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queer_cir's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
Yes yes yes
This is being added to my comfort reread list
I got all the queerness, all the love, all the neurodivergentness
Half the pages are highlighted cause I felt the words so deeply
I just want brightsiders songs to be real
I'm sad I'm finished cause I want to live in this world with these characters forever
Though in a way I do and that's what I loved about it cause their shared love and support their queer chosen family reminds me of my queer chosen family
This is being added to my comfort reread list
I got all the queerness, all the love, all the neurodivergentness
Half the pages are highlighted cause I felt the words so deeply
I just want brightsiders songs to be real
I'm sad I'm finished cause I want to live in this world with these characters forever
Though in a way I do and that's what I loved about it cause their shared love and support their queer chosen family reminds me of my queer chosen family
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse
Moderate: Addiction and Biphobia
Minor: Homophobia and Transphobia
unwise_samwise's review against another edition
Too much, hurts to read
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Vomit
Moderate: Alcoholism
Minor: Transphobia and Car accident
longlost's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
4.0
this was a lot of fun. i live for drama
jen wilde's writing style is enjoyable to read + the characters were very dynamic and enjoyable to read about. i even enjoyed reading about the asshole characters because they were just.... SO fucking awful i had to keep turning the page to see how it could get worse. the chaotic rockstar life feels like it was really captured in this book and i love that
jen wilde's writing style is enjoyable to read + the characters were very dynamic and enjoyable to read about. i even enjoyed reading about the asshole characters because they were just.... SO fucking awful i had to keep turning the page to see how it could get worse. the chaotic rockstar life feels like it was really captured in this book and i love that
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Biphobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Car accident, and Alcohol
Minor: Transphobia and Vomit
anniereads221's review against another edition
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Biphobia, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
Moderate: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Car accident
Minor: Transphobia
HP referenceshannahmayhere's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
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
4.0
The representation in this book is amazing! Worth the read just for that. I loved having a whole crew of LGBTQIA+ characters. Overall this was a great quick read! I wish there was a little more dimension to the antagonists, but I still really enjoyed it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Transphobia, and Car accident
Minor: Vomit
the_escapist's review
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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
2.5
I feel like if I read this in my early to mid-teens I would have loved it, and that awareness (repeated thoughts of 'am I too old for this?') kept pulling me out of the story. The characters believably behave like teenagers in this, and, as such, there's plenty of teen drama. There were also some lines that made me cringe, but to be fair, that's bound to happen with the characters being the ages they are.
The positives: it pulled me in quickly and kept maintaining my interest throughout, the characters talked and behaved like real teenagers, the friend group was very wholesome, very positive depiction of a variety of LGBT+ characters, the main character learns a lot of important lessons and becomes someone who would actually make a really good role model to teens and kids, and even though I found it kind of mediocre, I don't regret reading it.
The main reason for my star reading being so in the middle is that this book isn't what I wanted it to be. I wanted it to really feel like the protagonist was a musician and get all the knowledge and habits that come with it, which didn't happen. The depiction of her being a drummer could have been substituted for any other instrument. I also wanted to feel the awe and terror that comes with a character becoming famous so young and feel the adrenaline of the band playing huge live shows, to really feel the process of songwriting and recording and the collaborative process. This was touched on a little, but I didn't feel it on a visceral level. And I kept getting thrown out of the story because the band is supposed to be a punk band and yet none of the lyrics and descriptions of the music we were shown made them feel like a punk band – they felt more like a pop group or a pop-punk band at the heaviest. I know, I know, it's very pedantic of me, but it was a thing that kept popping up and throwing me out of the story/irritating me.
I wanted more subtlety and nuance. The morality and behaviour of the antagonists felt very black and white. I'm not sure if this was a problem with this author or if it's more due to the age of the target audience for this book – I don't often read Young Adult books so I'm sure which it is. Sometimes I felt like sometimes the author would be speaking through the characters on things like queer issues and sexism, things that felt paraphrased from online spaces rather than being that character's own individual take on it.
I did finish this and enjoyed reading (well, listening to) it, I was just disappointed that the story wasn't what I wanted from the premise, which maybe means my review isn't all that fair, but these are just my honest thoughts.
The positives: it pulled me in quickly and kept maintaining my interest throughout, the characters talked and behaved like real teenagers, the friend group was very wholesome, very positive depiction of a variety of LGBT+ characters, the main character learns a lot of important lessons and becomes someone who would actually make a really good role model to teens and kids, and even though I found it kind of mediocre, I don't regret reading it.
The main reason for my star reading being so in the middle is that this book isn't what I wanted it to be. I wanted it to really feel like the protagonist was a musician and get all the knowledge and habits that come with it, which didn't happen. The depiction of her being a drummer could have been substituted for any other instrument. I also wanted to feel the awe and terror that comes with a character becoming famous so young and feel the adrenaline of the band playing huge live shows, to really feel the process of songwriting and recording and the collaborative process. This was touched on a little, but I didn't feel it on a visceral level. And I kept getting thrown out of the story because the band is supposed to be a punk band and yet none of the lyrics and descriptions of the music we were shown made them feel like a punk band – they felt more like a pop group or a pop-punk band at the heaviest. I know, I know, it's very pedantic of me, but it was a thing that kept popping up and throwing me out of the story/irritating me.
I wanted more subtlety and nuance. The morality and behaviour of the antagonists felt very black and white. I'm not sure if this was a problem with this author or if it's more due to the age of the target audience for this book – I don't often read Young Adult books so I'm sure which it is. Sometimes I felt like sometimes the author would be speaking through the characters on things like queer issues and sexism, things that felt paraphrased from online spaces rather than being that character's own individual take on it.
I did finish this and enjoyed reading (well, listening to) it, I was just disappointed that the story wasn't what I wanted from the premise, which maybe means my review isn't all that fair, but these are just my honest thoughts.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, and Car accident
Minor: Biphobia, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, and Transphobia