Member Reviews
To be totally honest, I really wasn’t feeling this book until about two-thirds of the way through. I was just so annoyed with Miles and this book for the whole being hung up on Shane plot. But that last third. It really got me. I had tears in my eyes for much of it, and I definitely recommend this. Especially since I'm sure other people won't feel the same way I did in the first two-thirds of it. I'll definitely read more from Edward Underhill in the future.
Trigger Warnings: (Non-malicious) mentions of the main character’s deadname, transphobia, body dysphoria, binding, online transphobia (anonymous nastiness directed at trans character), cyber bullying, discussion of trauma as a result of bullying, discussion of racism experienced by a character, cheating, break-up, brief instances of misgendering, mentions of previous (off-screen) sexual harassment experienced by a side character, cursing
Representation: Transgender, Queer, Gay, questioning gender identity, Down Syndrome, Latinx, Korean-American
Always the Almost is a queer, YA contemporary romance. This year, Miles makes two New Year’s resolutions- to get his boyfriend back and beat his enemy in their piano competition. Reuniting with Shane, the ex, will be difficult since Miles is trans. Winning the competition will also be difficult when his piano teacher tells him he has outgrown her and must start with a new one. Then, Miles meets the new guy, Eric, and pretends to date him for a Valentine’s Day party. Soon enough they are not pretending and Miles continues to discover his identity through their relationship and while on his own.
Aww I really loved this book! I love when a YA book isn’t 100% teenage angst and this book is definitely not. The characters are in high school and have teenage problems, but it reads older and is a love letter to self identity. There is also so much joy in this book! I loved all of the trans joy and happiness too!
The writing style of this story is very easy to read and enjoyable. I think if you liked “I Wish You All the Best” or “ Felix Ever After,” you’ll definitely love this book too! The coming of age aspect, as well as the romance storyline is incredible and so relatable. I loved Miles and Eric, I only wish we could have had more depth from Paige and Rachel. I thought the queer ensemble was so awesome though and I wish I had had that in high school! Overall, such a great story and I’d definitely recommend it to everyone!
I was so excited when I got approved for this eARC and it did not disappoint.
Always the Almost is more than a rom-dram, it’s a self-acceptance journey for our main character. Miles Jacobson is a high school student who recently came out as trans. While his friends and family are supportive and accepting, his boyfriend (Shane) breaks up with him after he comes out. Miles believes Shane could love him as Miles and makes a resolution to win him back.
Insert new guy Eric Mendez to make Miles say, “resolution who?” Eric is an artsy Seattle transplant who’s charming, funny, and above all accepting of Miles exactly how he is. A beautiful connection forms between the two, but Miles’ inability to stop thinking about what could be with Shane threatens their relationship.
I loved so many things about this book. Eric was the most beautiful soul and I couldn’t get enough of him. A huge part of Miles’ journey was his piano playing and Edward did a great job explaining the instrument. His writing style made me feel like I was physically watching Miles’ play. I also cried twice (the happiest of tears), so you know this was a winner. I can’t wait to receive the physical copy I ordered!
Look for Always the Almost on February 14, 2023 💕
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Marten’s Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the advance copy of this joyful debut novel from Edward Underhill. I feel like I have learned so much about the trans experience by taking in the prose in these pages. Edward has put his whole heart into Miles-- and you can feel the raw, still-beating heart pulsing between the two. In addition to being a window into the soul of this transmasc teen-- the story was insightful, funny, and romantic. I fell in love with the characters immediately and truly cared about each of their journeys.
We meet Miles as he is gearing up for the Midwest's biggest piano competition. However, that's not the only glaring problem that he has. He is also finding himself-- and that endeavor all started when he transitioned. Thankfully, he has a wonderful support system on his side, but even that isn't enough to staunch the ache of losing his boyfriend Shane. That is... not until Eric falls into his life. The artist sees the beauty of the pianist, and as their love story begins, so too does Miles' voyage into introspection. With the help of his new piano teacher, he finds out what it means to be himself and what he wants from his 'new' life. He says goodbye to Almost and just Is.
