Book Review – ‘Jay’s Gay Agenda’ by Jason June

An #ownvoices story that missed the mark.

Genre: Y/A, Contemporary, Romance, LGBT+

No. of pages: 368

There’s one thing Jay Collier knows for sure—he’s a statistical anomaly as the only out gay kid in his small rural Washington town. While all this friends can’t stop talking about their heterosexual hookups and relationships, Jay can only dream of his own firsts, compiling a romance to-do list of all the things he hopes to one day experience—his Gay Agenda.

Then, against all odds, Jay’s family moves to Seattle and he starts his senior year at a new high school with a thriving LGBTQIA+ community. For the first time ever, Jay feels like he’s found where he truly belongs, where he can flirt with Very Sexy Boys and search for love. But as Jay begins crossing items off his list, he’ll soon be torn between his heart and his hormones, his old friends and his new ones…because after all, life and love don’t always go according to plan.

This is cute and adorable, I liked the frank representation of sex and some of the spectrum of the LGBTQIA+ community. But for an #ownvoices author to write a story about a gay character where his entire story was about being gay in a sea of community members screaming that gay characters are more than the sexuality, that there is nuance, other motivations… and it was addressed in this novel, but it just left me with a big, disappointed sigh. If you removed all the talk about sex, or the actual chapters of sexual activity, this novel would be lucky to be 50 pages long. It just felt like it took up too much of the plot and left me somewhat bored.

Our protagonist Jay has a decent character arc, but from thinking him cute in the first few chapters to completely disliking him by the end of the novel is some achievement. I question a lot of Jay’s actions and decisions… and to be frank, there are some issues about sexual responsibility, trust, and honesty that are glazed over for the sake of making this a light fluffy romance.

I felt like we could have gotten more development on all of the characters – I don’t feel like I really got to know them properly.

This story was very predictable, and for me, not in a good way. I would have preferred a different ending.

Jason June’s writing style is pleasant and I really enjoyed their flow and humour… I just felt like the story needed a bit more dimension, some subtext, and not such a prominent role of sex in the storyline – it removed some realism for me.

Also it felt like the author wrote themselves into the story in the form of Max, and once I saw it, I couldn’t shake it. I don’t know if I appreciated the representation, or found it cheesy.

I have noticed that Jason June has put up that a sequel in coming on Goodreads. I’m not sure how eager I am to continue with this series – we’ll have to see what kind of story they intend to tell. If it is more of a redemption arc for Jay, I may give this author a second try.

‘Jay’s Gay Agenda‘ was cute. Don’t necessarily agree with some of the messages it was sending. I don’t think I would recommend this one.

Overall feeling: What a let down.

© Casey Carlisle 2023. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Casey Carlisle with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Book Review – ‘The Friend Scheme’ by Cale Dietrich

The Sopranos with queer protagonists.

Genre: YA, Thriller, Contemporary, Romance, LGBTIA+

No. of pages: 346

High schooler Matt’s father is rich, powerful, and seemingly untouchable—a criminal with high hopes that his son will follow in his footsteps. Matt’s older brother Luke seems poised to do just that, with a bevy of hot girls in tow. But Matt has other ambitions—and attractions.

And attraction sometimes doesn’t allow for good judgement. Matt wouldn’t have guessed that when he makes a new friend, one who is also carrying a secret. The boys’ connection turns romantic, a first for both. Now Matt must decide if he can ever do the impossible and come clean about who he really is, and who he is meant to love.

‘The Friend Scheme’ brought all the angst and coming out vibes alive on the page. A mob family and a masculine and toxic environment don’t make the best place when Matt starts having feelings for another boy. But Matt is used to keeping secrets – but is it time to start revealing truths in order to get close to Jason… it’s a big decision and Matt with have to dig deep to find the courage if he wants to find love.

There was something about this though that kept me from being fully absorbed into the story; and it took me a while afterwards reflecting on the book to pinpoint what it was… Matt is a member of a criminal family, and this involves murder, a protection racket, and a war with competing family over controlling parts of the city (who deal in drugs). It was how Matt seems to have morals and does not want to be a part of this lifestyle, and yet the hard questions about the consequences, beliefs and integrity of these criminal actions aren’t really addressed. They are mostly in the background or ignored in favour of Matt dealing with his friendships. I felt Matt was so isolated from the reality of his families actions, from the real world that it kept something inside me squirming. I guess I was indignant and wanted him to scream from the rooftops about all the injustice. That by his actions he is complicit in all the corruption and illegal activity.

