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angelo_vossen's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
4.75
„Autoboyography“ by Christina Lauren is a profoundly moving and heartfelt coming-of-age novel that explores love, identity, and the complex intersection of faith and sexuality. Set against the backdrop of a conservative Mormon community in Utah, the story follows Tanner, a bisexual high school senior who has recently moved from progressive California. Encouraged by his supportive family, Tanner enrolls in a writing seminar where he meets Sebastian, a devout Mormon and the teacher’s assistant for the class. Their immediate connection quickly blossoms into something deeper, forcing both boys to confront the harsh realities of their respective worlds.
One of the novel's greatest strengths is the way it captures the intensity and vulnerability of first love, particularly for queer teens navigating environments that may not accept them fully. Tanner’s voice is sincere and witty, but there’s an underlying tenderness and uncertainty that makes him relatable. His struggles to reconcile his feelings for Sebastian with the pressures of secrecy and fear ring true, especially as the tension between desire and religious doctrine mounts.
Sebastian’s character is equally compelling, as he is torn between the expectations of his faith and the undeniable pull of his emotions. His internal struggle is portrayed with compassion, allowing readers to empathize with the painful choices he faces. The authors skillfully handle sensitive issues such as the impact of religious beliefs on personal identity, while avoiding clichés or easy answers. Instead, they present a nuanced exploration of how love can challenge, transform, and sometimes complicate one’s understanding of self and community.
What makes „Autoboyography“ stand out is its balance between heartache and hope. While it doesn’t shy away from the difficulties faced by LGBTQ+ individuals in conservative settings, it also celebrates the beauty of love, acceptance, and personal growth. The writing is lyrical, with descriptions that evoke the emotional highs and lows of falling in love for the first time. The pacing keeps the story engaging, and the romance feels organic and genuine, never rushed or contrived. I really enjoyed the addition of religious themes to this otherwise „generic“ love story since it brings another deep layer to the novel.
Overall, „Autoboyography“ is an emotional, thought-provoking, and ultimately uplifting novel. Christina Lauren have crafted a powerful narrative that not only highlights the challenges of being queer in a faith-based community but also speaks to the universal experience of finding yourself through love and loss. It’s a story that will resonate with anyone who has ever struggled to be true to themselves in the face of external pressures, and it leaves a lasting impact.
One of the novel's greatest strengths is the way it captures the intensity and vulnerability of first love, particularly for queer teens navigating environments that may not accept them fully. Tanner’s voice is sincere and witty, but there’s an underlying tenderness and uncertainty that makes him relatable. His struggles to reconcile his feelings for Sebastian with the pressures of secrecy and fear ring true, especially as the tension between desire and religious doctrine mounts.
Sebastian’s character is equally compelling, as he is torn between the expectations of his faith and the undeniable pull of his emotions. His internal struggle is portrayed with compassion, allowing readers to empathize with the painful choices he faces. The authors skillfully handle sensitive issues such as the impact of religious beliefs on personal identity, while avoiding clichés or easy answers. Instead, they present a nuanced exploration of how love can challenge, transform, and sometimes complicate one’s understanding of self and community.
What makes „Autoboyography“ stand out is its balance between heartache and hope. While it doesn’t shy away from the difficulties faced by LGBTQ+ individuals in conservative settings, it also celebrates the beauty of love, acceptance, and personal growth. The writing is lyrical, with descriptions that evoke the emotional highs and lows of falling in love for the first time. The pacing keeps the story engaging, and the romance feels organic and genuine, never rushed or contrived. I really enjoyed the addition of religious themes to this otherwise „generic“ love story since it brings another deep layer to the novel.
Overall, „Autoboyography“ is an emotional, thought-provoking, and ultimately uplifting novel. Christina Lauren have crafted a powerful narrative that not only highlights the challenges of being queer in a faith-based community but also speaks to the universal experience of finding yourself through love and loss. It’s a story that will resonate with anyone who has ever struggled to be true to themselves in the face of external pressures, and it leaves a lasting impact.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia, Homophobia, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Racism, Sexism, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, and Alcohol
rhythmofryn's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
OKAY LOOK. I was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah and a lifelong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I’m also bisexual. If anyone was going to be able to unpack this book, I dare say, it’s me.
Things that I liked:
-Tanner’s parents. Their support was so wholesome and kind an realistic and I appreciated it deeply.
