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bmreads's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
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
2.5
Wasn’t bad, just felt nothing. Fairly enjoyable I guess.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Eating disorder, and Outing
yoursupremereads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
3.0
This is a lighthearted exploration of what a lot of queer kids have and will go through in the future. Leaving your old life behind to find where you truly belong. To discover yourself, to understand true acceptance amongst a community, and exploring bit by bit who you want to become by the ending chapter in your life's story. Stamper has written something that looks to encourage and affirm young queer people that you weren't able to control the family and life you were born into, but you can definitely choose the life you want to live and the family you want to love. Another great addition to the YA queer modern canon.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Bullying, Eating disorder, Outing, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, and Toxic friendship
haindfielda's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
slow-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
3.5
Overall pretty good and easy read. I really liked the story but I didn’t stick with me like some other books did. Really good story for LGBTQ+ representation and experiences
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic friendship, Eating disorder, Body shaming, Homophobia, and Outing
Minor: Biphobia, Sexual content, Cursing, Death of parent, Fatphobia, and Gaslighting
montyalmoro's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Eating disorder, Toxic friendship, Outing, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Fatphobia, Homophobia, and Religious bigotry
matheo's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Outing, Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Fatphobia, Emotional abuse, Body shaming, and Bullying
larabezzina's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This book was enjoyable and a quick read that helped break me out of a reading slump (I finished it in one sitting) however while the story was enjoyable there were aspects of the writing and some coverage of sensitive topics that felt superficial. For example it felt as though the author just googled touristy spots in London and then wrote from that. Furthermore, while some topics like navigating toxic relationships were covered in great depth there were several incidents in the book that seemingly came out of no where such as eating disorders and an instance where the MC is nearly sexually assaulted and were then resolved as though they were trivial which felt insincere, unrealistic and tested my suspension of belief (including the fact that the MC has severe anxiety but still manages to drop everything and move overseas without a solid plan). Still, the book does a fantastic job of representing lgbt young people, is a wonderful story about found family and was rich in musical knowledge that felt very authentic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Mental illness, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
lilly_anne's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Homophobia, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Religious bigotry
lectrixnoctis's review
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Phil Stamper, who grew up in a rural village near Dayton, Ohio, released "As Far As You'll Take Me" as his second novel. However, you can tell he is no stranger to writing since he has an M.A. in Publishing with Creative Writing from Kingston University.
"As Far As You'll Take Me" is a heartfelt coming-of-age story about finding people who would always stand by your side.
Marty is a seventeen-year-old boy from Kentucky who flys to London with nothing but his oboe and some money from his summer job. Nonetheless, he is excited to finally live his life without being closeted and trying to slip under the radar. Marty's life looks perfect from the outside: he made friends in less than a few weeks, is closer to having his first relationship, and travels around Europe. But that is just a facade. Marty has not spoken to his deeply religious parents since he arrived in London. After some time, he is tearing his savings, and his anxiety only gets worse and worse. Additionally, he has not come close to finding his dream job in London.
This book is quite tough to rate. I believe I should be the targeted audience. However, I found most characters annoying and somewhat childish. Marty was incredibly naive. Who would move in their right mind to London without any prospects and any plan? He wanted to go to music school but was not accepted, and he only knows his aunt Leah and his cousin Shane there. Did Marty think it easy to find a job in Europe and especially in London of all places?!
As already mentioned, most characters aren't likeable and do not support the plot at all. Most of them could have been cut out, and it would not affect the story much. Marty's love interest Pierce and his best friend Megan were unlikable and even shitty people in general. Marty desperately tries to be the perfect match for Pierce while being extremely ignorant of other people.
Another thing that struggles me was how ignorant Marty, in general, was. His mother is Irish, but it was not specified if she is from Northern Ireland or not. If she is from Northern Ireland, Marty would have British citizenship, but since she is catholic, I believe she is from the republic from Irland. I dispersed the fact that it was never mentioned. Why would not Marty know that British people are different from your average Americans? Furthermore, the author states that you can not find a good coffee shop in London is just laughable. The tea cliche and the British-American word confusing is a bit out of place since Marty's mum is Irish.
