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thereaderfriend's review against another edition
emotional
tense
- 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
I really disliked this book bc of the immaturity and massive egos the mc’s had.. but it was cool to read a book with so much chaos, drama and tension. It was very accurate the maturity and ego level, so I’m accepting it. Didn’t condone most of the decisions each character made but I liked the character development and story development.
Some fav quotes:
Some fav quotes:
- Because the world values our lies over our truths, our silence over our voices, our deaths over our lives.
- Strange to imagine there’s a me outside the weights I carry.
- Easier to give pieces of yourself to others than the words you can’t find.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Homophobia, and Transphobia
Moderate: Ableism, Deadnaming, and Death
Minor: Sexual assault and Car accident
tiredteoreads's review against another edition
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-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
2.5
I was honestly really tempted to DNF this book. in the beginning, Jeremy was just too much of an a-hole and very unlikable, so much so that I found it hard to enjoy his chapters. as a trans man myself, I could relate to some of his feelings, he just definitely went about things the wrong way and was very selfish. however, I'm glad I chose to finish the book. I was afraid there wouldn't be any character development on his part but there was and I think it was done in a well enough way where it didn't feel too forced. something to keep in mind is that they are immature teenagers so their behavior is understandable (not excusable, but understandable nonetheless). overall, I didn't hate the book, but definitely was not my favorite.
There is one thing that still bothers me though:will lukas ever get his wallet back lol
There is one thing that still bothers me though:
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Homophobia, and Transphobia
Moderate: Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, and Dysphoria
short_circuit's review against another edition
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
i was so excited to read about a trans male main character and an autistic main character, being both of those things myself. unfortunately i was disappointed very quickly. the main characters are so, SO annoying. jeremy is overly dramatic and a terrible friend. lukas is far too fixated on jeremy's "betrayal" when he came out.
there is so much misgendering and ableism in this book; i was genuinely shocked by this. a few examples: one of the supporting characters makes a very lesbophobic remark. several characters say ableist things to lukas, the autistic character, including the r slur. WAY TOO MANY characters say or do transphobic things to jeremy, including lukas showing his pre-transition photos to people out of spite.WHAT THE FUCK. i can't even finish this review, i'm so angry again.
the one positive thing i can say is that, to my recollection, we never read jeremy's deadname. he's still deadnamed, because of fucking course he is, but the reader never sees it actually written.
2 stars, one for Sol and one for a good book cover. i dunno, maybe i'm just too old to be reading YA lit.
there is so much misgendering and ableism in this book; i was genuinely shocked by this. a few examples: one of the supporting characters makes a very lesbophobic remark. several characters say ableist things to lukas, the autistic character, including the r slur. WAY TOO MANY characters say or do transphobic things to jeremy, including lukas showing his pre-transition photos to people out of spite.WHAT THE FUCK. i can't even finish this review, i'm so angry again.
the one positive thing i can say is that, to my recollection, we never read jeremy's deadname. he's still deadnamed, because of fucking course he is, but the reader never sees it actually written.
2 stars, one for Sol and one for a good book cover. i dunno, maybe i'm just too old to be reading YA lit.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Homophobia, and Transphobia
Moderate: Deadnaming, Death, and Toxic friendship
the deadnaming is off-page or otherwise blocked out. if i remember correctly we never read jeremy's deadname. the death also happens off-page: lukas' brother was killed prior to the events of the story. it is talked about in flashbacks.angietheace's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Homophobia, and Transphobia
Minor: Deadnaming, Vomit, and Alcohol
longlost's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This. This sure was a book.
I really wanted to like this book. Autistic rep AND queer rep ?? All I want in life. Unfortunately I just could not vibe with the book or its characters.
Lukas and Jeremy's relationship was not enjoyable to read about during most points of the book. It came off as TOO mean-spirited so so often and I genuinely don't see whythey ended up getting back together. Jeremy treated Lukas like shit, and while I understand that Jeremy was hurt by Lukas's comment on the day they broke up he also uses it as an excuse to vilify Lukas when like. There is no reasonable way he could have known how to respond to Jeremy at that point. Also he KNOWS Lukas is autistic and therefore has trouble w/ social shit, and yet it never occurs to him to say "hey, I broke up with you because of that comment you made, not because you somehow did a bunch of things wrong in our three years of dating" which we see Lukas is worried about from the chapters in his POV. Naomi and Sol were fun however. I liked them.
I DID enjoy the queer power message in this book, and while I didn't enjoy the shitty school system it also reflects reality unfortunately so. I wish I could have liked this book more because I'm 100% behind Jeremy's fight to change the Code so that the harassment he's facing is Actually Acknowledged but I couldn't stand the main plot of fighting over the Homecoming crown even if I could sympathize with both character's motivations. The actions they took against each other just felt too mean-spirited.
I really wanted to like this book. Autistic rep AND queer rep ?? All I want in life. Unfortunately I just could not vibe with the book or its characters.