You can say that he is effectively innocent, and that he doesn’t know any different having grown up in that environment, but I just feel his character is painted in a way that is contra to that life. He was too passive. And in that vein ‘The Friend Scheme’ felt like it was a bit of a fantasy scenario for the sake of the romance.

Even love interest Jason is some too-perfect hunky guy that is chasing after Matt.

All of this does bring up some important themes about organised crime and how Matt is practically held hostage through loyalty, and maybe even the threat of death. There is also a lot of toxic masculinity woven into the family culture that prevented me from really getting into ‘The Friend Scheme,’ half the time I wanted to reach into the book and either throttle or swing an uppercut at the ignorant cast.

All of these things felt a bit triggering about the type of discrimination gay youth have faced.

There is some lovely character development for Matt, but as I mentioned, his role felt passive; this story was so focused on the romance that I felt like his character was done a bit of a disservice. He could have been given a greater opportunity for growth, forming stronger ideals in the face of the extreme challenges his family posed. Plus there was a bit of that privileged white man thing going on – and that privilege, the money they have, was all blackmailed from hard-working family businesses. It’s not easy to deduce that ‘The Friend Scheme’ really had me standing on the soapbox over so many injustices and ignored issues.

I will say that Cale Dietrich has such an endearing writing style, it shows vulnerability and really drags out the feels for the protagonist. I had several moments where my eyes filled with water or I got pins and needles. There are some great little plot twists that kept me engaged too. They weren’t completely a surprise, but definitely a delight.

I was a little conflicted about the attitude of sex around our protagonist. I like how it is sex-positive and safe in nature, but it didn’t feel like it was coming from a built up place of love and affection; more a casual lusty encounter – which for first times, and the angst that was built up didn’t quite ring true for me. Especially for such a romance-centric storyline.

This was a fun read, I would have liked to seen Cale Dietrich tackle some of the heavier issues presented in the narrative through Matts eyes, but other than that it reads like a cute wish-fulfilment scenario that I would happily recommend.

Overall feeling: *bats eyelashes*

© Casey Carlisle 2023. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Casey Carlisle with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Book Review – ‘The Fascinators’ by Andrew Eliopulos

Outlawed magic, a group of teens, and a new romance…

Genre: Y/A, Fantasy, Romance, LGBT

No. of pages: 352

Living in a small town where magic is frowned upon, Sam needs his friends James and Delia—and their time together in their school’s magic club—to see him through to graduation.

But as soon as senior year starts, little cracks in their group begin to show. Sam may or may not be in love with James. Delia is growing more frustrated with their amateur magic club. And James reveals that he got mixed up with some sketchy magickers over the summer, putting a target on all their backs.

With so many fault lines threatening to derail his hopes for the year, Sam is forced to face the fact that the very love of magic that brought his group together is now tearing them apart—and there are some problems that no amount of magic can fix.

A small town gay romance with outlawed magic thrown in – this sounds like such a great premise and definitely roped me in. Especially the dreamy cover art!

The blurb sounded really exciting… the execution of the story was somewhat lack lustre. I found the pacing slow throughout, and the climax – well there was no climax. I’m still scratching my head trying to decipher what this story was all about. It reads like just a bit of a story, an instalment in a series. But given this story was so long, and not a lot happened, and the ending was kinda… blah. Well I just don’t see myself investing in this any further even if it does franchise. The characters weren’t particularly interesting. They all felt fairly vanilla.

We start off for the majority of the book following Sam’s POV but in the second half we get small chapters or paragraphs from other random characters POV’s – it came out of nowhere and flew in the face of what had already been established as the mode of storytelling. It was a little jarring at first.

The writing style is nice. But I often found my mind wondering while I was reading, and when I snapped back to reality to find I’d completed a page, only to have to re-read it to find out what I missed… that’s not a great sign. I needed richer prose, better world building, some angst and tension in the characters that drive the plot forward. There were elements of all of this, and I feel if this book had been more heavily edited it would have met the brief. It has a lovely feel about it, but on the whole a tad waffly.

I can see the potential of Andrew Eliopulos, but I feel ‘The Fascinators’ would have performed better from a heavier hand in a developmental edit to make the plot more explosive and really jump from the page, and a content edit to help reduce superfluous words and let the characters and world building shine.

