uncle, she struggles to get along with her pretty, popular, and unnecessarily mean cousin, and meets a cute barista named Jude who is transgender. This book is extremely short, but it didn't feel rushed and there seemed to be plenty of time for development and a cohesive story arc. However, I did have some issues with it.
1. I really hated the way Emmy was characterized. I love fat characters and would like more fat characters to be portrayed in YA and books in general, but her attitude towards her fatness (as a fat person myself) felt harmful and negative for the most part it felt like she was being negative just to be negative. I've dealt with my own negative feelings towards my body as well, but even then during my lowest moments I wasn't negative about it 100% of the time. That feels really 1-dimensional to me and unrealistic. Everyone, even people with negative body image and disordered eating (which I have also suffered from) feel good about themselves at least sometimes. I'm really tired of fat characters always being characterized as self-loathing, sad, pathetic, and over-eaters.
1.a. I really didn't appreciate that Emmy lacked a character arc and character development. Nothing about her personality changed. And when there was slight change in the way she viewed herself, it was all because of Jude loving her. She hadn't actively worked through any of her issues and it seems like her happiness is solely dependent on Jude and whether he loves her or not. That's really unhealthy, especially for someone with anxiety and self-esteem issues.
2. The writing was a bit too simple for my taste. I don't want to go too into this because writing is fairly subjective, but I just felt like it was too stilted and the dialogue wasn't realistic enough. However, it didn't take away too much from my enjoyment of the book. (Which I did enjoy!)
3. Emmy's cousin seemed unnecessarily mean. It's a trope in YA that's seen way too much: there's a sad, outsider MC and someone close to them is pretty, popular, and really mean for no reason. But without even having to dig much deeper, you realize that the pretty popular girl is only mean because she's pretty and popular. There's no other reason. We don't ever get a source for Emmy's cousin's attitude and actions (she's so poorly developed I can't even remember her name right now). Pretty=/=mean. Popular=/=mean. I went to school with a lot of pretty and popular people, and the overwhelming majority of them were very nice both to me and everyone else. It's unrealistic to think that people are mean solely because they're pretty and popular.
I don't mean to slam this book as hard as it seems like I am. Actually, I really did enjoy it and would recommend it to people. There just seems to be a few things I would change or improve if given the chance. This story had the potential to be better than it already was, but I didn't feel like it was pushed far enough to do so.
* I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
1. I really hated the way Emmy was characterized. I love fat characters and would like more fat characters to be portrayed in YA and books in general, but her attitude towards her fatness (as a fat person myself) felt harmful and negative for the most part it felt like she was being negative just to be negative. I've dealt with my own negative feelings towards my body as well, but even then during my lowest moments I wasn't negative about it 100% of the time. That feels really 1-dimensional to me and unrealistic. Everyone, even people with negative body image and disordered eating (which I have also suffered from) feel good about themselves at least sometimes. I'm really tired of fat characters always being characterized as self-loathing, sad, pathetic, and over-eaters.
1.a. I really didn't appreciate that Emmy lacked a character arc and character development. Nothing about her personality changed. And when there was slight change in the way she viewed herself, it was all because of Jude loving her. She hadn't actively worked through any of her issues and it seems like her happiness is solely dependent on Jude and whether he loves her or not. That's really unhealthy, especially for someone with anxiety and self-esteem issues.
2. The writing was a bit too simple for my taste. I don't want to go too into this because writing is fairly subjective, but I just felt like it was too stilted and the dialogue wasn't realistic enough. However, it didn't take away too much from my enjoyment of the book. (Which I did enjoy!)
3. Emmy's cousin seemed unnecessarily mean. It's a trope in YA that's seen way too much: there's a sad, outsider MC and someone close to them is pretty, popular, and really mean for no reason. But without even having to dig much deeper, you realize that the pretty popular girl is only mean because she's pretty and popular. There's no other reason. We don't ever get a source for Emmy's cousin's attitude and actions (she's so poorly developed I can't even remember her name right now). Pretty=/=mean. Popular=/=mean. I went to school with a lot of pretty and popular people, and the overwhelming majority of them were very nice both to me and everyone else. It's unrealistic to think that people are mean solely because they're pretty and popular.
I don't mean to slam this book as hard as it seems like I am. Actually, I really did enjoy it and would recommend it to people. There just seems to be a few things I would change or improve if given the chance. This story had the potential to be better than it already was, but I didn't feel like it was pushed far enough to do so.
* I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.