I was sent a free review copy from Simon & Schuster in exchange for an honest review. Content warnings: Casual homophobia, sexuality x religion When Tanner Scott and his family relocate from California to Utah, Tanner is gently nudged back into the closet. With one more semester of high school left, the bisexual teen doesn’t think that it’s the worst thing in the world. He’ll be out of this creepy town ruled by the Latter-Day Saints church soon, right? But when Tanner’s best friend Autumn dares him to take ‘The Seminar’, a class where honour roll students need to write a book in four months, everything changes. Class mentor Sebastian Brother is charming, gorgeous and funny. Only problem is, he’s the Mormon bishop’s son, just months away from leaving for his own missionary trip. “A God worthy of your eternal love wouldn’t judge you for who you love while you’re here.” GOD, THIS BOOK. I HAVE ALOT OF EMOTIONS. I’ve had my eye on this for a little while but it hasn’t had Australian distribution until now. I was so so impressed, and I’m kicking myself that I didn’t grab this sooner! This was a beautiful portrayal of the intersection of religion and sexuality, the highs and lows of teenager-hood, and the awkward and bumbling mess of falling in love. Tanner is a nice and simple character to read from - I found myself really rooting for him, and caring about him. He was a little clueless and insensitive at times, but no character is perfect. I truly loved Sebastian and would like to just hug him and tell him everything is alright. He reminds me a lot of Nick Nelson (from Alice Oseman’s ‘Solitaire’ and ‘Heartstopper’) for some reason — tall + blonde + adorable. I really felt his struggle and connected with him. I feel like religion and sexuality is very hard. There’s a lot of voices from different directions, telling you different things - this book showed that struggle. Tanner’s mother’s struggle with the LDS church was a very nice touch, that I think gave the entire ordeal more substance. It was refreshing to see that Tanner’s distrust for the Church didn’t come from stereotypes and assumptions, but from a real family experience. My only gripe with this book is that it was a touch ‘insta-love-y’. Tanner and Sebastian were awkward friends who never really hit it off, and suddenly they’re making out on the top of a mountain. Don’t get me wrong, they’re adorable to read about and I love their dynamic. It just didn’t seem all that realistic. From bits and pieces I’ve read on Goodreads, many people are deeply unhappy about the Tanner and Autumn situation. I really liked that moment in the book. Tanner mentions their one romantic moment from the past a few times, and I feel as though what they went through together closed the door on the romantic tension they were harbouring. And hooray for Tanner, for telling Sebastian like two days after it all happened. We stan a communicative relationship!!!!!!! I’ll be honest and say I was a little worried Tanner and Sebastian weren’t going to end up together. The epilogue is adorable, and I’m really happy with the way it all turned out. "I don’t actually care if you break my heart, Sebastian. I went into this knowing it could happen and I gave it to you anyway. But I don’t want you to break your own. You have so much space in your heart for your church, but does it have space for you?" 4 out of 5 stars!
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WELCOME!Hello!! My name is Tessa, and I'm a 20 year old bookseller and blogger from Sydney Australia. I love queer YA, Schitt's Creek, and pizza scrolls. Archives
July 2020
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