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jennabeck13's review against another edition
lighthearted
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? It's complicated
3.0
Only Mostly Devastated by Sophie Gonzales
⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3/5)
Genre: LGBTQ Romance
About 280 pages
After moving to North Carolina for the summer to help out his sick Aunt Linda with her kids, Ollie finds himself in a summer love story with Will Tavares. Their relationship is light and fun, but they know it can’t last since they live on opposite sides of the country. But right before Ollie is supposed to go back to California, his parents notify him that they’ll be staying in NC for the year. Ollie is dreading starting at a new school… So he should be thrilled when he runs into Will at a party during the first week, right? Well, the Will he runs into isn’t who he spent time with this summer. Now Will is an athlete, a low-key jerk, and still in the closet. After seeing how Will ignores him for several weeks, Ollie decides Will isn’t worth his energy. But as Ollie stops trying, Will can’t stay away. How long can Ollie stay strong? And when will the last time he lets Will in his life be?
CALLING ALL SWIFTIES!🩵 I found the @evermorebookshop on insta a few weeks ago and knew I had to order this fun gift for my sister’s bday and one for myself. You let the shop owner know what night of Eras Tour you went to and your surprise songs, and then they send you a book that is connected to one of your surprise songs, a fun bookmark, and some Taylor stickers! I am obsessed and can’t wait for my sister to open hers (spoiler alert: she is getting her gift early bc I’m so excited)!
One of my surprise songs was The Last Time and this book definitely gave those vibes! Will and Ollie were on and off throughout, and each time I got the vibe that it was the last time Ollie wanted to let him in, but he couldn’t help but cave each time. I’ll be honest, Will frustrated me for most of the book… But I loved Ollie and the friends he made😊 While the story was relatively simple, Gonzales did tackle a couple of important topics/scenarios that high schoolers face in a very approachable but honest way, which I appreciated.
Favorite Quote: “But screw tomorrow. Even if no one could promise that everything would work out perfectly, right here and now, in this exact moment, it was perfect. And right here and now was the only thing that ever mattered anyway.”
Content Warnings
Minor: Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Terminal illness, Death of parent, and Outing
theespressoedition's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
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
3.5
When I was writing my mini review for my Instagram stories, I said "imagine if Grease was gay. That would be this book." I'm sticking with that description because it feels the most accurate to me.
Only Mostly Devastated surprised me in a lot of good ways. It kept my interest much more than most young adult romances - and actually, I wouldn't even necessarily describe it as a romance. Yes, there was young love in it, but the focus was much more on the characters themselves and how they developed and grew together and individually.
There was a found family element to this that was so entertaining. It was the most chaotic, disruptive, and sometimes stressful family, but I enjoyed reading about each of them and seeing how they changed as the story went on. The support that was a running theme throughout the book was really pleasing. I like when characters encourage one another to be themselves. Sure, there was teen drama and plenty of it, but for the most part, the characters did grow and learn from the harm they sometimes caused.
What I did feel was a bit of a disconnect. This is primarily just because I'm an adult reading a young adult book and I recognize that's a very normal thing. I'm not reading this to feel connection to the characters. I liked them, but I don't think I'll be revisiting the book. However, I do plan to read some of the author's other works because I liked the style of writing and the story itself.
Only Mostly Devastated surprised me in a lot of good ways. It kept my interest much more than most young adult romances - and actually, I wouldn't even necessarily describe it as a romance. Yes, there was young love in it, but the focus was much more on the characters themselves and how they developed and grew together and individually.
There was a found family element to this that was so entertaining. It was the most chaotic, disruptive, and sometimes stressful family, but I enjoyed reading about each of them and seeing how they changed as the story went on. The support that was a running theme throughout the book was really pleasing. I like when characters encourage one another to be themselves. Sure, there was teen drama and plenty of it, but for the most part, the characters did grow and learn from the harm they sometimes caused.
What I did feel was a bit of a disconnect. This is primarily just because I'm an adult reading a young adult book and I recognize that's a very normal thing. I'm not reading this to feel connection to the characters. I liked them, but I don't think I'll be revisiting the book. However, I do plan to read some of the author's other works because I liked the style of writing and the story itself.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Biphobia, Fatphobia, Homophobia, and Outing
Minor: Chronic illness and Sexual content
shelby9's review against another edition
emotional
funny
sad
tense
fast-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Cancer, Death, Homophobia, and Death of parent
Moderate: Body shaming, Chronic illness, Cursing, Eating disorder, and Alcohol
brennap6's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
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? It's complicated
4.0
Loved the kids, hated all the parents. What can you do.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Chronic illness and Homophobia
toberomanced's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
5.0
I love this author. Another great book about how we can grow and mature and not another example of the toxicity currently present in YA. So sweet. I loved it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Terminal illness, Medical content, and Grief
Moderate: Body shaming, Homophobia, and Outing
Minor: Biphobia, Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
sanhatiser's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, and Death
Minor: Biphobia
lanawils's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
fast-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Homophobia, Terminal illness, Grief, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Medical content
Minor: Cursing, Blood, Outing, and Alcohol
strawberrybex's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I had a mostly good time. It’s very much a ya, which is to be expected, and the author is very much a millennial, but i also thought that the way they addressed and changed the source material was really good. Like it’s so hard to look at the ending of Grease and not just feel like Sandy changed her entire personality for a guy and that’s how they have a happy ending. And I think instead this looked at what that might symbolise in the relationship and made it really good and really sweet.
Also though like can Oliver’s parents give him a little emotional support like for the love of god this kid is so well behaved and going through so much shit and all he does is help and help and help without his parents really ever recognizing that? Idk the parenting on their end did not fuck
Also though like can Oliver’s parents give him a little emotional support like for the love of god this kid is so well behaved and going through so much shit and all he does is help and help and help without his parents really ever recognizing that? Idk the parenting on their end did not fuck
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness and Death
Moderate: Biphobia and Homophobia
nothingrhymeswithrachel's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
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
Obviously the romance of this story is beautiful, and I am obsessed with Will and Ollie. But, Aunt Linda’s story line in this book is what really brought this book together for me. So often romance books forget about the rest of the family involved in someone’s life, but family was a major part of the plot in this book. I cried several times during this book and I have never even been closely affected by cancer, I cannot imagine what it would do to those who have. Absolutely beautifully written, I loved that story line. The only gripe I have is that Lara’s character development seems fake. She never apologizes for her actions, she doesn’t even seem to change. She just suddenly has an excuse for why she was so mean to everyone around her. We’re supposed to like her by the end but I just could not do it, she needed to be held accountable instead of consistently coddled by her friends. Anyway, this book is very good. It turns out I am a big fan of Sophie Gonzales.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Terminal illness, and Death of parent
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Homophobia, Medical content, and Grief
Minor: Biphobia, Fatphobia, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting
dizzyizzy's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Homophobia, Grief, and Outing