I have made so many changes in the past couple of years. I realized I was pansexual during the pandemic, and I'm now exploring what it means to be nonbinary. So I very much related to Miles and his search for himself. It's comforting to see characters that aren't comfortable in their skins and make strides to change it. Many of us stick to what's comfortable because it's easier, but then we wind up being terribly unhappy. And that's the thing I loved most about this novel. It truly was a tale of trans joy. The road there for Miles was bumpy and full of starts and stops-- but it ended on such a happy note that I found myself smiling at the very last page. Growing up is hard. Books like this will make it so much less so for people of all ages who really need the representation.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press for a chance to read this amazing eARC.
I've just put this story down and thinking about how many young trans teens will feel seen by this story. I LOVED IT. IT IS PERECT. Miles' journey to continue to find himself during his senior year of high school is a long, emotional, heartfelt path. I really enjoyed standing alongside him as he navigated a break up, a distant father, a piano rival, and ultimately himself. I also adored his rediscovery of his passion: piano and classical music. I truly will be holding onto Miles and Eric and the entire time for quite a bit and I can't wait to buy a physical copy of my own once it's released! Highly recommend!
Very fun and cute YA read! I thought all the characters were pretty well developed and I loved getting to watch Miles continue to grow and his journey with self-acceptance after the fact of coming out. I'm also a music nerd so I deeply appreciated the piano element. Fantastic debut!
I'd like to thank Net Galley and Wednesday Books for an advanced copy of Always the Almost.
4.5 stars, rounded up rounded up to 5.
I loved this book. I enjoyed Miles story as he settled into himself. I also really enjoy how the author and story presented situations in a grey space. Mistakes were made, but there was development and progress for all/most of the characters as the story progressed. I look forward to reading more of Edward Underhill's work.
I read this book as an arc from Netgalley.
This book was just so sweet and real. At the beginning of the book, the author stresses that this book focuses on trans joy. While Miles deals certain prejudices in the book, it is not the main focus. Miles is figuring out things about himself, and his friendships. Eric was just an interesting love interest and I wish we could have spent more time with him. I really enjoyed Miles's relationship with his piano teacher and his mom. I think everyone should take a chance to read Miles' story.
4.5 stars! Ahhhh I loved this book. The story was built so well, the characters were so real and tangible, the struggles and trials that our queer trans character experienced really struck a chord. In the author's note, Edward Underhill says he wanted this story to center on joy and I really feel like it did. Miles and his struggles and everything he went through were so real and although I've never experienced them, the writing made it feel like you were watching this journey happen to your friend. If you're looking for a heartfelt, coming of age story with MC you can absolutely root for, this is it.
Edward Underhill’s debut novel is so unbelievably heartwarming. I truly felt like I was being transported back to my Midwestern teen-pianist days. What a beautiful story of queer, trans joy.
“Always the Almost” by Edward Underhill is the perfect YA romance to buy when it releases on Valentines day!
The book follows high school senior and pianist Miles as he navigates competition, relationships past and present, and finding himself as a newly-out trans man. The two greatest concerns of the plot are Miles’ desire to finally beat the same boy that’s been the first to his second place in their region’s piano competition, and initially trying to get back together with his ex, who broke up with him when he came out. Soon, however, Miles begins falling for the new boy at school, further complicating his relationships.
This book was adorable, with a great and authentic romance I loved. It’s got a very nice, believable progression from new friends to boyfriends between Miles and his love interest Eric. The conflict between Miles and Eric is less about them getting together, and more about the obstacles they encounter (like Miles’ lingering feelings for his ex) once they’ve started dating, which I haven’t witnessed in many romance books I’ve read. I found it to be a refreshing change of pace. Once the characters start dating, there are also a few really important scenes in which they discuss boundaries and learn how to be comfortable together.
The piano aspect was also excellent. The competition and practice scenes were very relatable to me as someone who played violin in high school. It really amped up the non-romantic tension, fleshed Miles and his world out, and was used well as a vehicle for some of his character growth. His piano teacher is one of the best in the whole book! In addition, I loved the acknowledgement of queerness in the history of classical music.
