3.5 Stars

TWs: descriptions of terminal illness, exploration of familial death, mild homophobia, & brief usage of sexual slurs

I mean, when I heard this was a modern-day queer reimagining of Grease, I was sold. Who wouldn't be? This was a really fun read punctuated by meaningful moments, and while it has some definite problems, I enjoyed the experience.

I appreciate that this story strives to make up for what the original Grease narrative lacks: owning up to bad behavior, what it means to accept that bad behavior, and how human decency should take precedence over fear.

Ollie is well aware of how badly Will is treating him, and even though he wants to surrender to the tiny modicums of attention that the other boy is willing to give, he eventually comes to realize that his dignity and self-worth are more important. In fact, we see a lot of characters in this story checking their friends and loved ones when needed. Whether it's friends telling each other that casual homophobia isn't cool or family members reminding each other that caring about someone takes work, we see how important it is to have people who care about us enough to check us when we're not acting up to standard. And that's awesome.

This story also has a lot to say about living for yourself, living without fear, and living openly. Meaning it's important to be open to the fact that things are rarely perfect, not everything is fair or makes sense, and that mistakes happen. No one in this story is perfect, but no one in this story is unworthy of love and happiness either, and it's nice to see them working their way towards that happiness in the end.

That said, this story is comprised of two very disparate parts: a romantic dramedy unfolding between Ollie and Will and the reality of cancer effecting Ollie's family. While it's absolutely possible for self-discovery, romance, and grief to coexist in one narrative, I feel like these elements would only fade in and out as needed, and when one aspect took the forefront, the others completely went out of focus. I didn't feel like these throughlines worked together as cohesively as they should.

My other main issue was regarding voice. I think Ollie's narrative voice often came off as "colorful" and "personable" at the expense of bordering insensitivity and offensiveness. It felt like the narration was overcompensating for "quirkiness," which is pretty common in debuts. Whether it was Ollie passively refering to his friends as being akin to pornstars ("RedTube stars") or openly mocking his mother's spirituality or people's accents, I often found myself just on the edge of exasperation.

There's a lot of little things as well, like how difficult it was to read about Ollie being blatantly mistreated by Will (which, again, is acknowledged and explored) only to have Will be reconciled with little to no on-the-page atonement. Or how Ollie's friends from home fade into the background after the first 5 pages and what could have been an interesting layer about Ollie being uprooted from home during his senior year was completely neglected. I was hoping this story would make more connections than it did, and there were some story elements that just left me underwhelmed.

So, as you can tell, I'm torn. This is an engaging, meaningful story with a lot to say about bettering your relationships and loving yourself enough to expect respect from others, but it definitely has flaws and falls short in some stylistic and thematic respects. I enjoyed it, but I wasn't able to love it, which is why I gave it 3.5 stars.

I love Ollie! I wish I could be his friend :)

Ollie and Will have a summer fling. That’s intense and passionate, but once the summer is over Ollie is baffled by Will's silence. Then Ollie ends up having to stay in the town they were only to vacation in causing him to start at a new school, which ends up being the school Will goes to.

Ollie ends up hanging out with three girls, who get end up having their own issues and are here throughout the whole book. There are no sex scenes between anyone and I was actually happy for that. This story didn’t need them and I’m glad its wasn’t another YA that was all about sex. (Not that, that is a bad thing.)

This is labeled as a Grease, Clueless, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens story and while I do see the similarities wasn’t like omg this is exactly how it all happened. Especially with the funny moments, in Clueless I feel like this lacked. But overall I enjoyed this and I cried because of aunt Linda and I’m happy with how everything turned out.

I received this eARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

Grease in the modern age, with an LGBTQ twist. It's pretty well done, with characters who feel very real and relatable. Of course the plot follows the obvious lines - no surprises, no twists, nothing really new added.

eARC provided by publisher.

This was a cute read with some overlay of serious issues. The second half of the book was better for me. The first half was very spastic and that tone threw me off. There was also a part that felt to me completely unnecessary and irrelevant to the overall story.

I would definitely call this book a "palate cleanser". Was the story or writing particularly amazing? No. Was it still enjoyable and easy to delve into? Yes. I'm not a HUGE fan of romance so I'm automatically biased, but this book is a typical gay romance. Boy 1 loves Boy 2. Boy 2 isn't out. Issues ensue. Happy ending.

