I absolutely loved this book.  The details and development of the characters was done so beautifully.  Wes really figuring out who he is and his character development was just amazing.

This has to be one of the best coming of age books I’ve ever read.  The past trauma, the anxiety, the fear of coming out, and the wellbeing of those closest to him were all seriously written so well.

Wes and Tristan were total opposites, I mean one was a skater boy and the other did ballet after all.  Their dynamic was really lovely, Wes falling instantly for Tristan and totally being an awkward mess when he met him was hilarious.

Wes and his friends gave off“boys will be boys” at first glance, trouble makers, and bad grades to show for it but in the end they really proved that saying wrong.

Also I absolutely loved all the Golden Girls references they were so cute.

Spice Level: n/a

POV: First Person

Release Date: 06, February 2024

Rep: Gay (Main Character), Black Gay (Love Interest), Non-Binary (Side Character), LGBTQIA+ Characters, BIPOC (Characters), Anxiety Disorder, Domestic Abuse Survivors (Main Character and His Mom)

This was SUCH an enjoyable read from start to finish for me! And sooo quick too. At least I zoomed through the audiobook (probably because the narration was fantastic – but we'll get to that). I pretty much immediately fell in love with Wes as our main character. He's giving "we must protect the misunderstood, angry boy at all costs" energy for me. Which I already gravitate naturally to characters like his, but Wes just had some different sort of magic to his makeup that I immediately said I need to give him a hug and just tell him everything's going to be okay, 'ya know? I really went into this book thinking it was going to be a light, queer YA romance read but boy, could I have been more wrong. It was still a wonderful ya romance, but it also did more than that. It handled some pretty heavy topics in a very approachable way that didn't lighten the gravity of said topics but also didn't bog the story down in any way that affected the pacing or storyline. Everything felt like it had it's purpose in the story and I could tell the heart Anthony put into the writing through his handling of particularly significant character events. And Wes wasn't the only lovable/relatable character to me, I felt a little for each of his friends' various experiences, which only made the story feel more genuine and well-rounded as. whole. Wes, especially, went through some pretty significant growth over the course of the book and I found myself feeling so proud of him and his journey by the book's conclusion. I also thought the romance was great and very age-appropriate to the character, which I'm just personally a big fan of in high-school setting YA. That's not to say I didn't get frustrated a few times with the "Tripod," the endearing, self-proclaimed name of Wes' tight-knight friend group. I wanted to definitely shake some sense into them a few times, but alas I'm only the reader and had to watch as they all majorly fumbled some miscommunication situations in the book.

Also, I would be SO remiss if I didn't mention that I specifically listened to this in audiobook format and WOW! The writing was already great (Go Anthony Nerada!) but then Michael Crouch (the audiobook narrator) just brought Wes' character to life for me! His voice acting in this role probably accounts for a strong portion of why I love Wes so much in this book. He felt so genuine and real to me.

Overall, I'm really happy that this book exists out in the universe and had a great time reading would highly recommend to anyone in the market for a fresh MM YA romance read set in high school or maybe just something to satisfy that urge to go back to an emo version of yourself from high school (if this applies to your experience ofc).

P.S. I believe others have said it in previous reviews, but I couldn't get enough of the chapter titles! They were fantastic and something I looked forward at the start of each chapter 🥹

Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for graciously sending me the audiobook to review in exchange for an honest review!

The queer punk in me REQUIRED this book and it didnt disappoint