A charming, quick read with surprising moments of depth and heart!

*Thank you so much to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for providing me with an ARC of Only Mostly Devastated! (This in no way influenced my opinion of the book, and whatnot)*

I think my actual rating for this book is somewhere in the 3.5-4 star range, but I am giving it the 4 stars regardless because I did enjoy this book a fair amount. It was a fast and engaging read. I read it in two sittings, which is uncommon for me. This story is pitched as Simon Vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda meets Clueless, inspired by Grease. I don't see the Clueless connection, but I do think this book is a cousin to Simon Vs. If you're a fan of Becky Albertalli and her writing style, you will definitely enjoy this book!

Plot: The story follows Ollie, who has just been told his summer in North Carolina visiting his sick aunt is being extended into a year-long stay, meaning Ollie will spend his senior year away from his home in California. This doesn't seem all bad, however, as the boy Ollie fell in love with by the lake over the summer, Will, also lives in North Carolina. However, when Ollie ends up at the same school as Will, he realizes that the boy he fell for is a totally different person when he's around his friends than he was with Ollie. Thus begins the very, very, very common "one character is out and the other character is not ready to come out" storyline that has been populating queer YA since Rainbow Boys at least. Which is to say, it's cute and highly readable and arguably more well-written than its predecessors, but it is still more than a little derivative. (SPOILERS IN THE PARENTHESES: speaking of Rainbow Boys, I remember when Jason came out and called Kyle his boyfriend at his own basketball game... you see the connection?)

Writing and Characters: I think the strength of this book is not in the original story, but in the writing. Ollie as a narrator is charming, relatable, likable, and has a distinct and consistent voice. He was the highlight of the story and the only character who I would have wanted to follow around for the whole time (though I also would have really liked to see what was going on in Will's head the whole time). Will was also a pretty good, if not somewhat cliché character. I think Sophie Gonzales does a good job of working within these character types, so even if they aren't super new, they still feel fresh. I was also surprised by how well fleshed-out the relationship between Ollie and Will was. A lot of time in one-off YA romances, it's hard to believe that the characters love each other, or even really know each other. I found the relationship between Ollie and Will to be very compelling, and I was, of course, rooting for them to work things out. The supporting cast feels a little flat and forgettable, but Ollie and Will are the focus of the story and they're the ones who really made it work for me!

Overall: There are two main threads in the story, Ollie's relationship with Will and Ollie's aunt's battle with cancer. At a glance, the two plots are so tonally different that I thought they made the story feel disjointed, but actually I think they were brought together in a satisfying way in the end. Even though I think the book ends a little suddenly and ties things up a little too neatly after the characters spend the whole book struggling--very realistically--with their problems, I was overall pretty satisfied with this book. I would definitely read another book by this author in the future!

TW- terminal illness, homophobia,death of loved one

This was One of my most anticipated books of the year and it was really cute M/M romance, as it is compared to grease you do actually kind of see little elements from that but overall it had its own story and stood out on its own!!! Really enjoyed the characters in this book, even if at some points one of the main characters did annoy me from time to time, but in the end he won me over haha.

Really enjoyable romance which I flew through and loved that even though we had romance as the forefront we also had quite a lot of family dynamics especially with the main characters cousins which I loved reading about, plus the loss of a loved one in this too.

4/5 stars

It was only okay for me honestly. I liked the Grease aspects up to a point and then it just got to be really distracting.

A complimentary copy was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The blurbs mention of Grease got my attention - who doesn't love that movie? (Probably a lot of people, lol). Only Mostly Devastated did share some common themes with Grease, such as high school kids who meet over the summer, have a romance, and think they are going to opposite ends of the country only to end up going to the same high school. Aside from that, not much similarity. There was no singing (though Oliver is in a band), no muscle car to rebuild, and no dance being aired on TV. There are jocks (basketball, they where their letterman jackets which parallel the leather jackets in Grease), the girl pack with their matching necklaces (in rose gold to follow the pink ladies of Grease), and as I mentioned before, music because Oliver (goes by Ollie) is in a band. Vastly different from the movie Grease is the fact that Ollie is not Australian, he's from California, and the reason he doesn't go back home after the summer is over is because his Aunt Linda (his mom's sister) is sick with cancer, so they decide to stay close to her to help and just be there.

