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jay_jade736's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Well this was a read
Pros
1. The flow between chapters was smooth and it made reading quite easy. They were short and the passages just fits together well (not in a lyrical or grammatical sense, but I guess metaphorical).
2. Max’s mom.
Cons
1. There’s absolutely no plot. The book’s description clearly states a food truck and how that impacted their lives, but in the later half of the book, the food truck just get sidelined for other subplots that weren’t properly executed. Heck, the rape plot, Jordan’s mom plot, and the food truck plot are not even fully addressed by the end of the book. The book’s lack of cohesion and direction in plot line is that bad ☠️.
2. Jordan is insufferable. Constantly whining and flat as a whole. Max keeps on saying that he’s so beautiful but Jordan doesn’t know it, but how? How is Jordan beautiful when the only things we know about him are that he’s skinny, white, weak, frail, gay, a virgin, and has green eyes?
3. Jordan’s mum is atrocious. I hate how the book presents here mental illness and the way other characters makes fun of her (it’s 2024 now, grow up Bill Konigsberg), but no development for her whatsoever despite the book focusing on her as part of Jordan’s character development.
4. Max is better but he’s also quite annoying. He literally belittles Jordan in his mind in the early parts of the book and then states later on that he’s so attractive. HUHHHH??? He also dismissed Jordan’s vulnerability when he asked max “do you hate me?”. The boy literally responded with “SHUT UP” ☠️☠️. Also, you don’t like Jordan if the only reason you like him is that he’s Jordan. Saying things like “I like his arms” or “I like his green eyes” doesn’t count. Furthermore, can we talk about the allusion that Max wants Jordan to also have a dude bro build? Bill Konigsberg may have fooled others, but he surely didn’t fool me.
5. The coupling isn’t good whatsoever. No chemistry between the two. Idk why Jordan likes Max, and Max only likes Jordan because he’s “Jordan”.
6. The writing style is bad. I’m not sure if this is Konigsberg’s style of writing but who tf writes something like this:
“I can’t stop thinking. About who she likes”
LIKE JUST COMBINE THE SENTENCES SERIOUSLY ☠️☠️☠️
I expected to hate this book, which I do, but the early to mid parts of it made me think otherwise. Too bad, the mid to ending segment was atrocious. Wasted potential. Will not be reading another book from the author. Also, a waste of time and money.
Pros
1. The flow between chapters was smooth and it made reading quite easy. They were short and the passages just fits together well (not in a lyrical or grammatical sense, but I guess metaphorical).
2. Max’s mom.
Cons
1. There’s absolutely no plot. The book’s description clearly states a food truck and how that impacted their lives, but in the later half of the book, the food truck just get sidelined for other subplots that weren’t properly executed. Heck, the rape plot, Jordan’s mom plot, and the food truck plot are not even fully addressed by the end of the book. The book’s lack of cohesion and direction in plot line is that bad ☠️.
2. Jordan is insufferable. Constantly whining and flat as a whole. Max keeps on saying that he’s so beautiful but Jordan doesn’t know it, but how? How is Jordan beautiful when the only things we know about him are that he’s skinny, white, weak, frail, gay, a virgin, and has green eyes?
3. Jordan’s mum is atrocious. I hate how the book presents here mental illness and the way other characters makes fun of her (it’s 2024 now, grow up Bill Konigsberg), but no development for her whatsoever despite the book focusing on her as part of Jordan’s character development.
4. Max is better but he’s also quite annoying. He literally belittles Jordan in his mind in the early parts of the book and then states later on that he’s so attractive. HUHHHH??? He also dismissed Jordan’s vulnerability when he asked max “do you hate me?”. The boy literally responded with “SHUT UP” ☠️☠️. Also, you don’t like Jordan if the only reason you like him is that he’s Jordan. Saying things like “I like his arms” or “I like his green eyes” doesn’t count. Furthermore, can we talk about the allusion that Max wants Jordan to also have a dude bro build? Bill Konigsberg may have fooled others, but he surely didn’t fool me.
5. The coupling isn’t good whatsoever. No chemistry between the two. Idk why Jordan likes Max, and Max only likes Jordan because he’s “Jordan”.
6. The writing style is bad. I’m not sure if this is Konigsberg’s style of writing but who tf writes something like this:
“I can’t stop thinking. About who she likes”
LIKE JUST COMBINE THE SENTENCES SERIOUSLY ☠️☠️☠️
I expected to hate this book, which I do, but the early to mid parts of it made me think otherwise. Too bad, the mid to ending segment was atrocious. Wasted potential. Will not be reading another book from the author. Also, a waste of time and money.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, and Grief
Moderate: Death of parent
jainabee's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
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? Yes
The story is a very sweet and fun teen romance romp, even as it weaves in very serious and challenging themes and topics. Nuanced characters emerge through confronting their own presumptions about each other and about themselves.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Mental illness, Racism, Rape, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Grief, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Biphobia, Cursing, Kidnapping, Cultural appropriation, and Abandonment
Remarkably realistic and accurate portrayal of rape, dissociation, gaslighting, addiction, and moving through various stages of trauma. The challenging material is handled with great care and shows healthy, functional family and community responses to trauma.pitsikakku's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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? No
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Bullying
eisi28's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape and Sexual assault
Moderate: Drug use and Death of parent
zefancifulreader's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
Walked into this book thinking I was going to get a fun queer summer romance, set on a food truck. NOPE.
