laingley's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
emmascout's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
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
3.5
sapphosgirlfriend's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
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? It's complicated
3.5
Such a cute book, exactly the kind of read I needed!
claire60's review
3.0
Two young women are encouraged to write to each other as part of a school pen pal project, one is gay and the other confused, one lives in San Francisco and the other is uber conservative Orange county. As they navigate a friendship and work out just how honest they can be with each other and those around them, their story has interesting twists and scary moments. Set in 1977/8 it also neatly includes bisexuality, the emergence of punk music, the important LGBT history of Harvey Milk and the fight against Prop 6 and Anita Bryant.
With thanks to net galley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.
With thanks to net galley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.
zoepagereader's review against another edition
5.0
I really loved this book! The twists and turns were so fun, and I felt invested in every character. I read another book by Robin Talley, and I felt both books had a rushed ending, but this one’s ending was so much worse. It was so sudden, there was no closure. Some chapters would have been better if they were told from both characters’ perspectives. But it’s still a pick because this was a real page-turner.
hanhantap's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Hate crime
Moderate: Outing
Minor: Sexual assault
mrmarshall591's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
relaxing
sad
tense
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Lesbophobia, Outing, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Biphobia, Child abuse, and Misogyny
Minor: Alcohol, Violence, and Vomit
beth79's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
relaxing
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
kaceychilvers's review against another edition
5.0
In 1970s California, two girls are assigned a pen pal to write to over the summer.
Tammy is gay, living in Orange County with a traditional family and an anti-LGBT aunt who would ruin Tammy's life if she ever found out.
Despite living in San Fransisco, Sharon's upbringing isn't too different from Tammy's. Her brother is gay and she doesn't know how her mother would react but on instinct, she's keeping quiet.
I was initially skeptical about the format - the story is told exclusively through letters (letters to each other, Sharon's diary entries and Tammy's letters to Harvey Milk) - but it gives the story an intimate feel like this is a moment caught in time.
Two queer tropes I hate are sad gay stories and historical gay stories. This story has both but Talley approaches both in the best way possible. The setting of 1977 California with the presence of Harvey Milk is a moment in history we don't hear nearly enough about and it helps to balance out discriminatory hardships with hope and cautious optimism (simultaneously addressing both my issues).
If you are a fan of Nina LaCour and Patrick Ness, you will love the adorable coziness of this novel.
Tammy is gay, living in Orange County with a traditional family and an anti-LGBT aunt who would ruin Tammy's life if she ever found out.
Despite living in San Fransisco, Sharon's upbringing isn't too different from Tammy's. Her brother is gay and she doesn't know how her mother would react but on instinct, she's keeping quiet.
I was initially skeptical about the format - the story is told exclusively through letters (letters to each other, Sharon's diary entries and Tammy's letters to Harvey Milk) - but it gives the story an intimate feel like this is a moment caught in time.
Two queer tropes I hate are sad gay stories and historical gay stories. This story has both but Talley approaches both in the best way possible. The setting of 1977 California with the presence of Harvey Milk is a moment in history we don't hear nearly enough about and it helps to balance out discriminatory hardships with hope and cautious optimism (simultaneously addressing both my issues).
If you are a fan of Nina LaCour and Patrick Ness, you will love the adorable coziness of this novel.
liralen's review against another edition
3.0
I didn't realise until I started reading this that—and obviously this is not the book's fault—I really, really wanted it to have a huge roller derby element. Somehow the cover read (still reads) roller derby to me.
Instead we have Tammy and Sharon, two Catholic teenagers in the late 1970s who are paired for a pen pal project. One of them (I can't remember who is who) lives with her mother and her (gay) brother, and writes a journal, and the other is a lesbian herself, writes to Harvey Milk, and is under the thumb of her evil religious aunt who is evil and religious.
I'm always curious about 70s-setting books, but the epistolary nature of this one didn't work so well for me. The letters never quite rung true to me (they're so earnest and honest with each other as strangers...and also, I couldn't tell their voices apart), and I eventually concluded that any author writing epistolary novels should be required to write the first drafts by hand (exceptions can be made for novels in email form, but that does not apply here). How many people do you know who routinely hand-write twenty-page letters? I am one of the very few people I know who still routinely writes (long!) snail-mail letters at all, and depending on paper size, even a four-pager can be a doozy. (I remember reading a Princess Diaries book in which Mia routinely writes, like, forty pages a day, and I just...even on the Camino, when I filled up a composition book in a little over a month, an eight-page day was a hand-cramping stretch.)
Aaaand on that note, I'm off to stick a three-page mini–soap opera of a letter in the post. (Roller derby was well and truly established by the 70s, wasn't it? Wouldn't a queer 70s roller derby team be fun to read about?)
Instead we have Tammy and Sharon, two Catholic teenagers in the late 1970s who are paired for a pen pal project. One of them (I can't remember who is who) lives with her mother and her (gay) brother, and writes a journal, and the other is a lesbian herself, writes to Harvey Milk, and is under the thumb of her evil religious aunt who is evil and religious.
I'm always curious about 70s-setting books, but the epistolary nature of this one didn't work so well for me. The letters never quite rung true to me (they're so earnest and honest with each other as strangers...and also, I couldn't tell their voices apart), and I eventually concluded that any author writing epistolary novels should be required to write the first drafts by hand (exceptions can be made for novels in email form, but that does not apply here). How many people do you know who routinely hand-write twenty-page letters? I am one of the very few people I know who still routinely writes (long!) snail-mail letters at all, and depending on paper size, even a four-pager can be a doozy. (I remember reading a Princess Diaries book in which Mia routinely writes, like, forty pages a day, and I just...even on the Camino, when I filled up a composition book in a little over a month, an eight-page day was a hand-cramping stretch.)
Aaaand on that note, I'm off to stick a three-page mini–soap opera of a letter in the post. (Roller derby was well and truly established by the 70s, wasn't it? Wouldn't a queer 70s roller derby team be fun to read about?)