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agw622'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
4.5
This is a really good book. I like how she is emphasized to be Ace but still does all the normal relationship stuff. It can be a bit heavy handed like some YA books are prone to do, but that doesn't ruin the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Outing, and Toxic friendship
se_wigget's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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? It's complicated
5.0
TW, CT: acephobia, panphobia, homophobia, Christofascists, manipulative frenemy, ableism.... Actually, the novel has an excellent list of content warnings in the front of the book. Hmm, maybe I should do that in my books, too.
Every time a book with an asexual protagonist gets published, all acephobic bigots lose a year of their lives.
Imagine a high school in which there are purple chairs and purple walls. If it were in Florida, Governor Wrong DuhPsycho would make it illegal for schools to have anything purple or lavender on the premises.
Page 54: On one page, Franny's sweater is green... and a few pages later, it's red. I don't think she changed clothes.
Page 60: Now I'm craving rainbow cookies! I have rugulach in the freezer--that will do....
Page 152: Andrew? Don't you mean Arthur?
Andrew/Arthur. Green sweater/red sweater. I'm surprised nobody caught this before publication. This book needed one more round of proofreading.
Page 253: Nathaniel's fascist bigots parents need to spontaneously combust or be eaten by a dragon. Fuck these fucking fuckers.
Oh, fucking wow. Christofascists, no less. #bechoppedupintobloodylittlebits
Page 257: What kind of parents would kick their kid out? Many anti-LGBTQIA+ POS parents do it. There's an anthology about it called Kicked Out, edited by Sassafras Lowrey. I attended the book event at In Other Words years ago.
Maybe I just think this because of my family, but it seems like it would be more realistic if at least one of Nathaniel's siblings was a flying monkey for his POS parents.
Whew, this has a satisfying ending!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Biphobia, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Acephobia/Arophobia, Outing, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Medical content
tinysierra's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
Love Letters For Joy was a cute book. It takes place in New York as our main characters are in their senior year of high school.
I love seeing a plus sized, disabled, queer character as the main protagonist! Joy has cerebral palsy and she wears glasses.
Nathaniel has asthma which I rarely see in books.
I loved the queer ensemble of characters! There are also quite a few disabled characters as well.
As an asexual reader, the asexual rep was well done. I love that Joy’s moms make her ace merch. There is acephobia, but it is not very present until towards the middle/end of the book.
I feel like I don’t see as much pansexual characters in books at the moment either so that was so nice as well.
I love that we got to see a male character cry and show emotions. I also love thatNathanial is the one writing the love letters because love letters are typically seen as such a feminine thing.
The scene where Nathaniel and Joy are debating while their friends commentate is so funny.
The antagonist was definitely a bit over the top/cartoonish at the end.
There are some serious topics in this book like pregnancy, acephobia, outing, religious bigotry. Melissa See included a trigger warning list before the story starts. We love to see it.
If you like this book, I recommend Perfect on Paper by Sophie Gonzales
I love seeing a plus sized, disabled, queer character as the main protagonist! Joy has cerebral palsy and she wears glasses.
Nathaniel has asthma which I rarely see in books.
I loved the queer ensemble of characters! There are also quite a few disabled characters as well.
As an asexual reader, the asexual rep was well done. I love that Joy’s moms make her ace merch. There is acephobia, but it is not very present until towards the middle/end of the book.
I feel like I don’t see as much pansexual characters in books at the moment either so that was so nice as well.
I love that we got to see a male character cry and show emotions. I also love that
The scene where Nathaniel and Joy are debating while their friends commentate is so funny.
The antagonist was definitely a bit over the top/cartoonish at the end.
There are some serious topics in this book like pregnancy, acephobia, outing, religious bigotry. Melissa See included a trigger warning list before the story starts. We love to see it.
If you like this book, I recommend Perfect on Paper by Sophie Gonzales
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Outing
Moderate: Pregnancy
Minor: Emotional abuse, Infertility, and Vomit
mfrisk's review against another edition
emotional
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? No
5.0
This book is one I wish I had had when I was in middle and high school trying to figure out who I was, how I viewed myself, and what it meant to consider what love could look like for me.
