I loved this novel, so much so that I burnt my hand because I wasn't paying attention when I was listening,
Netflix needs to adapt this cute story.

There was a lot going on in Luca's life , but Madden did justice to how the character would adjust to a life without ballet and how the love interest was introduced and developed. I wish I was still in the classroom because I know a couple of my students would have loved it.

this was weird? I didn't really understand what was going on in the beginning but it did get better about half way through. Im not sure I would recommend.

What a great story with a wonderful message. These kids go through some hard times but I really liked their development over it. I loved the supportive father and the relationship he had with his son. Overall a great book to get teens talking about the hard stuff in life.

Luca Mason has been training his whole life to be a ballet dancer, so when he breaks his foot badly enough that he is told he will never do ballet again, it feels like his world is ending. If that weren’t enough, he was attending his private school on a scholarship for his ballet, and he can’t afford to pay the tuition, so he has to transfer to a public high school. The only upside to what has happened to him is his new friendship with Jordan Tanaka-Jones, the popular rowing captain at his new school.

This was a well-written story with realistic characters. Luca and Jordan both had to grapple with their identity in this book. I really liked his other friend at his new school, Amina. This book would be a great story to be transformed into a movie. I recommend for YA fans.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an audio ARC of this book.

I've read a fair number of teen novels about career ending injuries and this one is near the top of my list of favorites. Luca's relationship with his new life is complex - he's depressed, cuts ballet entirely out of his life, refuses to acknowledge it. His choices hurt him. The love story element doesn't work as well for me but his grief and anger made a lot of sense. Charming and well worth the listen.

Usually, I'm all about books that contain ballet and dancing, but honestly, this wasn't really my cup of tea. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy the book at all, but I did find the main character quite annoying and unnecessarily mean sometimes. I understand that he was dealing with (in his case) a serious injury, but still, some of his actions made him quite unlikeable.
But the issues discussed in the book were all very relevant and I think they were handled quite sensitively.
As for the narration, I think it was good, but I would like more differences between the side characters. But other than that, I was quite pleased.

3.5/5 stars

A read-alike for Dating Disasters of Emma Nash by Chloe Seager: Australia-based Luca and UK-based Emma are both teens who are blundering their ways through high school with dating drama and a lot of their own life inexperience. Both stories are funny, have a lot of heart, and feature some pretty great awkward humor.

Luca's world changes drastically when the doctors tell him he'll never dance ballet again. Since he's at his private school on a dance scholarship and he can no longer dance, he's also forced to change schools. Luca must figure out who he is now that his future as a ballet dancer is gone. 

I loved Anything But Fine by Tobias Madden! This book is all about how one small moment can change your life forever. Luca has put so much time and focus into ballet that it made up most of his identity, so he goes through a pretty rough transitional period in this book. I think Anything But Fine will really speak to anyone who has needed to give up something they love because of an injury or unexpected life change. I loved Luca's new friend Amina so much too. This book does have content warnings for homophobia, Islamophobia, death of a parent in the past, toxic friendships, and a pretty thorough description of the injury that starts this whole tale. Anything But Fine made me laugh, and there was one scene at the end that had me crying pretty hard. I'm so glad this book exists and would highly recommend it! I also ended up getting an ALC through Netgalley and I can verify that the audiobook is fantastic! The narrator did a phenomenal job!

What an absolutely lovely coming of age story!

Tobias Madden has written a true jem with Anything But Fine. A young adult, coming of age story, Mr. Madden touches on some powerful issues, and manages to keep a hopeful tone throughout.

I was repeatedly impressed by the depth of Luca's voice. Faced with some intense challenges, Luca’s reactions, and the choices he makes, are admirable. What he learns about himself, and the way this sweet boy grows over the course of the story, is a joy to experience.

Author Tobias Madden has a real gift, and I’m eager to read the several other books he’s written… and here’s to hoping there are many more to come!

I was lucky enough to enjoy Anything But Fine as an audiobook, and I’ve got to spend some time crowing over the narrator! Matthew Backer delivers an absolutely stellar performance. His ability to infuse Luca’s character with the youthful innocence he surely possesses, and the lighthearted tone Mr. Backer keeps up the entire way through, is exceptional. Bravo, Bravo, Bravo!!!

Thank you Netgalley for this audiobook edition of Anything But Fine by Tobias Madden.

Awww, if you enjoyed Red White and Royal Blue, or any book like that, this is definitely it for you.

Luca is a hopeful young dancer who's world has just been devastated by an injury that might alter his future as a professional dancer. What's worse is that it has also lost him his scholarship at the prestigious private school he attended to dance.

Now Luca is lost, sad, and lonely at his new school. Students say ugly things to him for being gay, and a friendly face is hard to come by. Except a new boy named Jordan, who is also injured takes an interest in befriending Luca. The bad news is that he's straight, but the flirty energy between the two of them might beg to differ. Could this be the start of something new and exciting for Luca? But what about Jordan's reputation?

This is just chock full of all of the delicious teen longing, angst, romance, butterflies, and coming of aged-ness that you could ever ask for. It's squee worthy and cringe worthy, just like it was when we were teens. I very much enjoyed this YA LGBTQ+ romance.

As someone who faced a potentially career-ending injury in my own artistic field, Luca’s plight hit very close to home. When I injured my wrist while playing cello, I was told that I needed to stop playing for months and undergo physical therapy, or else risk never getting to play again. Reading Luca’s story, following his journey as he adjusts to a life without his passion, it felt incredibly real to me. Tobias Madden really captured the struggles of losing something you love, especially while being in a vulnerable high school mindset.