I want to say this was a very predictable story – but I can’t. It doesn’t feel finished. It has to be the biggest disappointment for an end to a novel I’ve read in a very long time. I did not get a sense of completion, or of hope; instead I was flipping through those last pages wondering if there was something I had missed.

I’m sorry but this is one book I won’t be recommending to my friends. They would feel as despondent as I am. Which is such a shame. Eliopulos has all the tools to be a great storyteller, but this one just needed a little more work.

Overall feeling: Where’s the rest?

© Casey Carlisle 2023. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Casey Carlisle with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Book Review – ‘We Contain Multitudes’ by Sarah Henstra

A tumultuous romance between a 15 year old and an 18 year old with a plethora of trigger warnings.

Genre: Y/A, Contemporary, Romance, LGBT

No. of pages: 377

Jonathan Hopkirk and Adam “Kurl” Kurlansky are partnered in English class, writing letters to one another in a weekly pen pal assignment. With each letter, the two begin to develop a friendship that eventually grows into love. But with homophobia, bullying, and devastating family secrets, Jonathan and Kurl struggle to overcome their conflicts and hold onto their relationship…and each other.

I have mixed emotions about this book. The events that happen are truly shocking and really pack a punch to my heart. But I wasn’t sold on the delivery… letter writing is fine, but there was something about the style of the writing; how many of the letters were repeated snippets of conversation, or moments spent together for no other reason than to inform the reader. There was no relevance to the characters, their motivation, or the environment to carry this out. Plus even though I’m not a huge fan of poetry, I can appreciate it, but the continual references to Walt Whitman and his works come across as a little ostentatious, and I had a hard time believing its effects on the main characters.

The story is compelling, and the writing style is definitely engaging. There were parts where I could not put the book down, and others where it was difficult to read (because of the content.) I was a little confronted with all of the sex – I can see a couple of scenes being relevant for the developing storyline, but the rest felt gratuitous. Plus the actions described in some did not feel particularly passionate or enjoyable in my own personal tastes. I also took issue with some of the latter events in the story – I mean if felt implausible.

It also felt like there was something in the water and everyone was on crazy pills. Some realism and common sense would have gone a long way. It’s like their reality was warped through the romanticism of Walt Whitman’s poetry. A lens that didn’t quite make sense in context.

Some of the character choices really rubbed me the wrong way – challenged my sense of trust, so the ending of the book left a rotten taste in my mouth. Even having said that, ‘We Contain Multitudes’ is an intriguing read – a little pretentious, but I enjoyed how it affected me deeply and brought out so many emotions. It tells a tale of something that has a great plot and interesting characters.

There are a number of trigger warnings for this novel – abuse, assault, bullying, homophobia, PTSD, drug use, death, grief, loss, sex, dysfunctional families… like I mentioned earlier, at times this was a difficult read. That’s why I’m of two minds, It did not really feel like it was written to a YA demographic, but more to an adult audience who enjoys YA. There are a lot of themes, literary subtext, and trigger warnings that bring me concern. As a high school teacher I can confidently say that half of my students would have difficulty grasping the full meaning of this novel.

Told in alternating perspectives through the medium of letters, our protagonists Jo and Kurl are both flawed and had a habit of dumping something big on the reader (and on each other) and then ignoring it until they are forced to deal with things. It felt as though they made a cry for help and then did nothing. That frustrated me no end.

I was a bit uncomfortable that it was an 18yo and a 15yo in a sexual relationship… legally that is paedophilia.

As with the mixed feelings I have over ‘We Contain Multitudes,’ so too do I have over recommending it. It’s not for all readers, I had issues with the form and function of the delivery; and yet it was compelling, drags out some raw emotion, and is a traffic accident in the nicest way. So I’ll just say… maybe?

Overall feeling: A car crash you can’t look away from.

© Casey Carlisle 2023. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Casey Carlisle with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Book Review – ‘The Fell of Dark’ by Caleb Roehrig

A paranormal romance with vampires that totally breaks the mould… it surprised me!