I thoroughly enjoyed Ollie as the main character. His struggles aren't particularly unique (neither are Will's, if we are to be honest) but he and his family handle each situation in a refreshing way. I enjoyed his logic, wit, and overall outlook on life.

I'd recommend this book if someone wants a quick read with a happy ending. It's contemporary so world building isn't in depth but it's definitely good for those that like teen romance.

I'll post a longer review on my blog closer to publication.

I received a copy of the novel, kindly provided me by the publisher, to read in advance in exchange for an honest reviews.
The novel isn't particularly problematic in itself, because it deals with important topics with a bubbly style and will probably win over younger readers. The atmosphere is absolutely that light and easygoing of a summer flirt and the figures are characterized just enough to make it very easy for a teenager to identify with them. Despite this, the book is not brilliant. I'm probably too old for certain novels and I've read many YA's with similar plots and dynamics, but I was neither able to familiarize myself with the characters nor empathize with what they lived. Everything is too predictable, too cute, too unoriginal. The writing is appealing enough, but that's not enough for the reader to be won over by the novel. I find that the author shows a strong sensitivity in dealing with important issues and does so with the right lightness, but I think she could make an effort to make her narrative more original and innovative, avoiding falling back into repeated clichés and situations that are nothing new to a YA reader. I hope that in her next novel she'll be able to be more original and incisive, because I believe that she doesn't miss the potential at all.

Only Mostly Devastated is a YA LGTBQ contemporary with strong Greece Vibes. Ollie meets Will and 'Summer Lovin' happens so fast' and then Will disappears with the end of summer. Cue Ollie showing up as the new kid at Will's school to find him a jock in the closest. While Ollie question where he stands with Will he gets a group of girlfriend very reminiscent of the Pink Ladies. After lots of up and downs and I wouldn't have been surprised if the book had ending with a carnival and dancing.

I was really excited for this book. I don't know what it is about LGTBQ YA books but this year they were my jam. They are full of innocence, first loves, self discovery and just a whole lot of sweetness. However, I ended up not loving this book. I don't remember Zuko being such a complete d*ck, but maybe I'm remembering the movie wrong. I expected Will to be a bit of a jerk to keep up appearance with the jocks but him joining in on joking about Ollie being gay was a hard pill to swallow. I understand Will was not comfortable coming out, but he treated Ollie like crap and then was nice behind closed doors, it was unhealthy and a load of sh*t. In my opinion Will did no where near enough redeeming himself by the end. I also didn't like how it was implied that Ollie was being selfish the whole time and should give Will a break. Ollie at times was a little self centered {like most teenagers} but he never intentionally did or say things to hurt Will. Wow that escalated quickly #sorrynotsorry.

Besides my dislike for Will there were actually more than a few things I enjoyed about the story. Ollie himself was a pleasure, along with his entire family. HE was a boy who just wanted the boy he cared for to care for him in return. Lara, Niamh, and Juliette reminded me of girls I went to high school with so their characters felt familiar to me. The story itself was entertaining and I loved all the nods to Greece. Honestly this would have gotten a higher rating if I hadn't dislike Will so much.

I enjoyed this story about Oliver and Will as they figure out how to be themselves and in a relationship. I also thought the author handled the confusion of grief well. There was a lot of Olivier just pining away after Will and not understanding other people develop at different paces. I also wish this story had been told from Will's POV too.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC!

Overall Enjoyment: 3/5
World building: 1/5
Characterization: 3/5
Diversity: 4/5

What really first pulled me into this story was the idea of this being a gay, modern spin on grease. My curiosity was peaked. This is a fairly lighthearted story that deals with a couple of heavier topics in there too. If you're looking for a slice of life story about a boy finding love while dealing what other events high school throws at him I think you will enjoy this story. I think what threw me off from completely loving this story was just how much this story had in it. There was the relationship that needed to be worked out not only with Ollie, but also his friends, there was serious family stuff going on, and each character had their own stuff going on too. All this extra stuff in the book was meant to round all of the characters out, at least the girls and Ollie. I felt like the boys were a bit flat and had some behaviors that weren't fully addressed, but overall a pretty enjoyable story.