Will is the love interest. He plays basketball and is basically the big man on campus. When Will and Ollie see each other again at a party (the night of the first day of school), at first Will is happy to see Ollie (of course), but then he remembers he isn't out, and that his bros and next to him and he can't be all gushy in front of them.

Now that I've set the scene, I can tell you this is a very good story. I was so happy to be approved for an ARC and I waited to read it until it came closer to the books release date. it was well worth the wait. I highly recommend this, even if YA isn't your cuppa, I think you will enjoy it because it doesn't feel YA. Yes, they are teenagers with teenage emotions and drama and feelings, but they also felt mature (mostly), and bright. I did and I didn't like Will. He is a complicated character and he hurt Ollie terribly by basically ignoring him. Sadly, my biggest complaint with this book is I didn't get enough backstory to Will and Ollie meeting. There are very short flashbacks to their time spent together over the summer, but it wasn't enough. I needed to know WHY Ollie loved Will so much. Yes, I was told they spent a wonderful time together, that Will is sweet and loving, but we don't see that on page, exactly. I DID feel their connection and it was hard to see them struggling. Will was afraid to come out because of his friends, and his family. We meet Will's family briefly and there is an air about them that makes you think they won't be accepting.

Ollie and the girl pack was hilarious at time, but also very emotional. Those girls were going through some serious life things and some of it had to do with Will's letterman wearing friends. Lora was the most troublesome [she is bi and really likes this other girl, but drama surrounds that situation and it doesn't end well (hide spoiler)]. Nia (not real spelling) has dreams of being a model and plans to move to New York, but there is a boy she likes and that is a tense situation. Juliette wants to get in to the Conservatory (music) for her clarinet talent. A lot going on in these girls world, and now that Ollie has arrived, they also know the truth about Will (since Ollie didn't know Will attended that school at the time he told them). In the end these girls become a very tight group with Ollie and basketball gang.

As for Ollie and his family, his Aunt Linda is sick. Her husband knows things are bad, and they have two young kids (boy and girl), and Ollie is asked to babysit a lot while Linda is in the hospital. [Aunt Linda does not survive, I'm sorry. Ollie was having a pretty good day at school and he comes home to his parents in the living room, and he just knows. This was very sad and hard to read. I had to pause at times to collect myself. It's through his grief that Ollie and Will reconnect. (hide spoiler)]

Without ruing too much of the ending, I will tell you they get their HEA, I just won't say how, or how it goes with everyone. 4.5 stars because Will was a dick a lot and I wanted more on page time with Will and Ollie when they first met.

This is a really sweet story about high school relationships, both romantic and platonic. The author did a great job of making the characters realistic and not cliche. It does deals with some heavy topics, cancer, sexuality, bullying, and new student anxiety. I felt the author did a really great job tackling these issues while telling a heartwarming story.

Summer lovin’! Had me a blast! Summer lovin’…. It ain’t gonna last?