This book is filled with so many queer characters both in the main characters as well as side characters and it does a great job at balancing the love story it is building to with rich family and friend relationships as well as discussion of the intersection of disability and queerness and what that looks like for Joy our main character, Nathaniel, and other people in their lives who hold these identities.
Joy is a character I can relate to a lot in terms of the questions she asks and the uncertainties she holds and reading this book felt very powerful because of this. This book similar to the Heartstopper series does a great job in balancing queer joy with the difficulties of coming out and in realizing queer identity as a young person but really would be enjoyable to adults and teens alike.
This book is filled with so many queer characters both in the main characters as well as side characters and it does a great job at balancing the love story it is building to with rich family and friend relationships as well as discussion of the intersection of disability and queerness and what that looks like for Joy our main character, Nathaniel, and other people in their lives who hold these identities.
Joy is a character I can relate to a lot in terms of the questions she asks and the uncertainties she holds and reading this book felt very powerful because of this. This book similar to the Heartstopper series does a great job in balancing queer joy with the difficulties of coming out and in realizing queer identity as a young person but really would be enjoyable to adults and teens alike.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Toxic friendship
enjoythesummerbreeze's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Pregnancy, Outing, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, and Acephobia/Arophobia
Minor: Ableism, Body shaming, and Bullying
rubadubindabathtub's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Acephobia/Arophobia, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Misogyny, Religious bigotry, and Outing
evelynyle_88'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
5.0
First of all, this book has been on my TBR since it was announced to be released and I'm glad I can finally read it! I love how sweet this story is. And the process of everyone's coming out isn't rushed.
Love Letters For Joy is really a sweet and cute story after all.
Knowing the MC is panromantic asexual, it's really a new term for me to deep dive and of course... I'd love to see more disabled characters. And Joy is a perfect example from cerebral palsy instead. To let you know, this book is perfect!
5⭐ rating wothy! Thanks, Melissa.. and to let you know... I love Noah and Daisy from You, Me, and Our Heartstrings made a cameo in this book as a fellow cerebral palsy to Joy. Thanks a bunch!
Love Letters For Joy is really a sweet and cute story after all.
Knowing the MC is panromantic asexual, it's really a new term for me to deep dive and of course... I'd love to see more disabled characters. And Joy is a perfect example from cerebral palsy instead. To let you know, this book is perfect!
5⭐ rating wothy! Thanks, Melissa.. and to let you know... I love Noah and Daisy from You, Me, and Our Heartstrings made a cameo in this book as a fellow cerebral palsy to Joy. Thanks a bunch!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Homophobia, and Acephobia/Arophobia
Moderate: Bullying, Pregnancy, and Outing
Minor: Infertility, Religious bigotry, and Sexual harassment
goldenelegy's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Homophobia, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Abandonment
Moderate: Religious bigotry
Minor: Sexual harassment
the_vegan_bookworm's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
This was a cute, light-hearted and diverse YA read! It features an asexual MC with a disability and a pansexual MC with a disability. I'm always on the hunt for asexual rep, and this book fits that mark!
The primary antagonists for both MCs felt a little simple. They didn't have a lot of layers going on, and I feel that they could have been better explored with the background presented. We could have gotten these antagonists that felt a little less stereotypical.
The arc with Cupid also felt a little tough to believe. You know this person is someone you go to school with and you just...share a bunch of personal stuff with them without questioning it? Confessing your love to someone you've exchanged a handful of emails with and you don't know anything personal about? It just feels hard to suspend disbelief with that kind of plot personally.
The primary antagonists for both MCs felt a little simple. They didn't have a lot of layers going on, and I feel that they could have been better explored with the background presented. We could have gotten these antagonists that felt a little less stereotypical.
The arc with Cupid also felt a little tough to believe. You know this person is someone you go to school with and you just...share a bunch of personal stuff with them without questioning it? Confessing your love to someone you've exchanged a handful of emails with and you don't know anything personal about? It just feels hard to suspend disbelief with that kind of plot personally.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Homophobia, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Pregnancy
Minor: Religious bigotry
turnthepagesbooks's review
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Acephobia/Arophobia, Outing, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Infertility