Let's start with world building. This was a contemporary real world setting so there wasn't much world building needed, but I felt like there could have been more. North Caroline didn't really get any description other than not as progressive as California. The school is much the same with the school being pretty cookie cutter.

The characters. Ollie is what kept me going in this book. He has little comparisons that I found interesting and was generally just a sweet guy. There was drama, but in generally this character was really mature. Lara, she grew on me. I would say honestly one of the more complex characters. Wasn't a huge fan of her at first, but she grew on me. Will, what a confused dude. He frustrated me some times, but while he can be not the greatest he grows. The thing that bothered me a bit were the basketball guys. They definitely make some not great comments/ jokes about Ollie only to be like "it's was just a joke" and that was the end of it. Not really a huge fan of that easy solution, but I guess it's easier to deal with than them actually being 100% homophobic.

Diversity: There are a few lgbtq+ characters in this book and many people of color. The focus is definitely the gay relationship in the story. While there are people of color it doesn't really seem to affect anything and is mentioned so briefly you could have missed it. Maybe you enjoy that, maybe you don't.

Overall, if you're looking for an overall, light feel good read I think you'll enjoy this. As mentioned, there are a couple heavier issues, but overall I would say the book has a light feel to it that makes it easy to enjoy if not a little underwhelming.

Only Mostly Devastated was a fun, quick read that I devoured in just under a day.

Thank you to NetGalley for advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me an ARC of this book!

A feel-good, heartwarming, and cute coming-of-age story about teens finding out and accepting who they really are; getting over their fears and trusting in themselves and leaning on the ones they love for understanding and acceptance; and of course, FALLING IN LOVE. <3

This is such an adorable and cheesy book that has its fair share of heartaches, real-life shit people deal with, and giddy moments; perfect for a Christmas-y read!

"Sometimes in life, terrible things happened. And sometimes really, really amazing things happened. And sometimes those things all kind of happened at ones. But screw tomorrow. Even if no one could promise that everything would work out perfectly, right here and now, in this exact moment, it was perfect."

Note: Snippets taken from the book as seen in this review is from an ARC and should be checked against a finished copy of the book.

I understand where the comparisons (Grease, Simon vs.) come from, but I didn't really feel like very much...happened? I know that things did, but nothing really felt overly impactful, and I didn't really feel an emotional connection to any of the characters or relationships. I wonder if both of these issues would have been better served by including more of the summer romance, but overall, it just seemed as if the book slipped pretty easily into my mind, but would slip right back out again.

My enduring impression of this book consists of a shrug and an “eh it’s cute”. But, ultimately, not much more than that. It was cute. It was an easy read. But it was also, to me, nothing particularly special. (Okay, that came out harsher than I meant it to but. My point remains.) And there were too many small things that irritated me.

Only Mostly Devastated follows Ollie, whose family is staying with his aunt and uncle over the summer to help out, as his aunt has cancer. He meets (and falls for) Will, and they have a summer fling. However, Ollie’s aunt has a further health scare and Ollie’s family ends up moving to stay with in North Carolina for a year. And Ollie ends up at the same school as Will, who seems a completely different person to the one Ollie got to know.

Like I said, the book is cute. There’s plenty of second chance romance type pining (always appreciated), and there’s some nice wlw/mlm solidarity between Ollie and Lara. And the writing’s good. But, sadly, that was about the sum total of the positivity I can muster for this book. Not that the rest is wholly negative, mind. More like meh.

Most of what irritated me wasn’t really outright Bad Things, but more like a sense I got from reading. Like how it feels like it’s sort of implied that Ollie is holding Lara’s secret (that she’s bi) over her for whatever reason. Or how, despite telling Will that he wouldn’t force him to be out, Ollie seems to lack any sort of sympathy for Will’s situation (though, yeah, I understand that a little when it comes to the making/laughing at gay jokes and, yeah, Ollie’s 17). There was what the narrative was saying, and then there was the feeling I got from it, and they didn’t match up.

