norabeideineroma's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Violence, Transphobia, Misogyny, Fire/Fire injury, Dysphoria, Deadnaming, Homophobia, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Pedophilia
fanboyriot's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Homophobia, Bullying, Ableism, Hate crime, Dysphoria, Transphobia, Violence, Deadnaming, Toxic friendship, Sexism, Cursing, Misogyny, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Sexual assault, Body shaming, Infidelity, Mental illness, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Medical content, Racism, Vomit, Lesbophobia, Biphobia, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Drug use, Blood, Child abuse, and Suicidal thoughts
goodbyedarling's review against another edition
- 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
2.5
Graphic: Dysphoria, Transphobia, Hate crime, Deadnaming, Ableism, Misogyny, Bullying, Homophobia, and Sexism
Moderate: Grief
dyamonddd's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
0.5
what i got was literally the most INSUFFERABLE main characters ever — actually, pretty much everyone in this book is SHIT — and a half assed plot that literally went into like 400 different other things and was just a mess. a mess! this also has lots of problematic elements like, it was just really jarring for this to be like a YA type of story for there to be like INSANE dark elements and animosity and like everyone in this story is just so unnecessarily ugly to each other, it’s just awful.
ALSO: the romance literally is kinda shoved down your throat, like throughout this whole thing there is NOOOOO basis for them to be together at all but somehow its just quickly made to happen at the tail end like???? i DONT UNDERSTAND.
the way i will never get my fucking two days back that i spent reading this is SAD. TRAGIC. HEARTBREAKING. i wanted to dnf so many times just spare yourselves if you’re thinking of reading it, i literally think finishing it has made me lose many brain cells and i’m so sad. it’s only getting a star for sol and another quarter bc of philip’s downfall, and even that wasn’t satisfying bc of all the other bullshit in this book.
Graphic: Transphobia and Homophobia
Moderate: Dysphoria, Bullying, and Toxic friendship
pernafet's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
However, Jeremy was quite an infuriating character. Though there was a point at the very beginning when I realized that you’re not necessarily supposed to love him, that didn’t make him much less insufferable at certain parts throughout this book. There are parts in the story where you kind of just want to crumple the page in your hand or even wish you could just dive into the story yourself and strangle him <3. But I do get what the author was trying to do with his character. Jeremy has built up this facade for himself throughout his transition whereas he will hurt others before they can hurt him. This is his coping mechanism. This is his way of hiding all his hurt, pain, insecurities, and gender dysphoria by making everyone around him think he’s overflowing with confidence when, really, he is the complete opposite. He is consistently drowning in his own self loathing throughout the book. There are parts of this story where he talks about his dysphoria that are so raw and real that my heart ached for him. Although Jeremy was a real a-hole for the most part, I actually appreciated him as a character. I found him quite interesting. Teenagers aren’t always good people.
I really liked Lukas. It was nice getting an insight into his mind and understanding why he does certain things. Seeing him really beat himself up for not being able to live up to his brother’s accomplishments and feeling like he isn’t good enough for his family really made me feel sad.
Both these characters make some really horrible and irritating decisions in this book but really…who doesn’t?? I’m sure everyone can look back on some point in their life where they made a series of god awful, humiliating, and downright horrendous decisions that they are able to laugh about now. Everyone experiences their own journey of navigating their insecurities, battling with self-loathing, and eventually learning how to appreciate and love yourself just the way you are. Especially as a teenager.
The ending of this book was also super cute :)
Graphic: Dysphoria and Transphobia
Minor: Grief and Death
bibliomania_express's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
This book is also about the shitty things people will do to each other, and the importance of learning and making amends. There's a wide span of friendship issues, family issues, and high school administration issues. I liked that the major subplot of fighting to amend the Code of Conduct to include verbal bullying and harrassment was given a lot of page time. I also love how the whole Homecoming Court vote shook out.
Graphic: Transphobia, Bullying, and Homophobia
Moderate: Racism, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Dysphoria, Violence, Deadnaming, and Grief
Minor: Sexual harassment, Infidelity, Death, and Car accident
dylansday_'s review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Moderate: Transphobia, Homophobia, Dysphoria, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, and Bullying
Minor: Death
bashsbooks's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
A gripe I usually have with queer fiction - especially queer YA fiction - is that the queer characters are not allowed to be messy disasters. There is a very limited amount of disaster allowed for queer characters before they have to be consumed by guilt and apologies.
That is not a problem here! These guys - the two main characters, Jeremy and Lukas - are selfish and angry and hurting and think that ruling a high school via Homecoming Court can fix that. I don't think it's much of a spoiler to say that it obviously can't. There are some truly painful moments in here, but I loved that. I loved that they did awful things that I totally would've also done if I'd been in their scared and miserable positions when I was seventeen. This is not making excuses for them, though - they are completely in the wrong most of the time- just, it makes their character growth wayyy more satisfying than usual.
This author clearly has a very nuanced understanding of queerness, and he approached how transitioning goes from a number of angles, including an important one that I don't usually see - that trans people themselves need to grow into their genders and resist toxic behaviors for the sake of validity.
I was also pleasantly surprised by the autistic representation in Lukas, which I wasn't aware of before I started reading this. I appreciate that a trans gay guy and an autistic got to be assholes and not use their identities as an excuse, but that those identities were integral to how they process the world. That's a fine line to balance, and I think Ellor did a great job.
Graphic: Deadnaming, Ableism, Alcohol, Bullying, Cursing, Toxic friendship, Homophobia, Death, Transphobia, Hate crime, Violence, Dysphoria, Toxic relationship, and Sexism
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Drug use, Sexual violence, Infidelity, Car accident, and Misogyny
Minor: Classism and Racism
-F-slur used a few timessundaysunshine's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Teenage books rely on emotion and interesting relatable characters to really hit yk and Ellor definitely hits the mark with this one.
Practically every character in this book is wonderfully written and fleshed out and so are topics like transphobia, bullying, and sexism. What I liked is how Ellor managed to accurately demonstrate bigotry and the emotional and physical damage it causes to young teenagers without letting it down by becoming 2 dimensional or stereotypical.
Its portrayed in a range of ways and characters including in the MCs.
And the MCs.... messy af. But like in a Katniss Everdeen way like I'm shaking my head but also cheering you on, yk?
All of their flaws are like actual flaws, frustrating to read but so satisfying for them to manage in a healthy way.
Such a beautiful portrayal of trans identity, Ellor allows it to be celebrated and take centre stage and also to manifest in Jeremy's anger, bitterness and defensive (if not slightly misguided) survival mindset.
Anyways, #SOL4PRESIDENT2024
Graphic: Bullying, Transphobia, Dysphoria, and Homophobia
hbaier94's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Transphobia
Moderate: Bullying and Dysphoria