"Get ready for a wild, time-traveling adventure with Spin Me Right Round by David Valdes! This book is like a mash-up of Back to the Future and Love, Simon, and it's absolutely fantastic.

Luis Gonzalez is your average high school senior, trying to survive his last year at a prestigious academy. But when a freak accident sends him back to the 1980s, things get seriously interesting. Luis meets his school's closeted gay student from that era, and he quickly realizes he has a mission: to make sure this student doesn't face the same hardships Luis does in the present.

Full of humor, heart, and a dash of romance, Spin Me Right Round is a refreshing take on both time-travel and LGBTQ+ stories. Luis is a witty and relatable protagonist who deals with the struggles of identity and acceptance in both the past and present.

The book does a great job of blending the fun and quirky elements of the 80s with serious themes about acceptance and being true to yourself. It’s a perfect read for anyone who loves a good laugh, a bit of romance, and a whole lot of heart.

If you're looking for a story that’s as entertaining as it is meaningful, give Spin Me Right Round a spin. You won’t be disappointed!"

I requested this for consideration for Book Riot's All the Books podcast for its release date. After sampling several books out this week, I decided to go with a different book for my review.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me a free eARC of this book to read in exchange for my review!

I loved Luis and his personality. I didn't think this was going to be as heavy as it was. It was definitely a more hard hitting read than I thought. I loved the friends that Luis met when he went back in time.

Unfortunately this was a big miss for me - I'm not sure if it would hit better with actual teenagers, but I found the dialogue cringey, the characters' actions frustrating and the vibes off.

Received a digital ARC of this book via NetGalley.

Good twist on a classic movie to make it more relevant to the current YA gen. Though it was advertised as Back to the Future with a twist. Didn’t find much Back to the Future other than the traveling back in time to his parents’ youth. I felt that some of the characters and side storylines could have been fleshed out more. The MC grated on me at times.

Thank you to Netgalley and the published for giving me an advanced copy of this book to read and review.

Time travel back to the 80s? Hell yeah. This was such a fun read. I´m kicking myself for not reading it sooner. 80´s fans get their money´s worth with this one!

The world was fuzzy as he lifted his head from where he was on the ground. His eyes tried to adjust as he focused on his surroundings, but nothing looked familiar. His heart began to race as things began to clear in his line of sight. This place didn’t look quite right. Where in the world was he?

Spin Me Right Round follows Luis, a teenager in his senior year of high school getting ready for prom. When a freak accident sends him back into the 80s he is now tasked with trying to save a student who in his present timeline doesn’t make it past his senior year.

This book was cute and entertaining. A quick, easy read with a great found family friend group. The time travel aspect was whimsical (and yes, far-fetched), but I really thought it was fun.

This book has some very hard to read parts as being gay in the 80s was extremely hard. The homophobia and bullying was intense to read about. So, please know that going into this book.

If you’re looking for a back to the future, but make it gay, YA book… here you go!

I read this book, hoping it would be a great addition for the teen book club I run. I have to say I *really* disliked it. I had hopes for the time travel aspect, and I kept hoping that the main character would become more likeable as the book went on. I was left disappointed on both accounts. Many of the characters, which were rather flat in their development, seemed more like caricatures of someone's poor understanding of what it is like to be a teenager.

The part I hated most was that the main character, a queer teen facing discrimination in his own time, would out another queer kid back in time, especially when he knew the original fate of that kid.

I had a lot of trouble getting into this one despite enjoying books that play with time. This might because of my age, so I would recommend to others still.

Luis is used to ruling his school and getting his own way. After being told he can't bring his boyfriend to prom, he rushes to his favorite teacher to complain when he suddenly gets hit in the head with a giant prop for the school play. When he wakes up, he's back in the 1980s, where his estranged father is the school bully, his mom is the peacemaker, and a closet kid was found dead the night of prom. Luis takes it upon himself to save the queer boy's life and help him come to terms with his sexuality in this repressive time in hopes that it will get him back to his time.

This is a really cute story, but Luis's flip-floppiness regarding his crush and whether it's cheating or not to make out with someone before his actual boyfriend is ever born got a bit annoying. His also very flamboyant ways of talking and mannerisms in an 80s religious school setting probably should have caused more of a stir than it did. The pacing is very quick, and I wish some of the side characters had gotten a little more time to become fully realized. The ending is very satisfying, seeing the effects Luis had on the kids and how that translated to their own adulthood.

I couldn't stand anything in this book. The time travel was badly done, the characters didn't feel like teens, the writing felt like a grown author thinking he knows what teens are like when he really doesn't.

DNF 24% (70 pages)

Nope. Sorry I just cannot finish this book. I’m a sucker for time travel—I was very excited for this book—but Spin Me Right Round is cringy to the point of being unreadable (at least in my opinion).

