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theunfinishedbookshelf's review
funny
lighthearted
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? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Homophobia
shannatram's review
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
4.0
I received an advanced reading copy of this book from Netgalley.
I picked this book up because of the charming cover and thought it would be a little laugh. Turns out it exceeded my expectations.
Max is a super gay kid in his last year of high school dealing with typical high school life, his future, his parents, his crush. A wish made in a fit of anger sends him to a parallels dimension where he wakes up…. straight! He has to navigate this new reality and find his way back to his own.
This book delivered camp in all the right ways, exactly how you would expect a book like this to read. The surprising part is that the story ended up being deeper than it let on at first.
Max didn’t just have to come to terms with himself but also the world; that there are no perfect relationships, just people trying to make things work, that there’s more than one way to be gay, and that even when he sees the light and talent in his closest friends, they as people of color they’re still running in a different race than him.
I was actually tearing up by the end of the book. It was a great read with a good balance of humor and compassion and definitely worth reading.
I picked this book up because of the charming cover and thought it would be a little laugh. Turns out it exceeded my expectations.
Max is a super gay kid in his last year of high school dealing with typical high school life, his future, his parents, his crush. A wish made in a fit of anger sends him to a parallels dimension where he wakes up…. straight! He has to navigate this new reality and find his way back to his own.
This book delivered camp in all the right ways, exactly how you would expect a book like this to read. The surprising part is that the story ended up being deeper than it let on at first.
Max didn’t just have to come to terms with himself but also the world; that there are no perfect relationships, just people trying to make things work, that there’s more than one way to be gay, and that even when he sees the light and talent in his closest friends, they as people of color they’re still running in a different race than him.
I was actually tearing up by the end of the book. It was a great read with a good balance of humor and compassion and definitely worth reading.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content and Alcohol
Minor: Bullying and Homophobia
bookstwokathryn's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
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? It's complicated
4.5
This book was wonderful. I enjoyed it. It did take a while to get into it but once I did I had a fun time with this read. The characters were written wonderfully and I found joy in them. I think that the characters had to be one of my favorite parts of this book. Because as a reader, I found myself laughing because of the small things like the inside jokes that they had.
I enjoyed how Max got his wish. Because I think that he needed to see what it was like to not only have a straight relationship but what it was like to not have Dean in his life. It kind of reminded me of the movie Freaky Friday with Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis. I don't know if the author took inspiration from that movie for this book but I think that it worked with how this book was written.
Before Max got his wish of being straight, I wasn't the biggest fan of how Max was constantly bringing up his crush every moment that he got. But I did enjoy the fact that once Max got his wish he could see that his crush was just a normal teen guy and there was no reason why he couldn't talk to him before. It’s not that I minded it was just a little annoying but I understand that I am not the target audience for this book.
There was one thing I wasn't a fan of when it came to writing. I enjoyed the writing, I just wasn't a fan of the clutch word of said. It was like every time someone spoke it was “Max said” Even when Max asked a question it will sometimes be followed up with “Max said” even though Max asked a question.
I enjoyed how Max got his wish. Because I think that he needed to see what it was like to not only have a straight relationship but what it was like to not have Dean in his life. It kind of reminded me of the movie Freaky Friday with Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis. I don't know if the author took inspiration from that movie for this book but I think that it worked with how this book was written.
Before Max got his wish of being straight, I wasn't the biggest fan of how Max was constantly bringing up his crush every moment that he got. But I did enjoy the fact that once Max got his wish he could see that his crush was just a normal teen guy and there was no reason why he couldn't talk to him before. It’s not that I minded it was just a little annoying but I understand that I am not the target audience for this book.
There was one thing I wasn't a fan of when it came to writing. I enjoyed the writing, I just wasn't a fan of the clutch word of said. It was like every time someone spoke it was “Max said” Even when Max asked a question it will sometimes be followed up with “Max said” even though Max asked a question.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia
shelfofunread's review
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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
4.5
Be careful what you wish for, lest it come true! In Straight Expectations, the debut novel from YouTuber, blogger, and online radio presenter Calum McSwiggan, seventeen-year-old Max ends up learning the truth of this old adage the hard way.
