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A review by steffiraquel
This Is Kind of an Epic Love Story by Kacen Callender
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Infidelity, Grief, and Chronic illness
Minor: Death of parent
I really loved the diversity and the rollercoaster ride the main character was on, but unfortunately, that is where it stopped. I chose not to rate this because I think we should encourage writing with this much diversity, especially the inclusion of ASL and how it seamlessly was integrated into dialogue. However, the amount of cheating was extremely unnecessary and I'm trying to not be so hard on everyone because they're teenagers, but surely you know cheating is wrong when you're that age.
I have to admit, I really don't like Flo and especially after (whether unintentionally or intentionally, it doesn't matter) insisting her and Nate stay friends after they broke up (not to mention his not-so-secret feelings of still being in love with her) because she cheated on him feels frustrating. Not only that, there are some things she'd do/say that would be contradicting to her character. It felt as if one minute she likes to air everyone's dirty laundry and then the next minute she's disapproving of things that I feel as if she would have agreed with. With all the characters, it was easy to see that their behaviour was linked to something happening at home which I could empathise with, but Flo kind of just was not a nice person and didn't have any issues (apart from feeling guilty of cheating, which to me doesn't matter) as far as I was concerned so I went through the whole book really not liking her. I would also like to point out that she is a massive hypocrite (which I think would be fine, if you acknowledge it as a fault, which she never did) in being upset when her ex breaks up with her (due to wanting an open relationship and feeling suffocated) only to immediately be with someone new, which is strange considering that's exactly what she did, except she admitted to cheating.
I really wanted a wholesome M/M second-chance relationship but unfortunately, I just got a whole mess of cheating, unnecessary drama and a character who I dislike with a strong passion. Sorry but, this wasn't kind of an epic love story, more of the subtle love triangle trying to find their moral compass.