-lack of biphobia. We LOVE to see it. Tanner is bi and sees no issue in that and never has a crisis about liking people of any gender. Lack of negative stereotypes 🥳 💖💜💙
-the lack of demonizing the Church and its members. I was SCARED going into this because I thought it’d be a soapbox for the authors to bash the Church and say that it’s evil and all its members are homophobic sheep cult members, etc. Everyone hates the Mormons and thinks we’re freaks so you learn to start flinching preemptively. This book didn’t do this. Tanner’s POV was unfamiliar with the Church which made sense bc the authors could explain to him and the audience, but there was real and genuine attempt to understand what it’s like to be a member and the culture here and I cannot overstate how much I appreciated that respect for my beliefs.
-Tanner’s mom leaving the Church. I hate to think that people could ever be so homophobic towards their own family but seriously, decades ago, it was bad and her beef with the Church and wanting to shield Tanner from that were very relatable and real to me. Helped the parent position a lot.
-the weather descriptions were perfect lol? That’s a Utah winter babey
-fascinated by the descriptions of how people dress and act here. Are we really that well-groomed?? Gonna be real, never lived outside Utah and I don’t have a ton of non-member friends so I can’t speak for this one. Also, I never picked up on the “must be polite always” thing but yeah that’s so real.
-that moment of being outed and seen as other and being terrified and knowing you shouldn’t be but you are and you’re so worried that this will completely shift how people view you and then you’ll no longer be worthy of their love??? …yeah. No further comment.
-constant hope of future revelation from the Prophet to change everything? …also yeah. If we could lift the Priesthood restrictions, what else could change 🤞😔
Things I didn’t like:
-no one they met was named Nephi/Ephraim/Teancum/Moroni/Alma/Sariah lmao. Points off for realism. (I’m 100% not joking here because I’ve personally met or known of people with all of these names)
holy sweet glory someone tell me why Tanner and Autumn had sex. It added nothing to the story, didn’t even really meaningfully change their friendship (how???), and didn’t present a major source of conflict for Tanner and Seb so like hello?? Why??
-I’m just super confused about how Seb was apparently grappling with his sexuality the whole time and alsohis worthiness?? I wasn’t clear if Tanner and Seb had legit sex but even as far as they got that I could tell, that’s enough to disqualify you from a mission so if he’s really so devout, then ??? Also, I feel like there’s no way that Seb’s mom could submit his papers for him. He would have to do it himself so smh.
-THE RANDOM POV SHIFTS. We start in 1st person POV for Tanner and then it shifts to 3rd person for Seb and I was like okay weird but that’s fine but THEN IT WENT TO 3rd person for Tanner???? And then the book ended in 1st person for Tanner. Hate it. Make a choice y’all and stay consistent.
-Sebastian as a a character. Tbh I was disappointed. I was looking for some real grappling with doctrine and attraction and wanting something but feeling that’s it’s wrong and contemplating sacrificing your entire culture and identity and being absolutely terrified and I feel like I kinda got that but not really. I know that the authors probably felt like they couldn’t write that super personal struggle from Seb’s point of view so they choose to center on Tanner. As a queer person, I wanted to see that struggle. Sebastian believed that he wasn’t wrong in his feelings and I guess I always did believe I was wrong. While I’m typing this, I’m realizing this didn’t hit for *me* because it doesn’t align with my experience and what I wanted to see but it might work for other religious queer people.
In conclusion, I appreciate a lot of this but I have a lot of issues with it. 3 ⭐️
Things that I liked:
-Tanner’s parents. Their support was so wholesome and kind an realistic and I appreciated it deeply.
-lack of biphobia. We LOVE to see it. Tanner is bi and sees no issue in that and never has a crisis about liking people of any gender. Lack of negative stereotypes 🥳 💖💜💙
-the lack of demonizing the Church and its members. I was SCARED going into this because I thought it’d be a soapbox for the authors to bash the Church and say that it’s evil and all its members are homophobic sheep cult members, etc. Everyone hates the Mormons and thinks we’re freaks so you learn to start flinching preemptively. This book didn’t do this. Tanner’s POV was unfamiliar with the Church which made sense bc the authors could explain to him and the audience, but there was real and genuine attempt to understand what it’s like to be a member and the culture here and I cannot overstate how much I appreciated that respect for my beliefs.