What took this book down from 5 stars was the prevalence of cheating. It felt like characters moved on, or expected others to move on, from instances of cheating way too quickly and without much remorse for their actions. I get that teenage characters make mistakes and won’t always handle things appropriately, but cheating is such a massively bad choice, and characters were not very sensitive in how they handled it. I just simply did not appreciate how much cheating happened to begin and thought there could be more interesting ways to create conflict.
Finally, a few miscellaneous aspects of the book I enjoyed were the inclusion of characters’ family members, the exploration of Eric’s own feelings about gender and sexuality and how those differed from Miles’, and how well developed Miles’ ex-boyfriend is.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys queer YA romance and musical themes! Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for giving me this eARC in exchange for an honest review.
my oldest is Trans and it was great to see a book with a trans characters in. I highly recommend this to everyone.
4.50 ⭐️
In Always the Almost is this beautiful window into the experiences of a trans teenager in the early stages of his transition. Miles is so well written and Underhill gives readers a really clear depiction on what it really feels like to juggle relationship changes, dysphoria, and the magnitude of a huge event like a major piano competition. I found myself rooting for Miles and cheering him on as his confidence grew and he found his joy. Even when he hit some bumps along the way I was here for him and excited to read more.
I also adored the side characters. Miles has so many people in his life that support him and want to help him live as his authentic self. Rachel’s bathroom brigade was a heartwarming little touch and there were so many moments with Eric that just made me love his character. I would have liked to see a little bit more personality development from Paige because I honestly couldn’t tell you much about her outside of her relationships.
If you’re looking for a YA read with a little music and gay/trans joy then you should absolutely read this book.
1 Sentence Summary: Miles has two New Year’s resolutions: win back his ex-boyfriend (who broke up with Miles after he came out as trans), and finally defeat his rival at the annual Tri-State piano competition, but when he meets the new boy, Eric, who seems to really see him for him, everything gets more complicated.
My Thoughts: To be honest, the premise of this book sounded kind of boring, but I was way pleasantly surprised!! The writing was great and the story was really engaging. Also, I took piano lessons for years and years growing up so I loved reading about the piano and lessons and competition and that whole aspect.
The characters could have been a bit more developed but I did really like them (except for near the end when I was super annoyed with Miles for a few chapters lol).
Overall I really liked this and the romance was super cute and Miles’s journey of finding out who he is was great and heartfelt.
Recommend to: Fans of trans representation, cute high school love stories, piano competitions, and self discovery.
(Warnings: swearing)
Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book, my thoughts are my own.
This book was nice, reminiscent of "I wish you all the best" by Mason Deaver, it was a book about self acceptance, becoming/discovering who you are as a person when you grow older and more into your true self.
The writing style was easy to read and the main characters likeable. Unfortunately in the first half of the book the side characters lack dept, I would've preferred to have a more seamless way to get to know them more spread throughout the book rather than very condensed in the second half of it.
The pacing of the story is well kept, plot wise, there is enough information about both MC's to get a sense of who they are and see the personal growth each get by the end of the book. I did however find myself putting it down for no apparent reason in the first 30-40% of the book. There wasn't a particular reason I just felt meh about it, not loving or hating it just okay. Things really picked up for me once I got more attached to our MC's.
Overall I enjoyed the book, while not perfect it was entertaining and fun as a whole.
4/5 stars
Bookarina
Thank you so much to Edward Underhill, St Martins and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book!
I had heard early buzz about this book so when the opportunity came to read it, I jumped at.
I am Miles. I am trans. I am gay. This music belongs to me.
Miles Jacobson is 16 years old and recently came out as trans and 2 weeks later his boyfriend Shane of a year broke up with him. Miles was not convinced they were over and made a new year resolution to win him back and to beat his big competitor in a piano competition. What Miles did not expect was to meet new student Eric and his feelings be tested. Did he really want Shane? Would dating Eric make Shane jealous?