Genre: Y/A, Paranormal, Romance, LGBT+

No. of pages: 384

The only thing August Pfeiffer hates more than algebra is living in a vampire town. Located at a nexus of mystical energy fields, Fulton Heights is practically an electromagnet for supernatural drama. And when a mysterious (and annoyingly hot) vampire boy arrives with a cryptic warning, Auggie suddenly finds himself at the center of it. An ancient and terrible power is returning to the earthly realm, and somehow Auggie seems to be the only one who can stop it.

I was dubious going into this novel. Another vampire novel… I cringed a bit, but my friends had told me it was good. And ‘The Fell of Dark’ definitely surprised me. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. It delivers the same tone as Buffy the Vampire Slayer with sassy characters, twisty plots, scary bad guys: and the only way to get through is for the protagonist to trust their instincts.

Auggie was such an endearing character, I fell in love with the protagonist in the first chapter. And the writing style, combined with the plot reveals lead you in one direction and then flip you upside down. I really enjoyed this so much, I was kept on my toes the entire novel. We get bits of info dumping which I can excuse, because we needed context and back story – but maybe a different approach could have been more effective. But given how long this novel is, maybe it was for the best. Even though the story is only 384 pages long, the font is smaller than your average YA, and I think if the typesetting and formatting matched that of an average YA, the page count would have easily doubled.

‘The Fell of Dark’ is one reveal after another leaving Auggie scrambling to keep his feet on the ground. There is character development galore here, and character motivations coming to light – it is truly a delicious read – cute boy angst aside.

This is my first read from Caleb Roehrig, but it has made me an instant fan. I love his writing style and quirky sense of humour (and how he can craft a story) I’m already eyeing off his back catalogue to see what I can tackle next.

I’d like to say the story is predictable – I mean the notion of it is – but the specifics and the constant re-orientating of the plot made it nearly impossible for me to figure things out. It’s the kind of read I like – one that keeps me on my toes.

There is a little bit of stupidity coming from Auggie, like he is just stumbling through the story at times, but it fits with the character and his age. (And his lustiness for cute boys) Until he starts seeing the ramifications of this thoughtlessness… A really strong recommendation from me.

                                                                            Overall feeling: An unexpected delight!  

© Casey Carlisle 2023. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Casey Carlisle with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Book Review – ‘The Sky Blues’ by Robbie Couch

A story about resilience and first love…

Genre: Y/A, Contemporary, Romance, LGBT

No. of pages: 328

Sky Baker may be openly gay, but in his small, insular town, making sure he was invisible has always been easier than being himself. Determined not to let anything ruin his senior year, Sky decides to make a splash at his high school’s annual beach bum party by asking his crush, Ali, to prom—and he has thirty days to do it.

What better way to start living loud and proud than by pulling off the gayest promposal Rock Ledge, Michigan, has ever seen?

Then, Sky’s plans are leaked by an anonymous hacker in a deeply homophobic e-blast that quickly goes viral. He’s fully prepared to drop out and skip town altogether—until his classmates give him a reason to fight back by turning his thirty-day promposal countdown into a school-wide hunt to expose the e-blast perpetrator.

But what happens at the end of the thirty days? Will Sky get to keep his hard-won visibility? Or will his small-town blues stop him from being his true self?

I read this in one sitting. It was emotionally compelling… I had tears falling from my eyes so frequently because I was all torn up in the challenges our protagonist Sky was facing. There are moments of hopelessness, of powerlessness, and moments bringing back all of that teenage angst and anxiety. I forgot how that age of high school was living like a guitar string pulled too tight.

We are introduced to Sky as he is reeling from the fact his religious mother has kicked him out of home for being gay while Sky is still grieving for the loss of his father. But luckily he’s landed in a safe place with his bff’s family. Now he’s navigating the rest of high school to a looming graduation, an uncertain future, dodging bullies, and growing the courage to prom-pose to his crush. The build up to the inciting incident was a little long, but I barely noticed it because Robbie Couch’s writing style makes everything so compelling. Sky is all of those teen insecurities we have all felt at one time or another, but with the support of his chosen family and friends, Sky manages to push through all the turmoil.

This is a positive story about endurance, and the realisation that it does get better. Not to be afraid to ask for help from those who truly love and accept you for who you are – because that love is given freely and without conditions. It shows how a chosen family is stronger that some of those blood ties. And the reality of the challenges LGBTQIA+ youth faces when coming to terms with their identity. I loved ‘The Sky Blues,’ it was like the cutest, warmest hug imaginable.

