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eisfederchen's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia
Moderate: Ableism, Violence, and Sexual harassment
bashsbooks's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
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
5.0
WOW.
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Drug use, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Car accident, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Racism and Classism
-F-slur used a few timesthainerezende's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-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
4.25
Really cutie romance slow burn and rivalry, love the characters even if they are assholes most of the time
Only downside is really teen PG
Only downside is really teen PG
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia
Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Misogyny, and Dysphoria
gigi785's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
tense
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
4.5
The chapters are written off of one of the main character’s POV which makes it all very easy to get frustrated by the decisions they makeðŸ˜
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Deadnaming, Homophobia, and Transphobia
Moderate: Body shaming, Child death, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Toxic friendship, and Dysphoria
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Grief, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
ambaright's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Deadnaming, and Transphobia
Moderate: Bullying, Homophobia, and Dysphoria
ckoestner's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia
Moderate: Ableism, Homophobia, and Racism
ikeastorage's review against another edition
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? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming, Hate crime, Homophobia, Transphobia, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Ableism
heathersbooks100's review against another edition
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Transphobia, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Ableism, Death, and Toxic relationship
ree_the_owlgirl's review against another edition
emotional
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Homophobia, and Transphobia
Moderate: Ableism, Deadnaming, and Death
kaabtik's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- 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
1.5
you know when you see your deepest fears and insecurities on paper and there's this feeling of dread? yeah, this is how i felt reading this book.
i found myself drawn to this book because jeremy was literally all i was—an ambitious overachiever with too much glib than necessary. down to the name and his romantic experience, he felt like someone i could relate to. and boy did i relate to him. that much i expected.
what i also expected was for things to be happy. for this fictional jeremy to have what i couldn't: a way out and a happy ending. i expected the rage, the self destruction, and the fear.
what i got, for better or for worse, was a mess.
first off, this is not a lighthearted book. this is not a romantic comedy about a gay transguy falling out of and into (again) with his rival turned boyfriend turned ex. this is about two very messy boys fumbling for a light switch in the dark that is high school.
i bought this book because i wanted that. i wanted that so bad and seeing my name !! my experience !! to be given something i couldn't have made me so excited. instead i had all the darkest parts of being trans constantly thrown into my face every other page.
both jeremy and lukas are terrible people—both as individuals and as a couple. whatever tension they had was completely overshadowed by the fact that they were crossing multiple lines instead of sitting down and having a conversation. and i get it. queer kids don't have to be kind and understanding. but lukas literally sent out a presentation with jeremy's pre-transition photos to the entire student body. jeremy sunk ben—a very good friend to both of them— nearly costing him his shot at university applications.
and i get it. i get what the author is trying to do: to lash out righteous anger at everything that went wrong when they were younger. to stop being the polite queer kid and throw metaphorical and literal knives at everyone who crossed them. i fantasized about this power more times than i could admit and i wanted to cheer for jeremy. i really did.
but i couldn't. not when they were trampling over every good person in their group. not when a lot of their issues were swept under the rug at the final act for them to be back as a couple. not when there was barely anyone in the group who put their foot down and stopped the nonsense they were doing.
there were a lot of other problematic elements that other reviews have covered, as well. and i just. i felt betrayed, because i bought this physically and wanted to enjoy it so bad. but i can't in good faith recommend this to anyone. especially to young trans guys. who also want a love story of being some boy kissin some boy.
i found myself drawn to this book because jeremy was literally all i was—an ambitious overachiever with too much glib than necessary. down to the name and his romantic experience, he felt like someone i could relate to. and boy did i relate to him. that much i expected.
what i also expected was for things to be happy. for this fictional jeremy to have what i couldn't: a way out and a happy ending. i expected the rage, the self destruction, and the fear.
what i got, for better or for worse, was a mess.
first off, this is not a lighthearted book. this is not a romantic comedy about a gay transguy falling out of and into (again) with his rival turned boyfriend turned ex. this is about two very messy boys fumbling for a light switch in the dark that is high school.
i bought this book because i wanted that. i wanted that so bad and seeing my name !! my experience !! to be given something i couldn't have made me so excited. instead i had all the darkest parts of being trans constantly thrown into my face every other page.
both jeremy and lukas are terrible people—both as individuals and as a couple. whatever tension they had was completely overshadowed by the fact that they were crossing multiple lines instead of sitting down and having a conversation. and i get it. queer kids don't have to be kind and understanding. but lukas literally sent out a presentation with jeremy's pre-transition photos to the entire student body. jeremy sunk ben—a very good friend to both of them— nearly costing him his shot at university applications.
and i get it. i get what the author is trying to do: to lash out righteous anger at everything that went wrong when they were younger. to stop being the polite queer kid and throw metaphorical and literal knives at everyone who crossed them. i fantasized about this power more times than i could admit and i wanted to cheer for jeremy. i really did.
but i couldn't. not when they were trampling over every good person in their group. not when a lot of their issues were swept under the rug at the final act for them to be back as a couple. not when there was barely anyone in the group who put their foot down and stopped the nonsense they were doing.
there were a lot of other problematic elements that other reviews have covered, as well. and i just. i felt betrayed, because i bought this physically and wanted to enjoy it so bad. but i can't in good faith recommend this to anyone. especially to young trans guys. who also want a love story of being some boy kissin some boy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, and Transphobia
Moderate: Deadnaming, Death, and Alcohol
Minor: Lesbophobia