A modern spin on Grease, Only Mostly Devastated picks up after Ollie spends a whirlwind summer with his first love, Will, at a lake in North Carolina. When Ollie’s aunt’s cancer gets worse, California born Ollie and his parents end up moving to a nearby town to help out his aunt and uncle. Unfortunately, ever since Will went home at the end of the summer, Ollie hasn’t heard from him, preventing him from sharing his news.
On Ollie’s first day of school, nothing in his morning seems to be going right. Luckily, Ollie meets Juliette and quickly strikes up a friendship with her. With Juliette comes her best friends Niemh and Lara. During a gossip session in homeroom, Ollie reveals he had a summer romance with Will much to his new friends’ shock. The girls later reveal that Will just so happens to attend their school. Only here Will is a little different than Ollie knows him—at Collinswood High, Will’s the basketball captain, arrogant, rude, and well, straight.
You can only guess what happens from there. That’s right! Will pulls a Danny and changes his act, brushing off Ollie, leaving him confused and only mostly devastated (see what I did there?).
This was a great spin on Grease, although it pretty much ended the Grease references after the summer lovin’ part, but I digress! Only Mostly Devastated was funny and sweet with a main character we all could relate to in high school. Our main character, Ollie, is hilarious and (really) awkward. Throughout the book, he remains optimistic despite struggles with family, friends, and of course, love. He feels like a real, vivid person, whether he’s saying the wrong thing or executing the perfect joke at just the right time.
However, while Ollie was perfect, I found the other characters a little lacking. First, Ollie’s friends from California were only briefly mentioned and brushed off. Juliette quickly took up the title as Ollie’s best friend, but had very little character. Niemh, Darnell, and Matt had even less.
And then there’s Lara. I get the feeling I was supposed to like her in the end, but she was a bitch! Throughout at least the first half of the book, she constantly put down Ollie and her friends. It’s eventually revealed she has her own things going on, but still. Girl was seriously mean. Somewhere in the second half, Lara and Ollie find common ground and start to become better friends. And like she does with Ollie, she grows on the reader, too.
Will’s character is also done justice. He’s almost portrayed as two characters at once—the obnoxious, overly glorified king of high school and the sweet boy just trying to get Ollie’s attention. He does do some things that makes it hard to stay behind him all the way (or maybe I’m just overprotective of Ollie), but he redeems himself. It’s obvious he’s scared to be himself, and it’s understandable. Plus, the boy’s too cute. I smiled every time he called someone or something ridiculous.
Ollie and Will’s romance is pretty sweet. Since it’s technically a secret romance, the two share plenty of quick, cute moments. However, they also have their share of fights, painting a more realistic romance.
This book also deals with some heavy topics. Mainly, sexuality and as a consequence, bullying. We see more than one character’s struggle, although they’re more surface level. This book doesn’t dive that deep into these topics, but I think they are handled well. However, this book also deals with family illness, cancer specifically. With that I’m going to slap a warning on this, and I’m serious, if you have a family member with cancer or a serious illness, this might not be the book for you. This is a heavy topic and for myself, it was a little too close to home, and I struggled with that part. If you think you can get through that though, by all means, read on. This is, otherwise, a pretty light read.
On the other hand, there was some weird things in this book that just felt off, one of those being Lara’s bitchiness, yet everyone loves her…. (I still don’t understand). Or Niemh is one dimensional except when it’s convenient. Or Juliette calls Ollie “Ollie-oop” EVERY TIME SHE TALKS TO HIM. These 3 girls wear these super cool rose necklaces that stand for feminism and stuff (that part just seemed strange—like did they plan this and look up feminist symbols or what?) Or the fact that apparently these guys go to a 3 story high school (I’m guessing upwards of a thousand kids), and Ollie is apparently the only non-straight kid in the whole school….

The aftermath of a delicious summer romance becomes complicated when it turns out that Ollie will be moving and attending the same high school as his summer boy Will, who is very, very deep in the closet. I loved the relationship between Ollie and Will and getting to seem them each grow and change and fall in love and the way that this book grappled with homophobia in high school, but even more so I loved some of the side plots here. Ollie's family dynamics and the ongoing thread of his aunt's cancer was heartbreaking but also one of my favorite parts of the book. It hit close to home in it's accuracy and I appreciated that.

I was less a fan of the way Niamh's body issues were handled, but the rest of this was devastatingly delightful.

A gorgeous and poignant story of love, friendship, and loss, this contemporary YA from Aussie writer Sophie Gonzales absolutely stole my heart. ONLY MOSTLY DEVASTATED is a queer love letter to high school romances and the many things life throws at us when we least expect it. Perfect for fans of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda.

Characters 7/10
Atmosphere 6/10
Writing style 7/10
Plot 6,5/10
Intrigue 3/10
Logic 6/10
Enjoyment 6/10

This was such a great read! I love that this story is Grease inspired and that's also one of the reasons why I decided to request this book. It definitely did not disappoint. Not only was the bumpy relationship between Ollie and Will really believable and enjoyable to read about, the book also contained some great character development and handled many important topics like grief, body positivity and sexuality. I also really really liked Ollie! He was just so awkward and sweet, it kind of made it impossible not to like him.
There were however also parts in this book that I didn't like and that's the reason why I rated it 4 stars instead of 5. (Spoiler warning!) First off, I found the ending very predictable and cheesy and I guess I just wish that I would've been more wowed by it. Also, I found it unbelievable how fast Ollie forgot his old friends. He went from desperately trying to FaceTime his friends to never contacting them again within a way too short time frame. It made me doubt the realness of the friendship.