There are a lot of characters in ‘The Sky Blues’ but it was easy to distinguish them all and I never lost track of who was who. Some authors cannot do this so effectively. The stand out aspect of this novel was the friendships. Even though most of the story is discussing Sky and his crush, the friendships are what impacted me the most. Bree and Marshall are the besties I wish I had in my life. But the friendship circle grows as the narrative unfolds to include so many more interesting individuals.

It also challenges perceptions, or preconceived notions we have about people – you never know what someone is about, or going through until you get close to them. You better check those assumptions. And another aspect of behaviour and respect… always be aware of how your words and actions can affect someone else. Be kind, reserve judgement. I know all this sounds preachy, but ‘The Sky Blues’ is anything but, it’s a compassionate snapshot about all of these themes.

I felt I wanted a stronger threat with the romance stakes with Sky, but that’s just a personal preference for my taste in contemporaries. Though, I feel the narrative made sense for the character. And although the book concluded on a positive note and all the plot threads were tied up, I felt it needed a more romantic punch. Again, just the angst-ridden teen in me begging for more. Insatiable and insufferable she it at times.

The overall plot is fairly predictable, but the nuances are surprising, the strength of moral character in the subtext and the strong connection I had with the protagonist are what drives this story more than anything else. It’s a book I’d enthusiastically recommend to all who enjoy this genre.

Overall feeling: Really packed a punch to my heart

© Casey Carlisle 2023. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Casey Carlisle with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Book Review – ‘Love, Creekwood’ (#3.5 Simonverse) by Becky Albertalli

A glimpse into the future of Simon and his pals…

Genre: Y/A, Contemporary, Romance, LGBT

No. of pages: 128

It’s been more than a year since Simon and Blue turned their anonymous online flirtation into an IRL relationship, and just a few months since Abby and Leah’s unforgettable night at senior prom.

Now the Creekwood High crew are first years at different colleges, navigating friendship and romance the way their story began—on email.

I was expecting a novel (because I didn’t read the blurb – I just saw another release in the Simonverse and added to cart,) so when a novella arrived I wasn’t too disappointed. But then to find it’s not entirely a novella, but a collection of emails between the ‘Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda’ cast, it kinda knocked a lot of the joy out of my sails.

Granted we get more Simon goodness and more Leah sarcasm… and get to glimpse into the first year after graduating high school. It’s all adorably cute and fluffy and full of love and dad jokes. But it doesn’t really tell a story. Just a lot of I miss you’s and I love you’s. ‘Love, Creekwood’ is definitely solely for the fans who have read the books (so you know who all the players are.) It does fill in a bit of missing pieces from the novels, the movie and the ‘Love, Victor’ television series.

There’s not a big storyline, and not a heck of a lot of character development. It’s not like you have to read between the lines of the emails, it’s all spelled out for you. I didn’t get any surprises, not laugh out loud moments. And it concluded just as I thought it would.

Yes, I love the saccrine overload that is Bram and Simon; and Abby and Leah. It was great to indulge in those characters again if somewhat briefly. But I think ‘Love, Creekwood’ is just fan service. It would have been so much better if we got more about Simons family, more about the characters plans for the future, discuss some the life lessons they have learned and changed from… kind of where are we now compared to where we came from.

So, this was lovely and interesting, but nothing ground-breaking and essential to the Simonverse.

I’d recommend only for hard-core stans of the Simonverse.

Overall feeling: fun but slightly disappointing.

© Casey Carlisle 2023. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Casey Carlisle with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Book Review – ‘I Wish You All The Best’ by Mason Deaver

Beautifully understated and gorgeously representing minorities.

Genre: Y/A, Contemporary, Romance

No. of pages: 329

When Ben De Backer comes out to their parents as nonbinary, they’re thrown out of their house and forced to move in with their estranged older sister, Hannah, and her husband, Thomas, whom Ben has never even met. Struggling with an anxiety disorder compounded by their parents’ rejection, they come out only to Hannah, Thomas, and their therapist and try to keep a low profile in a new school.

But Ben’s attempts to survive the last half of senior year unnoticed are thwarted when Nathan Allan, a funny and charismatic student, decides to take Ben under his wing. As Ben and Nathan’s friendship grows, their feelings for each other begin to change, and what started as a disastrous turn of events looks like it might just be a chance to start a happier new life.

A beautiful queer romance that brings representation from a close-to-invisible group on the rainbow spectrum, told in an understated but cherished tone that touched my heart.