But then there were the bits where it got messy. Like how Niamh, who is, on first meeting, described as being fat, then starts talking about the gym, only seems to get into conversations about the gym or her weight or dieting. Apart from when she gets into a conversation about the guy who’s supposedly her love interest but isn’t really developed enough as a character for you to draw any conclusions (except that one thing he does which makes me think he’s a dickhead). And Will, who is bi, and who skirts very very close to being the cheating bi stereotype, if not actually becoming that, especially the prom scene where he has previously sort of got back with Ollie, but is busy flirting with his ex-girlfriend/prom-date. Actually, scratch what I said about skirting close, on second thoughts.

And throughout, it all just felt kind of superficial. Which is not to say that books like this have to be deep or have another message in them or whatever, but here something felt lacking. It was cute but not much more than that.

This was so cute! Not only was the romance adorable (and I totally loved Ollie as a main character), but I loved everything that the author pulled from Grease into this story! Grease was one of my favorite movies growing up, and I loved getting the chance to almost relive it in a strange way.

The story did a good job of paying homage to Grease and pulling from it, while also being its own work. It's something that you could read even if you hadn't seen Grease before and still enjoy, which I appreciated.

All I have to say is HOLY FUCK THIS IS EVERYTHING.

Only Mostly Devastated is just an incredibly brilliant, all consuming, 90s rom-com film in book form and it is amazing!! Described as Simon vs the Homosapiens meets Clueless, by way of Grease, I can say with 100% confidence it is definitely that. This is a brilliantly fun contemporary romance with such reminiscent ties to my favourite rom-com films of the 90s I’m just in love.

I fell in love with this book from the very first page:
“It was late afternoon, on the very last Wednesday of August, when I realised Disney had been lying to me for quite some time about Happily Ever Afters’.
The protagonist, Ollie, has been ghosted by the person he had been hooking up with over Summer. And now, it turns out he will be staying in North Carolina, instead of returning to his home and friends in California, in order to help out with his Aunt’s family, as his Aunt has fairly progressed cancer. Uprooted, and to top it all, late to his very first day of school, he probably doesn’t quite expect to see the very person he’s been hooking up with all summer at his school. But of course, this is a book reinvigorating the 90s romcom genre and so of course that’s exactly what happens. The only problem is that Ollie’s Prince Charming isn’t out at school. And so pretends he has nothing to do with Ollie at all. What follows is a rapid whirlwind of teen romance, of the trials of love, and of the fear and anxiety that comes with facing up to who you are.

The writing style is utterly to die for. Ollie’s voice is exceptionally strong, he is snarky, sarcastic and completely hilarious. It felt like taking a walk through my own brain. I loved him so much. I loved how overly dramatic he was (“after finding an appropriately melancholy playlist on Spotify”); I loved the hidden throwbacks to the books’ comps (“I’d end up pining over him, all hopelessly devoted and hurt”); and I loved the hilarious honesty in admission of his own flaws (“It totally went against my personal philosophy of overanalysing everything and only taking risks when there was a 5 percent or less chance of failure”.) I mean, what a mood. But most of all, I adore Ollie’s strong viewpoint on the most important issues impacting us all: “A sweaty red skittle is worth three green skittles.” A truer line has never been spoken.

The romance was a slow burn, angst filled, and yet somehow totally and utterly joyful mess of love. The book discusses themes around coming out and the difficulties of doing so. It also does so well at picturing the struggles of those on both sides: of the pain and hurt of those needing to stay hidden, who feel ashamed that their partner doesn’t want to be seen with them; but also the fear and terror of those not yet out, of their panic at upending their lives and not knowing how to do it.

Only Mostly Devastated is beautifully queer at its core. Alongside Ollie and Will are a host of characters, queer and not, who make this book the dazzling queer masterpiece it is. From the testosterone filled jock standing up for his bisexual crush, to Lara’s coming to terms and acceptance of her sexuality, this book is just heaven. I personally admired Lara’s struggles, and the discussions of bisexuality as valid, as something I too have had to deal with. She keeps herself so hidden behind this incredibly tough exterior, but as she opens up, you see how vulnerable and loyal she really is. She is an absolute gem of a character and I need to embody her sassiness way more in my day to day life.

Alongside the romance, is the heartbreaking story of cancer and the impact it can have on entire families. It speaks of the strength of those fighting the disease, and the strength their families have to continue on and it was so emotional - please do take note if this is something that might particularly affect you, as these scenes do get incredibly emotional.