This was a fantastic book and Ollie is now one of my favorite characters!

After a casual summer fling with Will, Ollie finds that he will be staying in North Carolina indefinitely, giving Ollie hope that maybe their fling can blossom into something more. But when Ollie finds Will at a party, he doesn’t seem to be the sweet, affectionate guy he fell for. Will isn’t out of the closet yet and it’s plain to see that he can’t be himself around his varsity basketball friends...or Ollie.

I honestly wasn’t sure how I felt about Will at first because for a good portion of the book, he treated Ollie like crap, and it appeared he was just using him when it was convenient for him (i.e. when his friends weren’t around). But when Will and Ollie we’re together, it was clearly something special and worth fighting for.

At times this was an emotional read, but I loved every second of it. Highly recommend!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3036139301

DNF @ 66%

man i was so excited to read this ARC, but unfortunately i was disappointed for a few reasons:

1) will is dangerously close to being the cheating bi stereotype (if not actually) and that made me upset

2) as someone who has struggled in the past with being closeted and in a lgbt relationship while living in the south with very republican parents and my ex partner didn’t understand why i couldn’t come out, i found it VERY uncomfortable that ollie was so annoyed with will being closeted and not wanting their relationship to be public

ollie would be like “yeah i understand why he’s closeted but why does our relationship have to be a secret??” make it make sense !!! i just got more and more annoyed reading this

i also didnt like how Niamh was the fat-friend side character but all her scenes had mentions of her not eating or trying to lose weight and stuff like that until like 60% of the book. vaguely resolved toward the end but still not cool

although i didn't quite enjoy this as much i was expecting, i'm still thankful to the publisher and netgalley for the chance to read and review this early!

The publisher kindly offered me a reader copy via NetGalley. Yet, this is an honest review of the book expressing my unbiased opinion.

Only Mostly Devastated is a delightful YA contemporary with an authentic and thrilling voice that captured my attention from page one. Nowadays, many YAs don't feel like they were written for the audience they were meant to, but Only Mostly Devastated is fresh and vibrant and vivid and simply one of the most authentic YAs I've read.

*coughs* We have excellent bi AND gay representation!!!!!

Ollie is such a kind soul with a very interesting and funny mind. Will is so misunderstood yet so sweet once you get to know him. I loved them both so much. Their chemistry and their arguments all felt so real as if they were my friends and I was reading their romance diary. I also loved their friends. They all had different personalities and were multi-faceted people, which I loved. The author not only managed to make these people fit together in a friends-group but also allowed them to grow throughout the story. Nothing in this book felt stilted or forced and static.

Only Mostly Devastated is full of life. And that means both the good and the bad. Not everyone goes to Ivy Leagues universities. Not everyone's hobby is their life. But no one ever gives up. I loved this message the author chose to convey. It made the book and the characters all the more real and authentic to me.

I loved Only Mostly Devastated. It's a book every teen deserves to read. Straight, questioning, queer; this book will make you feel and be seen and understood and also help you understand others. It's fun and real. I strongly recommend this with all my heart.

5 stars – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Author: Sophie Gonzales
Publisher: Wednesday Books / St. Martin's Press

I absolutely loved this book. This is one of the better YA books i’ve read recently, with the cute, dorky, adorable Ollie narrating the story. He’s funny and relateable, you can’t help but love him and root for him. This book should be on every single “best book” list of 2020.

