Reviews

Both Sides Now by Peyton Thomas

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angelamarieks's review

5.0

Both Sides Now by Peyton Thomas
Overall rating: 5/5
Characters: 6/5 (I don't care if that's not a rating I can do what I want)
Writing: 5/5
Plot: 5/5
Pacing: 5/5

Huge thanks to Penguin Teen for the ARC!

As soon as I saw the synopsis of this book I knew I had to read it, and I had a feeling I was going to love it. (Spoiler alert - I did)

I fell head over heels in love with all of the characters (except you Bailey. I hate you). One of my pet peeves with books written about high school students is that they’re not very realistic - sometimes authors drop sooo many cultural references to make the characters seem hip and young and it always falls flat. But these characters seem so real it felt like I was looking through a portal to an actual high school with real people and real events. These kids are high schoolers, and Thomas shows us exactly that - they’re not perfect people and they each come with flaws. They’re figuring out who they are and what they want and they don’t always do or say the right thing. Every single side character is a developed and complex individual with their own dreams and goals. No matter what they're always there to support and uplift each other, and the love this group (Jonah, Ruby, Adwoa, & Ruby) has for Finch is so unconditional and beautiful.

Finch is such a beautiful main character. He’s not a “chosen one YA protagnist” with unstoppable skills and strength - he’s just human. Seeing him find his inner strength and voice while battling all the obstacles the world is throwing his way was the highlight of my week. He's such a brave person and has no fears about standing up for others and doing the right thing. Obviously, I don’t want to give any spoilers, but the ending to this book had me in tears. It definitely was not what I was expecting at all but it wrapped up Finch’s story so perfectly.

I thought this book was a beautiful look into the trans experience, but I’m cis so I can’t speak to how “real” the trans rep is. However, the Asian rep and experience in this story was so genuine that it felt like this book was giving me a warm hug. (MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD SPOILERS AHEAD) Seeing Jonah finally get the courage to but Bailey in his place was AMAZING and I had the biggest smile on my face reading that scene. I feel like Bailey’s microaggressions and the little comments he makes are so much more common than we think, and I’m so glad that he was eventually called out on them. (END SPOILERS)

I always have to talk about pacing a little because it's a huge thing for me (if a book starts off slow I immediately like it a little less - I have the attention span of a squirrel and I must be ENTERTAINED). It's semi-rare that I can sit down with a book and then not want to move until I've finished, but this was one of those books. It was one of those books where you actually lose track of time when you get into it - I think I started around 3pm and when I finished I looked outside and the stars were out. There were no dull moments, no chapters that I had to force myself to get through. In fact, I was racing through certain sections because I couldn't wait to see how the plot unfolded.

I think this is the longest review I've ever written but I don't care because I honestly don’t know how to express how much I loved this book. It was a beautiful story with perfectly imperfect characters that you won’t be able to stop thinking about. Both Sides Now will make you smile, cry, scream, and cry again. PLEASE buy it when it comes out and I promise you will not regret it. I'm even going to buy it when it comes out just so I can have a physical copy of it. If I'm spending my money buying a book I've already read I think it's a sign you should too.

Overall: funny, realistic, & relatable characters, fast pacing, beautiful story
Read if you like: romance, LGBTQ+ stories, Red White & Royal Blue, political stories, & literally anything else because I promise you that you’ll like it no mater what

thebookberrie's review

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What kind of fucking weird racist shit did I stumble into??? Absolutely not. You're done you're done.

eldritchreader's review

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Trigger warnings:

Spoiler

Transmisia, misgendering, homomisia, racism & racial slurs, sexism & misogynistic slurs, ableism, alcohol consumption

I will be transparent and state that my original reading of this book was something I found enjoyable. However, since then I have read a lot of criticism about the way race, Semitic, and some queer discussions were handled that have led me to choose to not rate or further promote this book. I do not know where I stand on this discussion, but I also recognise that it is largely not my place as a white, cis-gendered person to comment on the way certain experiences are portrayed and handled.

I do think that there is a discussion here about whether a story is problematic or whether a character is simply portrayed as problematic. They are not one and the same. However, I will be blunt and say that I am not sure where this book lies in this discussion.

Please, look to other reviews posted here on Goodreads, and other platforms, from POC, queer, and Semitic reviewers. They are the voices we should be hearing in this discussion.

Note: Review copy received from NetGalley. This does not impact opinions within this review.

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peach_lily's review

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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

3.0

The main character is pretty annoy especially at the beginning, and the racism is literally the worst part of most books I’ve read if that makes any sense. Besides all that, it’s pretty good and relatable on a level.