Loved the representation of a non-binary protagonist and the unique challenges they face. With a quiet-toned storyline and how it matches the tone of the narrative told from protagonist Ben’s perspective. The story did feel slow in pace and took a while to get places. I feel like I wanted more complexity, but in saying that, I don’t think it would have worked with ‘I Wish You All the Best.’

This had a bit of a feeling of educating the reader and not making things too difficult for Ben – even though what they go through is pretty rough… a more realistic approach would’ve been messier and lost the tone ‘I Wish You All the Best’ has. It’s cute, quiet, but resounding. 

Because of this quiet tone – be it from Ben being an introvert, having to protect themselves from hurt and rejection, as well as dealing with mental illness; it made it difficult to relate to them. There was always a distance between Ben and other characters. And a distance with the reader. I think this element was why I wasn’t sold on the romance between Ben and Nathan. I enjoy romances which aren’t afraid to get messy and get down to the bones of character development. This in comparison felt as though it was whispered through a tin can telephone.

There was a bit of repetition that I felt an editor should have addressed which pulled me from the narrative a handful of times. While this is a beautiful story, I did not get that emotional connection I was hoping for.

Overall feeling: Not too shabby

© Casey Carlisle 2023. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Casey Carlisle with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Book Review – ‘Leah on the Offbeat’ (#2 Creekwood) by Becky Albertalli

Another coming out story from the Simonverse… .

Genre: Y/A, Contemporary, Romance, LGBT

No. of pages: 352

Leah Burke—girl-band drummer, master of deadpan, and Simon Spier’s best friend from the award-winning Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda—takes center stage in this novel of first love and senior-year angst.

When it comes to drumming, Leah Burke is usually on beat—but real life isn’t always so rhythmic. An anomaly in her friend group, she’s the only child of a young, single mom, and her life is decidedly less privileged. She loves to draw but is too self-conscious to show it. And even though her mom knows she’s bisexual, she hasn’t mustered the courage to tell her friends—not even her openly gay BFF, Simon.

So Leah really doesn’t know what to do when her rock-solid friend group starts to fracture in unexpected ways. With prom and college on the horizon, tensions are running high. It’s hard for Leah to strike the right note while the people she loves are fighting—especially when she realizes she might love one of them more than she ever intended.

Many of my book friends did not like ‘Leah on the Offbeat’ but I thought it was a comical romp through coming out.

Maybe if so much time hadn’t passed, and I was comparing it to ‘Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda,’ then yes, I would have rated it lower. For this sequel, we follow Leah coming to terms with her bisexuality and crush(es). We get all the comedic timing that was in the debut of this series, though I have to admit our protagonist fell a touch flatter. I think because we never get any deep exploration around the relationship with her mother (and mother’s new boyfriend,) or any resolution to the issues these two share. It’s all very perfunctory. Also, with ‘Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda’ we get how Simon and Bram’s relationship affect the gang – and the larger circle of friends they share. Again, we don’t get this exploration in ‘Leah on the Offbeat.’

Leah is a very private, closed-off, and sarcastic protagonist. She’s confident but self-depreciating. So it makes a bit of sense that the plot is a little reserved. We get teen angst, but it felt understated in comparison to ‘Simon and the Homo Sapiens Agenda,’ but again, it fits the character profile of Leah. I loved how she is sensible. Practical. Considerate of others. Too often in YA we get self-righteous or self-absorbed protagonists who’s character arc is the realisation of their small worldly view, or selfish actions affecting others… not so in ‘Leah on the Offbeat,’ it’s kind of the reverse. Leah learning to take care of herself, and become a little selfish. Letting others in.

It’s a testament to what happens when someone gets bullied for the colour of their skin, their weight, their sexuality, or any other challenge a person may face. They build up walls to protect themselves. In this case, Leah keeps everyone at a distance and deals with the world through sarcasm and dry wit. It’s hard to let people get close to you again because your heart is still in pain from the past.

We get a lot of Simon and Bram and see the progression of their relationship. It fill in the gap between ‘Simon and the Homo Sapiens Agenda’ and the television show ‘Love, Victor.’