Being a teenager is not easy. I was a teenager at the start of the 21st century and it wasn't easy then and now with the internet, cell phones and social media it makes it that much harder. I am also fascinated while reading current coming of age books because it has to tackle all that comes with those technology advances. We got to see some of those hardships when Miles read unkind words about him and thought he handled it as best as he could. I love that he was able to go to a friend and reported it even without being explicitly told to do so. It was a small moment that I thought was really nicely done.
"Do you see me as a guy?" "Miles," he says, "I see you as everything you tell me you are or want to be."
Eric was such a wonderful character for Miles. He is such a cinnamon roll and was just the perfect person that Miles needed at that time in his life. When Eric suggests them fake date to go to a party, the gasp that let out of my mouth as I was not expecting that! I thought it was just going to be a friends to lover not fake dating - friends to lover! So that was a pleasant surprise. He just loved Miles for all that he is and never wanted him to be anything more or less. I was a bit bummed that Miles was kind of half in the relationship because he was still concerned about Shane. But then I have to remind myself that they are 16 and they are going to make LOTS of mistakes and grow from there.
Another major plot throughout the story is Miles practicing and gearing up for a classical piano competition. He has a new piano teacher, new identity and was trying to figure out what brings him joy. Because ultimately what brought him joy would shine through while performing. I love his relationship with his piano teacher. She was quirky and honest and made him be better.
I just really enjoyed this book and will be recommending it to my audience and to my friends. It just made me smile a lot and gave me all the feels. I am going to end with this beautiful quote: "Love can transcend short hair and clothes and pronouns and see who you really are."
PS - This cover is STUNNNINGGG! I love the bright peach cover that will definitely be standing out!
An absolutely wonderful coming of age novel about navigating high school, exploring self identity and expression, while battling anxiety, transphobia, and heartache. Miles is a wonderful and lovable main character, and I loved his passion for piano. The story is complex and well written, and I loved every minute of it!
"𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔: 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒓𝒆. 𝒀𝒐𝒖'𝒓𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆. 𝑵𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒓𝒆, 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆, 𝒂 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒅. 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕, 𝒂 𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝑻𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒌𝒐𝒗𝒔𝒌𝒚 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒂 𝒑𝒊𝒆𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒂𝒌𝒆"
A trans piano player named Miles makes a new year's resolution to beat his arch nemesis and win a national piano competition. He also wants to win back his ex. It won't be easy because Shane broke up with Miles two weeks ago when Miles came out as trans. When Miles meets the new person in town named Eric, he is transfixed. He can't figure out why Eric likes him so much but as they continue to get to know each other Miles begins to find out who he is.
What a beautiful coming of age story about a boy trying to reinvent and find himself. He has so many people in his corner to help him navigate the world. As a cis straight female there are plenty of stories out there for me to relate too and not enough stories like this. I love queer reads and I love when authors put pieces of themselves in their stories. I could tell that Edward put his heart and soul into this novel. I love that when trans youth or trans adults read this, they will see themselves in the pages. I adored these characters and the story. It's one I didn't want to end because I didn't want to say goodbye. I look forward to future novels.
4.25 stars!
I put off this book for such a long time and I have no clue why!! It was truly a great read. The writing style grabbed me right away and I was so hooked into the story. I loved seeing miles being truly happy, which is exactly what he deserved. His group of friends was wonderful to read about and Eric was the perfect boyfriend-so caring and understanding!
I also thought the piano aspect of this book was really interesting! Piano is something I don’t know a whole lot about and I liked seeing the competitions and practices that played such a big part in the book!
This is another lgbt young adult contemporary that absolutely hit for me and I really recommend you pick it up when it comes out!
Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for this arc copy!
A sweet story of discovery and love that will resonate, I suspect, with many. Miles is a piano player who is still feeling his way as a trans man when he meets Eric, an artist. There's a pretend dating to romance trope here that works quite well. You'll root for both of them. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Although meant for the YA crowd,, there's good crossover potential as well.