Lukas and Jeremy's relationship was not enjoyable to read about during most points of the book. It came off as TOO mean-spirited so so often and I genuinely don't see why
I DID enjoy the queer power message in this book, and while I didn't enjoy the shitty school system it also reflects reality unfortunately so. I wish I could have liked this book more because I'm 100% behind Jeremy's fight to change the Code so that the harassment he's facing is Actually Acknowledged but I couldn't stand the main plot of fighting over the Homecoming crown even if I could sympathize with both character's motivations. The actions they took against each other just felt too mean-spirited.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Grief, Toxic friendship, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Death, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Blood, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Medical content, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail
alyshkalia's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Homophobia, and Transphobia
Moderate: Deadnaming, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Car accident, and Sexual harassment
reading_ray's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Child death, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racism, Transphobia, and Alcohol
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Deadnaming
aslanjude's review against another edition
emotional
sad
tense
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
5.0
I want to hear absolutely 0 cis opinions on this book. It was excellent and you can pry my love for this book from my cold dead transgender hands. <3 Zabé Ellor wrote a book that reflected more of my own feelings as a gay trans man in high school than any other. "Reminder: the main villains in MTBMW are the wealthy and powerful adults who refuse to protect queer kids, not the kids themselves" - Z.R. Ellor on Twitter @ZREllor
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming, Hate crime, Transphobia, Sexual harassment, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Ableism, Death, and Violence
Minor: Blood and Injury/Injury detail
thanmayi's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Buckle down folks because this is a mini-rant disguised as a review. This book has A lot to unpack!
Do not go into it wanting a cute romantic fairytale based on the cover! This book explores pretty dark themes and subjects and isn't really rainbows and sunshine. If you're looking for a cute queer book to read right now, this is not that I promise you.
Review:
Let’s start with the good part, this book had a lot of representation with a trans-MC, Autistic MC, a nonbinary character, and a bunch of more queer kids. It actually made me happy seeing this much rep first. The plot was okay and I did get through the book pretty quickly.
I think the book did a pretty good job at highlighting the trans issues in school and how teachers usually don’t pay as much attention to them as they should be and the issues with many school codes that do not include people in the binary.
Now to the not great bits…right after I put the book down I thought I liked it and it was going to be a 4 star read but after going through the notes I found a lot of issues both with the writing, the characters, and the plot.
The writing wasn’t great, I loved the first few pages of the book but when it comes to the scenes there was a lot of telling and no showing. The relationship between Jeremy and Lukas Felt off, their emotions could have been portrayed better given that the book was in dual POV.
I've got mixed feelings about Jeremy, he's self depricating with a god complex and is selfish almost completely throughout the book. There was 0 character development for him whatsoever. Yeah, I get that trans/gay person but showing them in such a negative light wasn't the way to go about it. I do get where he's coming from tho his anger and pain and all his issues were valid but his actions really had no justifications.
I liked Lukas’s character at the start and he’s really sweet and supportive for most of the book but towards the end, his character had the opposite of development. I think that the autism rep through the character was good as well, he felt more well-rounded than Jeremy.
The issues surrounding intersectionality was something that I think was the most problematic point of this book, I don’t think that the author did it any justice and a few parts actually felt like an attack on the lesbian and gay community instead of it being a conversation on the issue of why the trans youth are made to feel like imposters in the community when they are trans and gay.
A few situations and dialogues felt unrealistic and overdramatized and towards the end, the book felt like a drag.
So this brings me to my conclusion, is this book worth the read…it's worth a one-time read for sure. It does a good job at showing trans issues but lacks in other matters. Yeah, the characters are diverse but they also felt like plot points to advance the main characters and make them look better.
What you need to keep in mind is that this isn't supposed to be a fairytale and these are teenagers who make teenager-like mistakes. It’s not a bad book but it isn’t the best one out there if you want to see queerness represented.
Do not go into it wanting a cute romantic fairytale based on the cover! This book explores pretty dark themes and subjects and isn't really rainbows and sunshine. If you're looking for a cute queer book to read right now, this is not that I promise you.
Review:
Let’s start with the good part, this book had a lot of representation with a trans-MC, Autistic MC, a nonbinary character, and a bunch of more queer kids. It actually made me happy seeing this much rep first. The plot was okay and I did get through the book pretty quickly.
I think the book did a pretty good job at highlighting the trans issues in school and how teachers usually don’t pay as much attention to them as they should be and the issues with many school codes that do not include people in the binary.
Now to the not great bits…right after I put the book down I thought I liked it and it was going to be a 4 star read but after going through the notes I found a lot of issues both with the writing, the characters, and the plot.
The writing wasn’t great, I loved the first few pages of the book but when it comes to the scenes there was a lot of telling and no showing. The relationship between Jeremy and Lukas Felt off, their emotions could have been portrayed better given that the book was in dual POV.
I've got mixed feelings about Jeremy, he's self depricating with a god complex and is selfish almost completely throughout the book. There was 0 character development for him whatsoever. Yeah, I get that trans/gay person but showing them in such a negative light wasn't the way to go about it. I do get where he's coming from tho his anger and pain and all his issues were valid but his actions really had no justifications.
I liked Lukas’s character at the start and he’s really sweet and supportive for most of the book but towards the end, his character had the opposite of development. I think that the autism rep through the character was good as well, he felt more well-rounded than Jeremy.
The issues surrounding intersectionality was something that I think was the most problematic point of this book, I don’t think that the author did it any justice and a few parts actually felt like an attack on the lesbian and gay community instead of it being a conversation on the issue of why the trans youth are made to feel like imposters in the community when they are trans and gay.
A few situations and dialogues felt unrealistic and overdramatized and towards the end, the book felt like a drag.
So this brings me to my conclusion, is this book worth the read…it's worth a one-time read for sure. It does a good job at showing trans issues but lacks in other matters. Yeah, the characters are diverse but they also felt like plot points to advance the main characters and make them look better.
What you need to keep in mind is that this isn't supposed to be a fairytale and these are teenagers who make teenager-like mistakes. It’s not a bad book but it isn’t the best one out there if you want to see queerness represented.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Transphobia, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Ableism, Lesbophobia, and Dysphoria
Minor: Deadnaming and Death
alyxinthestars'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
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Hate crime, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Violence, Grief, and Dysphoria
Minor: Biphobia, Deadnaming, Death, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Car accident, and Alcohol