‘Leah on the Offbeat’ is easily predictable, falling into the trope contemporaries are famous for, and I’m not mad at it – it’s the reason I picked up the novel in the first place. I’m glad I had left so much distance between reading this and the debut of the series to let it have headspace in its own right. Becky Albertalli has an expert writing style that really gets into the head of an angsty teen facing personal obstacles around love and identity. I would have loved her to delve into the subject of bisexuality and the stigma the label faces in the wider community, or even bring in more support for Leah from the bisexual community in the story.

There are many missed opportunities in the narrative, but overall it was a hilarious tale of a girl overcoming anxiety and embracing her sexuality while on the verge of that tenuous time when we graduate high school and the fear of losing your friendships as everyone scatters into adulthood.

Overall feeling: A little flat, but cute.

© Casey Carlisle 2021. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Casey Carlisle with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Book Review – ‘The Gravity of Us’ by Phil Stamper

The countdown to first love and finding your voice.

Genre: Y/A, Contemporary, Romance, LGBT

No. of pages: 314

As a successful social media journalist with half a million followers, seventeen-year-old Cal is used to sharing his life online. But when his pilot father is selected for a highly publicized NASA mission to Mars, Cal and his family relocate from Brooklyn to Houston and are thrust into a media circus.

Amidst the chaos, Cal meets sensitive and mysterious Leon, another “Astrokid,” and finds himself falling head over heels—fast. As the frenzy around the mission grows, so does their connection. But when secrets about the program are uncovered, Cal must find a way to reveal the truth without hurting the people who have become most important to him.

This book was set out to be a sure-fire hit for me – vlogging and journalism; diversity rep with POC, sexual orientation, and mental illness; general nerdiness around space travel and the race to colonise Mars; all wrapped up in an angsty teen coming of age bow… The concept of ‘The Gravity of Us’ had me from the first line of the blurb.

‘The Gravity of Us’ was a read of mixed feelings for me. Our protagonist, Cal, while rich with journalistic integrity, a passion for his home town Brooklyn, and commitment to best friend Deb, came across a little flat and obnoxious. I had difficulty in relating to him on an emotional level. I admired his ethics and drive for perfection and a career, but there wasn’t enough vulnerability for me to truly empathise with him. Plus he was always justifying himself in the narrative, and it comes off as, well, shallow.

I also didn’t quite blend with Phil Stamper’s writing style. It was sparse in areas where we had a chance to jump into deep emotion of a character, and the romance was all repeated phrases of a more physical reaction. I didn’t feel any deep connection growing between Cal and his love interest Leon. The romance fell real flat for me. Maybe it had something to do with Leon’s struggle with depression and anxiety, but I have read other novels where this struggle can bring the reader closer to the character, but in this case it isolated me to the point that I felt I didn’t really know Leon.

Plot wise ‘The Gravity of Us’ is fantastic. Stamper uses the first person narrative expertly to hide motives from the reader, and reveals plot points slowly throughout the novel, twisting this way and that. With interspersed chapters of Shooting Stars episodes (The NASA reality show around the astronauts getting ready for a Mars venture) each account reveals something for the plot, driving it forward. Because of these well placed developments throughout the story the pacing is perfect. Despite some of the issues I had with the characters and writing style, I was never bored.

We do see character development from all the cast, and it was sweet to follow Cal’s growing awareness for the wider world (despite abovementioned obnoxiousness) and I think if I had been able to make a stronger emotional connection to him and the other characters, I would have adored ‘The Gravity of Us.’

The plot is mostly predictable from the outset – I won’t mention them here and spoil the story for those of you yet to read ‘The Gravity of Us,’ but everything I guessed in the first twenty or so pages came to pass. There was only one twist I did not see coming, and quite frankly, is a redeeming feature of this novel.

There is some language use and underage drinking, talk of depression and running away if any of those are triggers for you, but we never get into any frank discussions for any of these topics. Neither do we touch on sexual intimacy when its clear Cal and Leon are heading in that direction… all the ‘hard’ topics are glazed over. Which is a pity, with Cal’s journalistic voice and love for fact and practicality we could have seen some relevant discussions on topics that affect all teens (and help add complexity to the characters.)

I want to say there was meant to be humour in ‘The Gravity of Us,’ but it comes across as snarky (almost bitchy) so none of the comedic tone landed with me.

All in all ‘The Gravity of Us’ did not meet my expectations and turned out to be a pretty average read. Cute, moralistic, and missed a lot of opportunity to find a real voice.

Overall feeling: Good, but not great.

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