YOU GUYS. This book is amazing. I absolutely loved it. I’ve been a huge fan of Grease my entire life, and this book definitely did it justice. The main character, Ollie, is incredibly relatable and endearing, and his chemistry with Will was butterfly-inducing. The writing in this book was brilliant. It was both hilarious and poignant and Ollie’s voice just burrows its way into your heart. I couldn’t get over the emotional complexity that was portrayed throughout the novel. It really expressed all of the different, contradicting emotions that make up the reality of being human and being in love. There were so many times when I recognized the feelings that Ollie was experiencing, especially the anger he has at himself for letting himself get hurt, and it made me connect to him that much more. The arcs of all of the characters, even the smaller supporting ones, were so full and well developed and created such a realistic landscape for this story. I couldn’t put it down. This book had me literally crying on the subway (seriously, it was embarrassing), laughing out loud, and squealing with joy. I am so excited to share this book with everyone, cuz it has been one of my favorite reads of the year so far.

Review on my blog, Lori's Bookshelf Reads will be available on 3/2/2020.

"Maybe our Happily Ever After hadn't worked on the first shot. And maybe Happily Ever Afters weren't a singular event. Maybe there were something you had to work at, and build, and ever give on, as long as they were something you still wanted."

I'm not really sure how to process this book. One the upside it's cute, but on the downside I don't know. Maybe this is me second guessing myself like I usually am, before making a *terrible* decision.

Can we just talk about how there's stuff about music in this book? Honestly, we all know I love music in general and also seeing it in bonks? Alright what's the occasion? Also it's just kind of weird seeing someone struggle in music? Oh wait, I mentor 8th graders and they barely even know any notes, and they are all obnoxious. God help me next year.  Like why would someone want to sign up for a music when they probably  don't even know what a treble clef or a bass clef is?

The fact that Ollie actually has some very relatable issues? Honestly, I feel like if I ever texted my parents like that in picking me up. I always feel like I'm bothering them, because I'm stuck in a situation that I don't want to be in. Why isn't anyone talking about that, because it's something I find something too true. But I usually suffer for a few hours before deciding to leave.

The characters. OMFG, they were so damn good and honestly it was so hard not to love them! I loved every single character, and the gang.

They honestly stole the best part, and I still believe that without even knowing, you could find a friend group that queer just like you. Those are always one of the best highlights of any book, if someone includes it because we just have these characters who's different-but they have a thing in common and that's because they're queer. Those type of things will actually give me roughly above a four star rating if there is one, because those are the best!

I loved Will and Ollie together. They were pretty damn cute, even though Ollie didn't really like him, because he broke up with him. But fate works in different ways, and honestly they're relationship is so damn cute up until the end.

Can we just admit that it's not okay to pressure someone to come out? The fact that Ollie basically ignored the fact that Will is closeted was not okay. And than gets angry, because Will isn't willing to come out? Guess what, not all of us feels comfortable with coming out to people. Just because you came out, doesn't mean he has to?

Also, what's the deal with the south? Is it really that anti-queer that everyone talks about in books or what?

Cancer is a bitch. I already saw that first-hand when my grandpa had cancer, and hell everyone including my grandpa is thinking, "It's one thing after another." because guess what happened now. He just had surgery again to remove his scar tissue in his neck and is now on a breathing tube (and yes he looks completely miserable and hot in that vest.) and no one knows how long he's going to be on it. But guess who has October plans to go see him for not even a week! I want to see him for a week; I know it's too much to ask, but mother, I'll be fine missing a week of school. It won't be that hard to catch up on my work, because it comes naturally to me. Wait, my plan is taking a few AP classes next year.

Be still my heart, this LGBTQ+ Grease retelling was just such a treasure. It paid a lovely homage to the inspiration material, while acknowledging current societal issues and giving the story a fresh, contemporary spin. With an excellent surrounding cast (it's fun to compare with the originals), this will definitely appeal to fans of both Grease and Love Simon/Simon and the Homo Sapien Agenda.

While I did enjoy my time reading this novel, I felt frustrated with our two main characters for the vast majority of the story. I enjoyed the familial aspects more than the romance or the friendships. I feel like it took waaaaaaay too long for some characters to realize that their friends were toxic. Just okay in my opinion.

Super cute YA read! The characters genuinely felt like teenagers, and I became very invested in their stories. Looking forward to more from Sophie Gonzales!

This was a very cute, fun book. I appreciated the discussions in this book, and I just had a good time reading it. It was what I expected it to be, and I'm very happy for that.