This is a book about two, flawed, struggling, gay boys on the edge of manhood who desperately need to go to therapy. (I’m happy to report that at least one of them is seeing a councillor by the end of the story.)
In all seriousness, this book really dives into the mess of grief, toxic masculinity, consent without sinking too far into the darkness, which I appreciated. Huge salute to the author for tackling consent and toxic masculinity as a main theme. I don’t see it enough, especially in queer books.
I’m not sure if I’m totally on board with the “it’s all meant to be” message at the end but I loved the softness that the author wove into the hearts of Jordan and Max.
Not a huge fan of the carbon copy best friends thing that was going on, it felt a bit lazy, but I’m relieved that the superficial relationships grew into more as the story progressed, even if it felt a bit forced.
The pacing was a bit odd, which sort of messed with the plot twists and relationship developments for me. I also felt like Jordan was in a much chiller, “look on the bright side” head space at the end of the book, for all the bullshit that had landed on him without any therapy and not near enough process time. It’s super unrealistic. Like one kickboxing session with Max is not going to cure your abandonment and grief at the loss of your Dad, Mom, and Home. 🙄
I loved experiencing the slow vulnerability that Jordan and Max showed one another. It was like watching the walls of toxic masculinity quietly crumble to the ground.
Overall, it was a surprising and lovely story. One prickly pear lemonade for me!
This is a book about two, flawed, struggling, gay boys on the edge of manhood who desperately need to go to therapy. (I’m happy to report that at least one of them is seeing a councillor by the end of the story.)
In all seriousness, this book really dives into the mess of grief, toxic masculinity, consent without sinking too far into the darkness, which I appreciated. Huge salute to the author for tackling consent and toxic masculinity as a main theme. I don’t see it enough, especially in queer books.
I’m not sure if I’m totally on board with the “it’s all meant to be” message at the end but I loved the softness that the author wove into the hearts of Jordan and Max.
Not a huge fan of the carbon copy best friends thing that was going on, it felt a bit lazy, but I’m relieved that the superficial relationships grew into more as the story progressed, even if it felt a bit forced.
The pacing was a bit odd, which sort of messed with the plot twists and relationship developments for me.
I loved experiencing the slow vulnerability that Jordan and Max showed one another. It was like watching the walls of toxic masculinity quietly crumble to the ground.
Overall, it was a surprising and lovely story. One prickly pear lemonade for me!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, and Abandonment
Moderate: Addiction, Misogyny, Racism, and Death of parent
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Racial slurs, and Suicidal thoughts
thehmkane's review
emotional
funny
reflective
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
4.0
I started out being deeply annoyed by one of the leads, and not super able to connect to the other, but by the end I was very fond of them both, as well as their little friend groups. Liked that the ending was hopeful, but not super pat.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
Minor: Addiction, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, and Death of parent
a_l_reads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- 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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Addiction, Chronic illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Medical content, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Outing, and Gaslighting
mengzhenreads's review
emotional
lighthearted
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? Yes
3.75
My favorite part about this was the personal growth that the two main characters showed. Honestly it was really beautiful to see how these characters really blossomed, and by the end of it I was 100% on board.
Max was the golden star of this book for sure, I just loved reading about his character and thought that he was wonderfully complex and super endearing. Jordan was also very well written, but something about him just vaguely annoyed by me for absolutely no reason (probably the fact that his narrator in the audiobook had an irritating voice). But, the fact that he was unlikeable in the beginning really showed his growth, as by the end of the book I genuinely felt him maturing.
Initially a bit basic, but really hooks you in and becomes really addicting and heartfelt.
Max was the golden star of this book for sure, I just loved reading about his character and thought that he was wonderfully complex and super endearing. Jordan was also very well written, but something about him just vaguely annoyed by me for absolutely no reason (probably the fact that his narrator in the audiobook had an irritating voice). But, the fact that he was unlikeable in the beginning really showed his growth, as by the end of the book I genuinely felt him maturing.
Initially a bit basic, but really hooks you in and becomes really addicting and heartfelt.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Rape, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Mental illness, Racism, and Death of parent
Minor: Homophobia
_yeenaw's review against another edition
emotional
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Racism, Rape, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Addiction, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Minor: Toxic friendship
rayne_1906's review against another edition
emotional
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
3.75
Audiobook - 4 hours 36 minutes - This wasn't quite what I was expecting - it was a lot heavier than it seemed in the synopsis, exploring darker themes than a book just about a summer romance would. I liked Max's character - it took me a little longer to like Jordan. There were some elements I didn't like at first but I realised towards the end of the novel that a fair few of these were intentional and specifically commented on as part of the conclusion. There were parts of this book that were extremely hard for me to read - Max's story in particular hit far too close for home and upset me a lot, but that is on me for choosing this audiobook at random without researching the content warnings. But overall, I liked the structure of this book - it diverted from the 'automatically happy ending' that I've come to expect from YA novels, and it was a refreshing change, that made sense within the context of the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Homophobia, Racism, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Minor: Toxic friendship