Reviews with content warning for Vomit - The Boy from the Mish

This book was really good. I only brought it down because the writing was a little choppy and I didn’t particularly see clearly the change in Jackson from not having feelings to having feelings (this is just a personal thing)

Other than that it’s a beautiful story and can be very informative about the characters Aboriginal culture and the complexity of struggling with personal identity and keeping community.

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theoreads's review against another edition

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hopeful reflective medium-paced

4.25

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lena_and_her_books's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

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kayden__reads's review against another edition

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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

4.5

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khakipantsofsex's review against another edition

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hopeful fast-paced

Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

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emily_mh's review against another edition

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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

4.25

This was a lovely romance. Jackson and Tomas were incredibly sweet together, and I loved seeing the character development they both went through. Not only that but Lonesborough captures the Australian summer SO. PERFECTLY. I was transported, and actually felt a little homesick for a place I rarely feel homesick for.

There were just a couple of things that brought the rating down. The first is that I felt the narrative needed a bit more structure. The second is that it wasn’t clear from the beginning that Jackson had been questioning his sexuality since he was 12 - I think that giving this information earlier would have given better context to the overall story, and made his exploration of his sexuality feel less like it came out of nowhere.

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foreverinastory's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad slow-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

Thank you to Pride Book Tours and Scholastic for a finished copy in exchange for an honest review and promotion. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this one. Made me so soft.

Ready When You Are is the US publication of The Boy from the Mish. It's the story of young Jackson, an Aboriginal Australian young man. He's finished his second to last year of high school and he doesn't know if he'll go back after the summer break. When his family comes to visit for Christmas, he doesn't expect Tomas, a boy his auntie is looking after. The two are forced to spend time together and as they begin to open up to each other, they both realize there might something different than friendship between them.

This was a really beautiful story of questioning and coming out. Jackson has so many factors he has to consider before he can even think about coming out. His culture is not outwardly homophobic, but the fear of being shut out is hard to overcome in a small group where there are almost zero queer people. This story really shows how much damage queer invisibility can do. There are so many invisible obstacles and having no one as a role model can make it even harder.

I'm really glad I read this book because I loved getting a look in Aboriginal culture and history. Jackson's culture and identity is important to him. He spends time in his Koori men's group and seeing spaces like this was amazing. The world needs more spaces like this for marginalized groups, especially groups with intersectional identities. I loved seeing Jackson connect to his people and traditions through stories and art.

Jackson and Tomas's relationship was so well developed. Both of them are unsure of each other and themselves, but I loved seeing them navigate it together. The ending was a bit sad and emotional but there was so much hope for the future. I hope we get more stories like this and ones with queer Aboriginal characters achieving their dreams or in SFF stories!

Aboriginal Australian (Koori) gay-questioning male MC, Aboriginal Australian (Koori) gay-questioning male love interest, multiple Aboriginal Australian side characters, white gay male side character.

CWs: Homophobia/homomisia, racism, racial slurs, alcohol consumption (underage), cursing, drug use (marijuana), violence, police brutality, hate crime, colonisation. Moderate: sexual content, outing, vomit, bullying, blood, injury/injury detail. Minor: Alcoholism, addiction, past mentions of domestic abuse, suicidal thoughts, medical content.

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stressejesse's review against another edition

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fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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