I listened to the audiobook version while reading along with my copy of Anything But Fine, and I think this was the ideal reading experience for this book! I quite enjoyed the narrator (Matthew Backer), as his style really brought the story to life for me. Having an Australian narrator speak for an Australian author and character rooted the book into its proper setting for me, allowing me to fall into the story easily.

My Recommendation-If you enjoy a classic-feeling YA novel that reads like a hit teen movie, you should grab a copy of Anything But Fine! This book would be perfect for fans of Tiny Pretty Things (both the book and the Netflix Series)!

Brilliant audiobook, so memorable.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publishers for this advance copy to listen to.

This book just brings me joy. So much joy. As a queer Aussie, reading queer Aussie stories always makes my heart feel so full. I wish I’d had books like this when I was a teenager figuring all this out for myself.

I want Amina to be my best friend, honestly. She just radiates pure, wholesome joy and I love her so, so much. She is, without a doubt, my favourite character in this book.

Luca’s an absolute lovable idiot. He’s such a teenager. It’s amusing when I read YA books and remember feeling those things at that age and how big they felt then and how small they feel now. This is why YA, especially queer YA, is so important. Luca could help so many young gay teens feel less alone.

Jordan is a fantastic love interest, too. I think I loved him even more the second time around. He’s so confident and sure of himself, and yet so uncertain and vulnerable at the same time. It’s so well balanced.

And oh my goodness, Luca’s relationship with his father is everything. I had very supportive parents growing up too, and I know that’s not everyone’s experience, but I do love seeing it in fiction. Luca’s dad is so patient and compassionate and just such a good dad. It’s great seeing a fictional dad acknowledge he’s made a mistake, apologise for things, be open and vulnerable with his son. Toxic masculinity who?

Anything but Fine is the story of Luca, a gay teenage boy who’s life falls apart after he falls down the stairs, breaking his foot and his ballet dancing dreams.
Luca finds himself having to find out who he is outside of the small ballet world he was in for the first 16 years of his life. New school, new friends, new self, new life.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* Loved this book! Everything about this book was amazing! Will totally buy and recommend this.

This is such a heartfelt book about all your plans crashing down in a single moment and figuring out how to pivot (get it, he’s a dancer? 😅).

I wanted to give Luca a big hug, as he was figuring out how to shift his plans, dreams, academics, and friendships, after his accident and while he was coping with the loss of his mother. This one is all about finding yourself and perfectly captures how messy it can be.

I was really struck by the romance aspects of this book. I didn’t come out until I was in college, but I remember how hard it was to date folks still figuring out their sexual identities, after I had already come out myself. This book captures those feels in such a nuanced way.

Why did I listen to Anything But Fine?

Anything But Fine was available for review on Netgalley. I was immediately intrigued by the premise and of the main character being an injured male ballerina. I also could tell that this was going to be an emotional read but I was hoping for a bit of sweet romance. Plus, it was set in Australia!

What is the story here?

Anything But Here follows Luca who had misstep on a flight of stairs which leads to a broken foot. Prior to his injury, he was a star ballerina preparing to audition for the Australian Ballet School. All of a sudden his dream is crushed and he is forced to change the course of his life. Everything is different and he isn't sure where to turn especially when he meets Jordan, the star of the rowing team. Jordan presents as straight but the chemistry between them is real. Isn't it?

How did I like Anything But Fine?

Anything But Fine is a sweet sweet read. I loved Luca's voice from the first page. At first, it appears that he has everything he ever wanted. Yet when he falls down the stairs and breaks his foot, it feels as if he's losing everything all at once He is such a flawed and beautiful character. He's sad and angry but also snarky and witty. And he be a real asshole. He acts because of what he is feeling intertwined. Everything gets pretty messy and I couldn't help but cheer him on.

The relationships within this story really have a staring role. First is Luca and his ballet friends. He has been friends with these girls practically since he first started ballet. When he is injury he pushes them away - too hurt with what is going on to handle their friendship. In all honesty, this is a good thing because some of these girls are toxic. The second relationship with a staring role is Luca's new friend Amina. Amina is Luca'a first friend in his post-ballet life and she really is the best. I loved her. She's overly chatty but with the sweetest of intentions. She's also nerdy and caring - and so much of a better friend than his former ballet buddies. The third relationship, of course, is a boy. His name is Jordan and he's your typically nice jock. Their bond starts out as occupational therapy buddies and slowly leads to something more. I enjoyed their bond and thought their journey together felt real to me.

Another relationship that is key within this story is Luca's relationship with his father. In many ways, Luca uses his father as a punching bag. He just throws his anger and disbelief while his father tries to take it in stride. He is completely supportive of his son and their bond is simply beautiful. Within the relationship ideas of widowed parenthood and simply be widowed are addressed. There was a hit of comparison with Luca's losing the thing that was do dear to him and his fathers use of his wife. Both affect the characters very deeply.

How was the narration?

Anything But Fine is narrated by Matthew Backer and is nine hours and thirty six minutes long. I listened to it at 1.5x and found it to flow easily. The narrator used different voices for each character so it was easy to keep track of everything. I also enjoyed the way the narrator read the descriptions of Australia and the areas within it. Anything But Fine is very well done in audio and I would definitely recommend for others to check it out. </p>

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This book was so cute and relatable and such a fun journey! I loved all the characters, and the excellent narration made me feel truly immersed in the world Tobias created. I can't wait to read more of his work! 5/5!

This was a really sweet story full of emotions that could frustrate you and make you cheer for the MC and his life. The writing is fluent and unputdownable. The themes touched are forever relatable and I loved the ballet elements since I did ballet and I still love it a lot. It's not everyday you come across a queer ballet book. The narration was done really well; nothing too forced, not bland, the perfect amount of feelings to make you part of the story. I will definitely keep an eye out for this author's future books.