Reviews with content warning for Hate crime - E Se Fosse A Gente?

Reviews tagging 'Hate crime'

E Se Fosse A Gente? by Adam Silvera, Becky Albertalli

7 reviews

james1star's review against another edition

emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This was a very cute and enjoyable read that I would recommend. The book starts with Arthur, visiting New York from Georgia for the summer, having a chance meet-cute with native New Yorker Ben. Both thinking there was something there and sensing a connection, they set out to find one another and when they do, struggle to nail down the ‘perfect’ first date. There’s more but I won’t say more for spoilers.

I really enjoyed the characters in this book, there was diversity, relatability and on the whole nice people to be around really making the reading experience a pleasant one. Both MCs were sixteen (I believe) with Arthur having ADHD but this isn’t really explained/explored that much, he’s taking a law internship but would prefer to do drama as loves musicals and broadway. Ben is an aspiring writer who struggles a lot with education and feelings of being unworthy talking summer school during the book’s duration. He’s from a Puerto Rican immigrant background and working class so the way he views money is impacted by this and something always on his mind, unlike that of others in the book which I felt was good representation. The side characters also had complexities and were brought to life by Albertalli and Silvera. Arthur’s friends from Georgia Jessie and Ethan weren’t that big but it was interesting seeing their dynamic and how Ethan seems a bit distant since Arthur had came out but it’s revealed why. Ben has his best friend Dylan who go way back, he has a heart condition and a coffee addiction and I did really love the friendship between them with a genuine platonic love. Others include Hudson, Samantha, Harriett, Juliet, Namrata and also the parents who were great in the way they dealt with their son’s endeavours and being gay not having an issue which is amazing to see.

There is some miscommunication and messiness which was frustrating at times and did mean the book felt a little too long. However, it also felt real and I would say is done well. I did like the ending and might pick up the sequel if I find it second hand but also happy to end it here. One problem that did annoy me a lot was how many Harry Potter references there were which left me eye rolling many times and just felt unnecessary.

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justinekorson's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective sad tense 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

3.0

It really is a book thats been SET in it's timeline. The story was published in 2018 and honestly... that's when you should have read it. I bought it back then but never got to it. Because of this, reading it in 2024 wasn't a good experience.

All the references to Harry Potter weren't it for me. I haven't been a supporter or fan of Rowling in a long time because of all the trashy shit she's said over the part few years. This book came out JUST BEFORE she made all those TERF comments on Twitter(X) so I didn't like reading that. There was also so many references to Hamilton too that it was honestly annoying. It felt like every other page had either a Hamilton reference or a Harry Potter one and I didn't enjoy that.

Arthur and Ben's third act break up was also... so overdramatic?? I felt like I was watching some reality TV show where the people exaggerate everything. I understood where Arthur was coming from, thinking Ben was cheating on him but they were literally in a public place yelling at each other and then Arthur turns around and yells at his best friends for hiding their relationship from him. when they tried to apologize Arthur twisted their words around so badly that he upset himself AGAIN when all he had to do was listen to his friends. It was especially shitty because... Arthur never even really apologizes for being a bad friend. He'd practically dumped Jessie and Ethan when he started dating Ben and when he did talk to them, all he talked about was Ben. It was so painfully obvious that Ethan and Jessie wanted to tell Ben something too but he never caught on.

Overall... I wish I read the book sooner and I also don't know how I feel about reading the sequel I have.

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whosfernn's review against another edition

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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

4.25

A beautiful story about teenage love and longing (plus how it's possible to be friends with your exes). Totally going to read the sequel if I get chance!

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