fuchsiarascal's review against another edition
5.0
Run, don't walk, to your local library and get this book. Right now.
Paul, a high school sophomore, is openly gay in a town that is very accepting of different sexualities. He understands that this is an anomaly [his best friend, who lives just a town over, does not have things quite so ideally], but he doesn't dwell on it. He accepts that he, and the other residents of his town, are pretty lucky, and then he goes on with his wonderfully gay life. He meets boys, he falls in love, he has ex-boyfriends making things complicated, he messes up. The plot is pretty typical teen romance, actually, except with queer characters everywhere, and written with a whimsy and charm that I fell in love with.
In short, that was absolutely delightful. In a slightly longer take on it, that was absolutely delightful and everyone should read it, and a pox on you if you don't think that queer people should have fluffy teen romance novels like straight people. They don't always have to have a tragic story. Some, I promise, have happy endings! Even in real life! And some actually aren't bullied or tortured [physically or mentally] for being queer. And yet, that's almost all media representation of openly queer characters.
If I made a checklist about all the common tropes that I hate about queer characters in fiction, starting with the lack of bisexuality and ending with, well, always having a tragic ending... I don't think this book would have a single checkmark. Thank you, David Levithan, for finally giving us an alternative. How did it take me ten years to come across this book?
Sure, some may say [and some do, looking at the reviews here] that the town is unbelievable and obviously set in a fantasy world. [And that's a bad thing? Ha!] Maybe, but I find its touch of unbelievability to be in the quirky and whimsy aspects of the town rather than its unwavering acceptance of queer people. There's a video store that only rents out VHS and organizes its selection in a bizarre manner, and it thrives. There's an "I Scream" parlor that plays horror movies while you wait. Everyone shows up to the high school pep rally and enjoys it. The local franchise of a burger joint went out of business and was replaced by a vegetarian restaurant. Sure, I'm positive that all of these still exist somewhere in America [if the ice cream parlor doesn't, I demand that it happens soon; I can attest that the burger-joint-turned-veggie at least happened where I went to college], but they probably don't all exist in the same town. But they do in this book, and I love it.
I listened to the audiobook, which was my first full cast experience, and it was fantastic. Piano played you out between scenes and chapters, and all the voice actors did a great job. There were a few editing choices that I'd make differently [thoughts in Paul's head, for example, have an echo put on them which I didn't like] but they didn't diminish my overall love of the book at all. Plus, the audiobook has an extra "chapter" at the end where the director talks to two of the voice actors, fresh out of high school, and a voice actress, still a sophomore, about their own experiences compared to the book. The audiobook is definitely recommended if you're into that sort of thing.
Paul, a high school sophomore, is openly gay in a town that is very accepting of different sexualities. He understands that this is an anomaly [his best friend, who lives just a town over, does not have things quite so ideally], but he doesn't dwell on it. He accepts that he, and the other residents of his town, are pretty lucky, and then he goes on with his wonderfully gay life. He meets boys, he falls in love, he has ex-boyfriends making things complicated, he messes up. The plot is pretty typical teen romance, actually, except with queer characters everywhere, and written with a whimsy and charm that I fell in love with.
In short, that was absolutely delightful. In a slightly longer take on it, that was absolutely delightful and everyone should read it, and a pox on you if you don't think that queer people should have fluffy teen romance novels like straight people. They don't always have to have a tragic story. Some, I promise, have happy endings! Even in real life! And some actually aren't bullied or tortured [physically or mentally] for being queer. And yet, that's almost all media representation of openly queer characters.
If I made a checklist about all the common tropes that I hate about queer characters in fiction, starting with the lack of bisexuality and ending with, well, always having a tragic ending... I don't think this book would have a single checkmark. Thank you, David Levithan, for finally giving us an alternative. How did it take me ten years to come across this book?
Sure, some may say [and some do, looking at the reviews here] that the town is unbelievable and obviously set in a fantasy world. [And that's a bad thing? Ha!] Maybe, but I find its touch of unbelievability to be in the quirky and whimsy aspects of the town rather than its unwavering acceptance of queer people. There's a video store that only rents out VHS and organizes its selection in a bizarre manner, and it thrives. There's an "I Scream" parlor that plays horror movies while you wait. Everyone shows up to the high school pep rally and enjoys it. The local franchise of a burger joint went out of business and was replaced by a vegetarian restaurant. Sure, I'm positive that all of these still exist somewhere in America [if the ice cream parlor doesn't, I demand that it happens soon; I can attest that the burger-joint-turned-veggie at least happened where I went to college], but they probably don't all exist in the same town. But they do in this book, and I love it.
I listened to the audiobook, which was my first full cast experience, and it was fantastic. Piano played you out between scenes and chapters, and all the voice actors did a great job. There were a few editing choices that I'd make differently [thoughts in Paul's head, for example, have an echo put on them which I didn't like] but they didn't diminish my overall love of the book at all. Plus, the audiobook has an extra "chapter" at the end where the director talks to two of the voice actors, fresh out of high school, and a voice actress, still a sophomore, about their own experiences compared to the book. The audiobook is definitely recommended if you're into that sort of thing.
asche_dasche's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
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
3.75
gilgulita's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
readerchey's review against another edition
4.0
I’m actually giving 3.5 stars and mostly because of how cute the story was
_beanastronaut_'s review against another edition
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
thereadingwren's review against another edition
5.0
5/5
I've read this book half a dozen times in my life and claimed it was my favourite book of all time, it was also the first queer book I ever read. It means a lot to me. Then I didn't read it for a decade for fear that it wouldn't be as special now that I have been exposed to the wide wonders of LGBTQIAP2S+ books.
NEVER FEAR BECAUSE THIS BOOK IS STILL FANTASTIC!!!!
The writing is stunning, so lyrical and wonderous but still based in reality. I adore the concept of everyone is queer and it's the norm, but even if it is normalised it's still not easy being queer. I adore the relationships, both romantic and platonic as well as the relationship with oneself.
I have always remembered the painting music scene and it's still as fantastical and whimsical as always.
This book means everything to me and will always have a special place in my heart. I plan on rereading this book every year until I die.
I've read this book half a dozen times in my life and claimed it was my favourite book of all time, it was also the first queer book I ever read. It means a lot to me. Then I didn't read it for a decade for fear that it wouldn't be as special now that I have been exposed to the wide wonders of LGBTQIAP2S+ books.
NEVER FEAR BECAUSE THIS BOOK IS STILL FANTASTIC!!!!
The writing is stunning, so lyrical and wonderous but still based in reality. I adore the concept of everyone is queer and it's the norm, but even if it is normalised it's still not easy being queer. I adore the relationships, both romantic and platonic as well as the relationship with oneself.
I have always remembered the painting music scene and it's still as fantastical and whimsical as always.
This book means everything to me and will always have a special place in my heart. I plan on rereading this book every year until I die.
clarabvrd's review against another edition
5.0
i read this so fast i really loved it!! So comforting! Bought it in 2014 when i was confused about my sexuality so i wish i read it at that time
finalgirlfall's review against another edition
4.0
this book was sweet. all of the characters were very accepting, which seemed rather unrealistic, but as levithan said in his author's note, it could be realistic someday. i hope that someday all of america, if not all the world, will be as accepting as the people of the fictional town in which paul and noah live.
gabydeppe's review against another edition
5.0
This book brought put so many feels. It was better than I expected and easy to read. Definitely worth the read!