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A review by elliizzzabeth
Autoboyography by Christina Lauren
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Very interesting read. It was good but not overwhelmingly amazing. If you get a lot of second hand embarrassment then you probably won't like the first half. It is a lot of Tanner writing about how hot he thinks Sebastian is, and then a presumed straight and homophobic Sebastian reading it. How Tanner doesn't curl up and die every time this happens is beyond me. Also I can't tell if its because the authors are romance writers or because the protagonist is a teenage boy but this kid is Horny. Every two sentences he's fantasising about about getting Sebastian's kit off. Which again brings me to ask: how is he not more embarrassed Sebastian reads this stuff? I was glad the book moved to the romance quickly without dragging out a big 'will they won't they' and that there wasn't some awful outing scene (at least not on screen).
The penultimate chapter is a strange shift from first person to third person. The audiobook version I listened to had an interview section at the end and the authors said this was a deliberate switch from Tanner's book draft to 'real life' but it was still jarring. Honestly when I read it I thought it was the other way around and we were now reading Tanner's idealised ending to the book. It was an odd choice for sure, especially as it goes back to first person for the epilogue which doesn't fit with the 'you were reading his manuscript' view. I wish it had all stayed in first person and it had been left open whether this was Tanner's draft or not.
Overall not groundbreaking in terms of writing but it was a good exploration of Mormonism and discovering your sexuality within the church. Especially topical with all the shit that BYU is pulling with their honor code at the moment.
The penultimate chapter is a strange shift from first person to third person. The audiobook version I listened to had an interview section at the end and the authors said this was a deliberate switch from Tanner's book draft to 'real life' but it was still jarring. Honestly when I read it I thought it was the other way around and we were now reading Tanner's idealised ending to the book. It was an odd choice for sure, especially as it goes back to first person for the epilogue which doesn't fit with the 'you were reading his manuscript' view. I wish it had all stayed in first person and it had been left open whether this was Tanner's draft or not.
Overall not groundbreaking in terms of writing but it was a good exploration of Mormonism and discovering your sexuality within the church. Especially topical with all the shit that BYU is pulling with their honor code at the moment.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia, Homophobia, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Death of parent