All in all, I found Only Mostly Devastated to be the queer romcom I needed in my youth. It makes me think of all my favourite movies as a teen from Grease, to 10 Things I Hate About You. The writing style is fantastically deadpan and sarcastic and there were so many moments to laugh at, I absolutely loved this one!!

<note to publisher: review will be posted to my blog closer to release date>

Ollie had the summer of his dreams. He met an absolutely gorgeous guy, Will, but unfortunately is likely never going to see him again. That is until Ollie's family decides to stay in town after their summer to help their Aunt Linda as she battles cancer. Much to Ollie's (and Will's) surprise, they end up at the same high school. The biggest problem? Will isn't out. Ollie must figure out how to tackle his feelings for Will while remaining sensitive to the situation.

This was a really good contemporary romance. As a queer reimagining of Grease, I really enjoyed it! I had hoped for a bit more character development, but for a teen/YA romance I can definitely see how this works. Even without it being a reimagining of Grease, the book was a bit predictable, but no less enjoyable. Overall it was very entertaining and tackled some tough topics including LGBTQ rights, death, and body image. I just hoped for a bit more depth to the characters and dialogues that would make the story even more real.

Well, I guess we have a winner in this second half of 2019.
[arc provided by Edelweiss and Netgalley, to whom I am immensely grateful. The book is out on the 3rd of March 2020 and you don't wanna miss it!]

I have been blessed by the Great, Ethereal Being, because this book was everything I expected and WAY MORE. I had started it because I was looking for a story with a light and funny vibe, that could make me feel in a good mood, and this book has basically been presented as a Grease modern queer retelling, so I was super curious and intrigued.

What I did not expect was to emerge from it profoundly enriched. It's easy to write a retelling. It's way harder to take the plot of two cults (Grease and High School Musical) and don't turn it all into a trashier copy. But starting from a storyline like that and make it all deeper? I wouldn't have bet on it. And yet this story never felt commonplace, never boring, never did I feel like I knew what was going to happen, no. Because "Only Mostly Devastated" takes the Grease storyline and makes it something MORE, something important for the young people in our days, and it does it in the most original way despite being a retelling, and in a fresh and funny style that reminded me of Simon Vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda and John Green's books, but also of the powerful and delicate messages conveyed by Alice Oseman and Skam.

The author's take on the original story -- her way to make it queer and set in our days 
--is just BRILLIANT, and natural, and never felt forced. I mean, I'm still laughing at the idea of Will seeing the texts and not replying as a way to convey the 'he's over me' Grease feeling, and Snapchat, Frozen and Coco and other references to our world in the Grease storyline that fit in just wonderfully. And even the other plot elements that were not from Grease were just as perfectly-handled and only gave the story an additional meaning.

The characters and their relationships were so relatable that after finishing reading, I felt like I had lost my friends. They were so well written that they felt real. Some of them were totally taken from Grease, some of them felt like a blend or completely invented by the author, but all of them stole my heart in a different way.
I loved Ollie, HE IS ME. Like, relatable in every way: super awkward, super anxious, super overthinking about writing another message to his crush. And can we talk about the fact that he's surely named after Olivia Newton John?
And Will made me want to kick him and kiss him at the same time, he was the perfect blend between Danny Zuko, Oliver from CMBYN and Troy Bolton, you can't change my mind🤣. But trust me when I say that here it is more difficult to take parts than in Grease. Things between them are... A little more delicate. Which made it all so damn angsty as well. AND THEIR FLIRT IS 🔥, which was the most beautiful surprise for my shipping heart!
But 100+ points also go to the friendship between Ollie and Lara. Lara is sort of a Rizzo... But she is definitely more precious.