Firstly, has this author ever met a real teenager? Or even watched how a modern day teenager acts or speaks? The dialogue, both internal and external, is so so so cringe to the extent that I physically recoiled sometimes when reading. Who talks like this??? Look, I'm practically the same age as Luis is meant to be (he's in his senior year and I just graduated 6 months ago) so I know how teenagers interact with one another. And let me tell you—it is not like this. It gives me the vibe of an out of touch millennial trying to "fit in" with the teens by dropping random slang they saw online. Here are some examples:

- “but, sis, I am in a mood”
- “I stan for Ms. Silverthorn”
- “The Beyoncé of ASA”
- “Cheng has snapped me a meme of a dog looking around after it’s ball has been snatched away. I snap back a GIF of a UFO sucking up a body” (you don't "snap" gifs...you text them! also, most people would hard-core judge me for using a gif)

It’s also such an unflattering picture of teenagers. Luis makes fun of “geeky” kids and totally makes fun of smart, achieving students. He’s student class president though he claims that he hates meetings and planning?? (even though every class president I’ve known is an organized overachiever). I think this novel is trying (key word: trying) to speak to a specific niche of teenagers, the one's who are "too cool for school," and that is a crowd I do not relate to at all.

Additionally, the main character is so freaking annoying. He’s full of himself and selfish and completely ignores solid advice from others. And from what I’ve read in other reviews, this behavior doesn’t really change by the end of the book. I don’t want to be in the head of this judgmental, winy, obnoxious main character for another 200 pages.

I will say, this book had decent representation, even though I didn’t always like how it was shown. The main character is gay and Cuban, there is a non-binary best friend in present time, and a handful of POC characters. Yes, this representation is needed and I liked seeing it, but is not a valid justification for me to continue reading this book. I don’t know, maybe I’ll one day return to this book, but for now I just cannot deal with it.

SO much fun! I really enjoyed this queer and inventive take on the Back to the Future-esque story. I think it's a perfect refresh and I highly recommend!

I overall really enjoyed this book. It was an interesting twist on Back to the Future, and it dealt with important topics. I think the dual times highlight the progress we've made and what there is still to do. I was glad that this book focused on the 1980s as it was a pivotal time for the lgbtq community. I'm 25, but my minor of history in college allowed me to study the 1980s and lgbtq history in depth. I think it's important for younger members of the lgbtq community to learn more about the history, but I do think the author missed the mark on writing teens as they are now. It was still a really great read! I'll be purchasing this book for myself and recommending it to my library to add to the collection.

Thanks to Bloomsbury Ya for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to enjoy this book, the plot was interesting and I love queer content, but the main character was just so unlikable.

Luis is a “modern teen” that is well versed in all the cool pop culture and trends of 2022. He’s also unable to think how his actions affect any other character. He constantly makes choices throughout Spin Me Right Round that make other characters uncomfortable or straight up puts them in danger. He’s barely admonished for it at all or sees any repercussion for his actions.

Luis almost gets a character killed but in the end he still gets everything he ever wanted and everyone lives happily ever after. It also was wild that Luis kept trying to cheat on his boyfriend the entire book and no one said anything?

I feel like Luis never learned a lesson throughout this whole book and just has life handed to him with all characters basically catering to his every whims.

I enjoyed all of the side characters a lot and wish we got more of their backstory, especially Chaz. It felt like he was barely explored as a character even though he’s supposed to be one of the main characters.

I’m astounded I still have to say that HP references don’t belong in queer books but here I am yet again having to restate it.

I did think the writing style was very captivating, the whole book ended up being a pretty quick read that I didn't put down much once I started.

This was a very cringe inducing read for me and I feel like I would have enjoyed it significantly more if it leaned harder into the thriller/ mystery of what happened to Chaz instead of just Luis dicking around in the past.

After his dysfunctional private school refuses to allow him to attend prom with his boyfriend, golden boy Luis Gonzalez vows to make things right for his friends and fellow students.

But before he can make his case, a heavy blow to the head sends Luis back in time, to the year 1985.

The very same year Back to the Future was released.

Wink.

And here, Louis comes face to face with his mother's infamous cautionary tale, Chaz, the gay friend who took his life before the end of their senior year.

Will Louis be able to change fate before he returns to his own time, and without preventing his own birth from happening?

Well, I guess you'll just have to read it to find out.

With a cast of memorable characters and a hasty plot, this book was a lot of fun.

But there was one notable letdown.

I was definitely expecting a greater sense of 80s nostalgia from this queer story of time travel and coming out.

Other than discrimination toward Louis and his flamboyant personality, it was easy to forget that the majority of the story took place in the year of The Breakfast Club.

A missed opportunity if you ask me.

I received the Netgalleys of this book with my LibLearnX ticket and it was the best thing I’ve read in ages! First of all, time travel/Back to the Future is one of my favorite things ever! Adding twists that get rid of the creepy incest angle and Biff assaulting Marty’s mom make this story so much better! At heart this is a sweet story about a well-meaning teenage boy trying to make his school more inclusive/make the world a safer happier place. The characters are real “You just have to get to know him better and then he’s not so bad!” Video game obsessed Ernie, oh my god what a great book!

Time travel narratives are tricky. There's this tendency to try and correct history, a desire to make the world better than it is and a story where a character goes back in time makes it easy to indulge that desire. Even in a case like this one, where the changes are so small the effects can be outsized. It's more than just saving the life of one kid. It fundamentally shifts the attitude of the whole school and the relationship the protagonist has with his mother. Some of the characters are solid while others are fairly one-dimensional. A decent read