I cannot speak on the accuracy of the portrayal of Trans characters in this story, as I do not have that personal experience. I will say that Noah as a main character seemed a bit of a mess and felt pretty selfish - he never seemed to show any interest in his best friend's school work or anything and was upset whenever they weren't available; he's angry at his mom for cutting off his credit card after he spent over $400 in one week, I could go on. I realize that this was intentional to a degree, but I feel like this was never fully addressed. Noah's role in the story felt a little forced. Again, this was necessary for the plot to progress, but I do wish it had felt a little more natural. Overall, the story was fine. I think the representation is important and this is definitely worth having in classroom libraries so that students can read about diverse perspectives.

Oh. My. Gosh.

I knew that this book being one of my most anticipated releases for 2021 was a good choice, but DANG. This book was AMAZING and I tore through it. As a nonbinary person who is still figuring things out, seeing good, real trans and nonbinary rep that's not just about coming out and transphobia is SO necessary. And this is amazing representation.

Devin's story is what got to me the most. It's so rare to find representation of folks who are still figuring out their identity and pronouns, and it's even rarer to see that explored in a safe environment and in a way that's accepted by the people around them. Some of my best friends have gone through similar things of changing their pronouns, and this rep is going to help so many young adults learn that identity is not permanent, that our identities as queer people can shift as we grow. You don't need anyone else to tell you who you are, and you don't need to cater your identity or pronouns to anyone else. You're valid.

This is the story of Noah, a trans boy who is staying the summer with his brother in Colorado. Noah runs a blog called Meet Cute Diaries, which posts meet-cute stories to show trans people that they can find love, too. The problem? They are all made up and someone knows. As Noah tries to save his blog, adjust to out life in Colorado, and maybe find love, he struggles to keep it all under control.

I guess it is important to note that I don't usually enjoy romance novels, but read this because it has queer characters. So, remember that.

I thought this book was okay. I will break this down further by discussing specifically characterization, plotting, and writing. First, I found Noah to be an annoying main character. I get that he is struggling, but he is so self-centered and I get it is supposed to be a journey for him to realize this and correct it, but I never feel like this actually happened. I just didn't care about his journey that much. However, I found Devin to be a much more interesting character and kind of wish the book would have been about em! I wish we learned more about eir life. I even found Drew, for all his flaws (and I mean, Noah also had his flaws so...), an interesting character and wish his motives and story could have been explored more. Second, plotting: This ties into characterization, but I felt that the plot was a bit loose in parts. It relied so much on Noah being unfair to those around him that loose ends flew all over the place and I found that to be a little underwhelming. Third, writing: I think Lee's writing is overall good. It kept me engaged even with the parts I didn't enjoy. Maybe some tune-ups with the characterization and plotting and this could have been a fun and heartfelt novel! But it ended up falling flat for me because I never connected with the main character and got bored with the plot.

Meet Cute Diary follows newly out trans teen Noah, who is staying with his brother, and navigating romance with other queer teens. Strengths of this book include showing the contrast between a terrible partner and a caring one, family acceptance and gender exploration, while the entire tumblr blog storyline was a major weakness. Drew's involvement in it felt forced, which might be kind of the point. It was a three star read for me.

Noah Ramirez thinks he’s an expert on romance. He has to be for his popular blog, the Meet Cute Diary, a collection of trans happily ever afters. There’s just one problem—all the stories are fake. What started as the fantasies of a trans boy afraid to step out of the closet has grown into a beacon of hope for trans readers across the globe. Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book. This was a great book that allowed to talk about young love.

I really enjoyed this book. It was really cute and honest. There was also lots of representation for BIPOC and the LGBTQ+ community. The main character was multi-racial, and even though the book was set in Denver, Colorado, a predominantly white town, there was still lots of diversity in every scene. I also really liked how another character was able to experience with pronouns and decided on e/em pronouns. I think that neopronouns should be normalized in books and media and it's important to have representation for nonbinary individuals who don't use he/she/they pronouns. The main character, Noah, learned a ton throughout the series, not only about himself, but also about his blog (the Meet Cute Diary), and he also learned about friendships and relationships. I think this book accomplished exactly what the title says it will: be a cute book that reads a bit like a diary about a boy and the people he meets. I would definitely recommend this book because to YA romance readers, but I think the book can also be seen as more of a coming of age book than a romance. Overall, this book was a super fun and adorable read that I think will be a loved by many YA readers.

Loved it! So, so adorable. It was wonderful to read a trans romcom from an ownvoices author. So romantic, with all the best tropes. An all around good read.

The trans rom com fake dating trope (with a twist) story I never knew I wanted, but clearly always needed.