-Tanner’s mom leaving the Church. I hate to think that people could ever be so homophobic towards their own family but seriously, decades ago, it was bad and her beef with the Church and wanting to shield Tanner from that were very relatable and real to me. Helped the parent position a lot.
-the weather descriptions were perfect lol? That’s a Utah winter babey
-fascinated by the descriptions of how people dress and act here. Are we really that well-groomed?? Gonna be real, never lived outside Utah and I don’t have a ton of non-member friends so I can’t speak for this one. Also, I never picked up on the “must be polite always” thing but yeah that’s so real.
-that moment of being outed and seen as other and being terrified and knowing you shouldn’t be but you are and you’re so worried that this will completely shift how people view you and then you’ll no longer be worthy of their love??? …yeah. No further comment.
-constant hope of future revelation from the Prophet to change everything? …also yeah. If we could lift the Priesthood restrictions, what else could change 🤞😔
Things I didn’t like:
-no one they met was named Nephi/Ephraim/Teancum/Moroni/Alma/Sariah lmao. Points off for realism. (I’m 100% not joking here because I’ve personally met or known of people with all of these names)
-I’m just super confused about how Seb was apparently grappling with his sexuality the whole time and also
-THE RANDOM POV SHIFTS. We start in 1st person POV for Tanner and then it shifts to 3rd person for Seb and I was like okay weird but that’s fine but THEN IT WENT TO 3rd person for Tanner???? And then the book ended in 1st person for Tanner. Hate it. Make a choice y’all and stay consistent.
-Sebastian as a a character. Tbh I was disappointed. I was looking for some real grappling with doctrine and attraction and wanting something but feeling that’s it’s wrong and contemplating sacrificing your entire culture and identity and being absolutely terrified and I feel like I kinda got that but not really. I know that the authors probably felt like they couldn’t write that super personal struggle from Seb’s point of view so they choose to center on Tanner. As a queer person, I wanted to see that struggle. Sebastian believed that he wasn’t wrong in his feelings and I guess I always did believe I was wrong. While I’m typing this, I’m realizing this didn’t hit for *me* because it doesn’t align with my experience and what I wanted to see but it might work for other religious queer people.
In conclusion, I appreciate a lot of this but I have a lot of issues with it. 3 ⭐️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Homophobia
Moderate: Sexual content and Religious bigotry
vagaybond's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.75
This was so emotional. I'm not used to a YA book having such nuance. And to be as heartbreaking as this. No one died but I feel as emotionally wrought as I did watching the movie Holding The Man (2015) which was based on a book a man wrote about the love story between he and his partner after his partner died of AIDS and before he himself did. There is so much pain in queerness and I often wish to escape it all and have fluffy romance where nobody has to deal with things like I've been through.* And I know there are people who have been luckier than me who don't know pains related to it. But this captured this pain so well and so poetically. I often wish undying love were not so undying too.
*(Disclaimer: my family is imperfect and they were abusive to me, but I did assume coming out specifically would go okay until I actually came out and reality proved otherwise. I wasn't on speaking terms with my biological family from 19-27 or so. Honestly the reaction to coming out is probably what was the last straw, and I'm not sure that a last straw would have existed otherwise. And I needed that no-contact time to survive and become the person I am.)
*(Disclaimer: my family is imperfect and they were abusive to me, but I did assume coming out specifically would go okay until I actually came out and reality proved otherwise. I wasn't on speaking terms with my biological family from 19-27 or so. Honestly the reaction to coming out is probably what was the last straw, and I'm not sure that a last straw would have existed otherwise. And I needed that no-contact time to survive and become the person I am.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Biphobia, Cursing, and Gaslighting
Minor: Bullying
tinytrashqueen's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia, Homophobia, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Emotional abuse
trishnasaha's review against another edition
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia, Homophobia, and Outing
Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, and Religious bigotry
lennie_reads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- 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: Biphobia, Homophobia, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Cursing and Emotional abuse
Minor: Sexual content and Death of parent
lnzava's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia and Homophobia
Moderate: Emotional abuse
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
adhdpixie's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
As a bisexual who lives in Utah, this book is absolutely amazing and really sums up what it's like to be both queer and not lds while living in Utah. It's heartbreaking, and funny, and painfully real. 10/10 for anyone to read, absolutely required if you're the odd one out in a deeply religious area.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Misogyny and Gaslighting
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