Marty mentions that Shane does have an incredibly thick Irish accent, but he mainly lived in London. That sounds super odd in my option. Even if his mum is from Ireland, the child would not have such a strong accent if he spent most of his life in London. I know that is nitpicking, but it really bothered me, and some of the realism went away with it.
Furthermore, I wouldn't say I liked the depiction of religion in this book. I understand that many queer people have a problematic relationship with the church and religion in general. But sometimes, the book felt like it was trying to convince you how lousy believing is and why you should see abdomen faith, and this is coming from an agnostic.
I did not enjoyed the story one bit and only gave 2/5 stars since I like Stamper's writing style. The story felt lacklustre and ignorant to other cultures other than American. I would not recommend this book, but if you're going to read a book by Phil Stamper, please choose "The Gravity of Us". It was much more enjoyable than this.
"As Far As You'll Take Me" is a heartfelt coming-of-age story about finding people who would always stand by your side.
Marty is a seventeen-year-old boy from Kentucky who flys to London with nothing but his oboe and some money from his summer job. Nonetheless, he is excited to finally live his life without being closeted and trying to slip under the radar. Marty's life looks perfect from the outside: he made friends in less than a few weeks, is closer to having his first relationship, and travels around Europe. But that is just a facade. Marty has not spoken to his deeply religious parents since he arrived in London. After some time, he is tearing his savings, and his anxiety only gets worse and worse. Additionally, he has not come close to finding his dream job in London.
This book is quite tough to rate. I believe I should be the targeted audience. However, I found most characters annoying and somewhat childish. Marty was incredibly naive. Who would move in their right mind to London without any prospects and any plan? He wanted to go to music school but was not accepted, and he only knows his aunt Leah and his cousin Shane there. Did Marty think it easy to find a job in Europe and especially in London of all places?!
As already mentioned, most characters aren't likeable and do not support the plot at all. Most of them could have been cut out, and it would not affect the story much. Marty's love interest Pierce and his best friend Megan were unlikable and even shitty people in general. Marty desperately tries to be the perfect match for Pierce while being extremely ignorant of other people.
Another thing that struggles me was how ignorant Marty, in general, was. His mother is Irish, but it was not specified if she is from Northern Ireland or not. If she is from Northern Ireland, Marty would have British citizenship, but since she is catholic, I believe she is from the republic from Irland. I dispersed the fact that it was never mentioned. Why would not Marty know that British people are different from your average Americans? Furthermore, the author states that you can not find a good coffee shop in London is just laughable. The tea cliche and the British-American word confusing is a bit out of place since Marty's mum is Irish.
Marty mentions that Shane does have an incredibly thick Irish accent, but he mainly lived in London. That sounds super odd in my option. Even if his mum is from Ireland, the child would not have such a strong accent if he spent most of his life in London. I know that is nitpicking, but it really bothered me, and some of the realism went away with it.
Furthermore, I wouldn't say I liked the depiction of religion in this book. I understand that many queer people have a problematic relationship with the church and religion in general. But sometimes, the book felt like it was trying to convince you how lousy believing is and why you should see abdomen faith, and this is coming from an agnostic.
I did not enjoyed the story one bit and only gave 2/5 stars since I like Stamper's writing style. The story felt lacklustre and ignorant to other cultures other than American. I would not recommend this book, but if you're going to read a book by Phil Stamper, please choose "The Gravity of Us". It was much more enjoyable than this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Mental illness, Outing, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Self harm, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Alcoholism
Cheatingkatcoal's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Outing, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Eating disorder
Moderate: Religious bigotry and Fatphobia
ekschulz's review against another edition
5.0
I highly recommend that people read this book /instead of/ Jay's Gay Agenda. The concept of a character moving from a rural community into a city where they felt more accepted was still there (and that's a really real thing for a lot of queer teens, of course!) but the ideas (the good and bad, the grey characters, the anxieties and growth) are more fully fleshed out here, so it feels so much more authentic.
Also--the musical aspect was done with so much love and attention to detail, which was really cool, and I'm grateful to have found a book focused on food/eating/body image issues for guys.
Also--the musical aspect was done with so much love and attention to detail, which was really cool, and I'm grateful to have found a book focused on food/eating/body image issues for guys.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Eating disorder and Outing
Minor: Toxic relationship