After being left on read by Oliver, the boy of his dreams, Max says he wishes he had never been born gay. But he gets more than he bargained for when he wakes up the following morning with a considerably less exciting wardrobe and a room filled with posters of scantily-clad ladies. More importantly, his lifelong best friend Dean seems to have completely vanished from their school, boy-of-his-dreams Oliver is just another teammate, and Max finds himself eyeing up his friend Alicia in a distinctly 'more-than-just-good-friends' way.
Yet the more he gets to know 'Straight Max', the more that Max realises that there are more than a few similarities between his former self and this new identity. And as he finds out more about the world of 'Straight Max' - and why Dean isn't in it - he finds himself questioning his own privilege and learning that, whilst being out and proud is an important part of being Max, maybe it isn't everything.
Straight Expectations is a cute and fun read that has a decent level of depth underneath the apparently light surface. Max's voice comes across really well on the page which allowed me to sympathise with him and understand his perspective, even when he was acting like an obnoxious teenager! His friendship with Dean is absolutely delightful and I loved that, even though the book has a romance element, the core of the story is centred around friendship and self-discovery (although the romance, when it does happen, is very cute too and handled with just the right levels of teenage angst and giddiness).
There were one or two moments when some of the characters slip into stereotypes but, for the most part, the book plays with expectations in interesting ways, especially once Max has entered the parallel world of 'Straight Max'. I also really enjoyed the way that Max - who starts the novel very aware of other people's privileges and bias (and unafraid of calling them out on it) - becomes gradually aware that he still has his own privileges and assumptions.
Overall, Straight Expectations is a fun and heart-warming read that, although unafraid of tackling more serious issues, remains light-hearted and sweet throughout. This is one of those novels that would make a fantastic film or TV series because it's really easy to picture the characters - they leap off the page - and 'see' the action as you read. Offering both heart and humour, Straight Expectations is an enjoyable and uplifting YA read with thought-provoking and informative undertones.
NB: This review also appears on my blog at http://theshelfofunreadbooks.wordpress.com as part of the blog tour for the book. My thanks go to the publisher for providing a copy of the book in return for an honest and unbiased review.
After being left on read by Oliver, the boy of his dreams, Max says he wishes he had never been born gay. But he gets more than he bargained for when he wakes up the following morning with a considerably less exciting wardrobe and a room filled with posters of scantily-clad ladies. More importantly, his lifelong best friend Dean seems to have completely vanished from their school, boy-of-his-dreams Oliver is just another teammate, and Max finds himself eyeing up his friend Alicia in a distinctly 'more-than-just-good-friends' way.
Yet the more he gets to know 'Straight Max', the more that Max realises that there are more than a few similarities between his former self and this new identity. And as he finds out more about the world of 'Straight Max' - and why Dean isn't in it - he finds himself questioning his own privilege and learning that, whilst being out and proud is an important part of being Max, maybe it isn't everything.
Straight Expectations is a cute and fun read that has a decent level of depth underneath the apparently light surface. Max's voice comes across really well on the page which allowed me to sympathise with him and understand his perspective, even when he was acting like an obnoxious teenager! His friendship with Dean is absolutely delightful and I loved that, even though the book has a romance element, the core of the story is centred around friendship and self-discovery (although the romance, when it does happen, is very cute too and handled with just the right levels of teenage angst and giddiness).
There were one or two moments when some of the characters slip into stereotypes but, for the most part, the book plays with expectations in interesting ways, especially once Max has entered the parallel world of 'Straight Max'. I also really enjoyed the way that Max - who starts the novel very aware of other people's privileges and bias (and unafraid of calling them out on it) - becomes gradually aware that he still has his own privileges and assumptions.
Overall, Straight Expectations is a fun and heart-warming read that, although unafraid of tackling more serious issues, remains light-hearted and sweet throughout. This is one of those novels that would make a fantastic film or TV series because it's really easy to picture the characters - they leap off the page - and 'see' the action as you read. Offering both heart and humour, Straight Expectations is an enjoyable and uplifting YA read with thought-provoking and informative undertones.
NB: This review also appears on my blog at http://theshelfofunreadbooks.wordpress.com as part of the blog tour for the book. My thanks go to the publisher for providing a copy of the book in return for an honest and unbiased review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Homophobia, Sexual content, and Alcohol
Minor: Racism
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