emilyeehaw's review
okay hmmmmm. this book was a perfectly decent YA novel following gio as he navigates his first real relationship with a guy and his complicated relationship with his absent mother. great, good, fabulous, love that for him. HOWEVER, the writing of this book was so?…..not good.
sometimes authors miss the mark and make their teen characters seem too old or mature in a pretentious way. this author wrote the teen perspective pretty well but wrote adults’ dialogue as if he had never met an adult person in his life. not to mention, sometimes the teens would also fall into this problem.
at one point gio says “i am a child of abandonment.” deeply sorry but reading that felt so unnatural and too formal for the situation. gio was feeling things so intensely and ranting to david and THAT is how he expresses it ????
there were sections where the author could have easily said something like “i agreed” or “i nodded” but instead would write “i responded ‘yes’ to him” or something to that effect. LIKE ??? why does that read so bizarrely. am i CRAZY?? and this kind of stuff happened throughout the ENTIRE book.
i also felt a little EH about the romance between gio and david, it was a little too “you are my WORLD” a little too quickly. young love i guess. david felt like any other guy…would have liked him to be a bit better developed.
it also felt like some things were wrapped up a little too fast. gio’s dad starts off as a harsh father with an alcohol use disorder and then by the end of it, it seems like that magically all went away? malik who was involved in the local street gang is suddenly no longer involved by the end of the book, with seemingly no consequences. just small details like that were taken care of in what felt like such a rushed way.
let me not be a complete downer here...i loved gio's relationship with his younger brother theo, as well as his dynamic with his stepmom. i liked that she was portrayed as a loving mother figure to him and there was no external conflict between him and her. i also liked that this book depicted the experience of a black, bisexual teenager. and addressed some of the unique challenges because of these identity intersections.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Suicide and Terminal illness
xoodlebooks's review
emotional
reflective
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Racism
Moderate: Abandonment, Violence, Biphobia, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, and Police brutality
Minor: Death of parent, Terminal illness, Gun violence, Sexual content, Pregnancy, and Death
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