What can I say? I expected a lot, but not this much, and now I can definitely say that this book saved the terrible turn my reading year was taking. While reading OMD I fangirled like a 12 years old (DAMN, NOT ONLY NOW I CAN'T TAKE THE GREASE SOUNDTRACK OUT OF MY HEAD, BUT I ALSO HAVE A NEW OTP! THOSE TWO ARE TOO SOFT TO BE REAL. AND NOW I'M HATING MYSELF BECAUSE I HAVE TO WAIT A LIFETIME FOR FANARTS. AND I WANT A MOVIE BASED ON THIS). I daydreamed all day for the beauty of summer romance like I felt while reading Call Me By Your Name and Aristotle and Dante, but I also found myself moved by the importance of some themes conveyed: coming out and outing, mourning, respect in a relationship, eating disorders and friendship are just some. And then there's the theme of carpe diem that always makes me cry. Again, the way they were conveyed made it all more special, and never felt cliché to me, despite the plot. So I started this book laughing out loud and I finished as a sobbing mess. It warmed my soul and it made me feel so good, and especially hopeful and empowered. These are the books I want to believe in.

The story was such a surprise, it was IMPOSSIBLE to put down (and just for this, it wins everything) and definitely too short--but that's not a flaw, since damn, it had the perfect pacing and never felt rushed or slow. And it was a freaking roller coaster from happy to sad moments and it was so important to me I couldn't help feeling so blessed, because a book like this doesn't happen everyday. At the end, I actually wanted to hug it. What a shame I don't own a physical copy. WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE A STANDALONE? We have plenty of series, why can't this be one?

I am struggling to find any flaws, because this book has got everything I've ever wanted from a contemporary: funny and brilliant style, the PERFECT pacing, a romance that makes you swoon, perfectly-handled retelling but never a copy, and powerful messages everyone needs to know. It'll stick to my heart forever and I'm so grateful to have read it.

Only Mostly Devastated by Sophie Gonzales is such a cute book! I really adored it. It’s a retelling of Grease and I’ve loved Grease since I was young so this updated version was really fun. There was lots of humour in this book which I loved and the relationship between the two main characters Ollie and Will was really endearing. All the side characters were great too. I couldn’t put this book down it was really enjoyable to read. I highly recommend this book to any fan of YA contemporary romance!

"Only Mostly Devestated" is tagged "Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda meets Clueless, inspired by Grease"--- and yet I had no idea what a gem of a book I was walking into. In fact, although I read the description and saw the cover when I first requested this book a few months ago, I went into reading it blind.

Meaning that the first 10 minutes of my read kind of went like this:

<i> Ok, another teen romance. Ah. Ugh, summer romance with a perfect guy. Why did I I want to read this?! Wait. Is the main character a guy?.... I still don't know, but the MC is adorable. Let me look at the cover of this book and the description again.... </i>

This was a fluffy read and although I like the occasional fluffy read, this was to the point of being over-the-top cheesy and unbelievable. As a rom-com, I expect a happy ending. The "Grease" reference from the top probably refers to the last portion of the book, which is very upbeat and fun. It is satisfying, but a bit different from the rest of the flow and pacing of the story.

My only real 'complaint' is the lack of development of side characters. Ollie, the main character, is the perfect son and friend. He is very cute and I love hearing his inner monologue. Yet, everyone that he interacts with has been placed to fulfill a either a stereotypical role, or a role to address a social issue. Issues tackled include body image (with a reference to PCOS, which I found to be an interesting add-on), cancer/death, and toxic masculinity. Although these are all important topics, some of it felt diminished since their placement was not fleshed out through the characters. Kind of like how this last paragraph I wrote was packed with information in a short amount of space ;)

I really enjoyed "Only Mostly Devastated." It is exactly the light, summer-type read that I would recommend to people who enjoy to read YA books. I can see this being a fun book to movie adaption as well!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I requested this because it was blurbed as Simon Vs meets Clueless inspired by Grease. Which shockingly are all of my favorite things!
I'm happy to report Only Mostly Devastated lived up to its hype in my head!

We follow Ollie after a whirlwind summer romance, as he unexpectedly ends up in a new high school for his senior year. Imagine his surprise when the object of his summer fling ends up being one of the most popular jocks at his new school. (GREASE LIGHTNING)
While the story is mainly about Ollie and his conflicting feelings for his crush Will, the story is so much more than a fluffy romance.
One of my favorite aspects of the novel was Ollie meeting his new friends and becoming part of their crew. (PINK LADIES) Lara is the one he has the most trouble figuring out but their friendship is my new religion. Also Lara is a bi queen and she deserves the world.

I seriously loved this!
Thanks to netgalley for a copy!

TW: Cancer