Absolutely loved this coming of age story. This did not disappoint or read like a debut and I can't wait to read more from this author in the future

I received an arc of Always the Almost from Netgalley! Thank you.

I loved the writing style was easy to read, and I love how Miles grew more confident in himself throughout this story. Eric was a sweetheart, and I loved seeing their relationship develop between them.

It was a joy to follow Miles on his journey to re-evaluate his life, his relationship with Shane, and his family

If I could sum up this book in one word, it would have to be joyous!! These characters in this book were enjoyable to read.

My first time reading from this author Edward Underhill, and I don't usually read this kind of story, but did enjoy it. Thank you.

If there is one thing I must say, it is thank you endlessly Netgalley for an Advanced Readers Copy of this book.

Almost the Almost is a beautiful story that follows Miles, a trans pianist who recently came out. The story flows fluidity much like that of his identity as we explore the difficulty of coming out and looking for acceptance. Eric, a new student who befriends Miles, loves him for who he truly is, rather than the masks he has worn his whole life.

I loved the young and carefree queer joy of this story! The writing was often rushed and eccentric, but I feel this really added to Miles’ character and his rushed need to express himself through his music.

Edward Underhill truly speaks through these characters with heart and I can’t wait for everyone in the world to read this book! Thank you again Netgalley.

Absolutely show stopping! Loved this book cannot wait to recommend it to everyone I know. I haven’t been the biggest fan of ya contemporary in recent times but this one here definitely changed that

What a stunning stunning novel. It grasped the complexities of being a teenager, of being seen and ignored, of feeling loved yet unlovable, and more. I appreciated how nuanced Miles’s trans experience was and how despite not being similar to my identity was incredibly relatable nonetheless. I loved how the subplot of the piano competition was a perfectly paired supplement to this journey of self realisation. Amazing story!

A very sweet story about coming into who you are confidently while also finding love.

This book is chock full of things to love:
- unabashedly queer & trans
- full of joy despite pain (definitely check CW before reading) like finding your first suit
- queer friend group also learning to grow and change
- looks at a kid's relationship with their parents after coming out (even self-proclaimed feminist parents don't always "get it" fully)
- tropes: fake dating quickly leads to real dating
- full of creativity, art & activism
- beautiful portrayals of classical music and performance/competition
- first book I've read with a side character with Down Syndrome

Always the Almost is a story about a gay transformation teenager who's trying to learn about himself while preparing for a piano competition.

This was very cute and well done. Miles and Eric were very cute together while also being strong characters on their own. I enjoyed how their relationship wasn't the center of the entire book and Miles developed as a person not just because of Eric. My one gripe with this book is that there wasn't a scene of Eric and Miles discussing what happened with Shane. There is a period of "groveling" but Miles never really explains why he kissed Shane to Eric. The side plot of his friends Rachel and Paige was interesting but again it would have been interesting to see the actual scene where Rachel finds out about Paige cheating on her.
Overall this book was lovely. The representation was well done and the characters were throughly developed however the actual "drama" or climax of the story involving the relationship needed more added. Definitely recommend!

💡Disclosure: I received a free eARC of this book on NetGalley.

📖 I loved this very much. I don’t read a ton of YA contemporary at the moment compared to other genres, but I still pick up new releases from time to time because there is something so sublime about a perfect YA contemporary. This is one of those!

📖 These teenagers are pitch-perfect, trying to do right by themselves and the people around them and messing up and trying again. The friends-family-crush stakes are all spot on.

📖 For me, more of the tension came from the piano competition plot (…maybe because I read this during a huge competition I was doing in law school, 10 years older than Miles and a lot less practiced at competing??). I loved getting this look inside competitive piano. I knew a bunch of people in high school who played instruments in competitions, but except for the people in marching band, I had no idea what those competitions looked like. We get a ton of detail here about music, strategy, finding your voice as an artist—it was all hugely interesting, unexpectedly so to me, a completely un-musical person, lol.

📖 Identity is a huge part of this book, including Miles’s struggles and insecurities with his identity (though he comes out, socially transitions, and gets through initial stages of being out prior to the start of the book). I was glad to read all of Miles’s thoughts and feelings, and I look forward to filling out my shelf with more trans YA contemporary so I have a range of books to recommend, including books about identity and working through identity questions as well as books where that internal (and external) questioning is less present.

📚 All this to say, I loved this one, and can’t recommend it enough for readers of YA contemporary!

This was a solid read, kind of.

I thought it was a pretty decent read, great representation, and the writing was pretty good. Then there was some cheating, and then there was some more and I wasn't sure what to think of the book anymore.

I'm not coming into this book with a delusion that cheating shouldn't happen in fiction it was just a strange choice to have in the book, especially more than once. The coming age part is great but the cheating detracted from that, and yet I also see how sometimes teenagers can make these careless and impulsive mistakes.

I would still recommend this book, just be aware that if that is something you are vehemently against reading, maybe don't pick this up.

Oh wow I really enjoyed reading this!! The characters felt authentic and I really appreciated the diversity too. I t think teens will really connect with it.

This book was absolutely adorable in every single way possible. I was worried when I got to the miscommunication, as thats something that I tend to stay away from in novels, but even with my least favorite trope, this still reached five stars from me. Miles gave me so much trans joy that I couldn't help but cry and smile and laugh with him, and his story truly felt messy and real. The same goes for Rachel and Paige. All of the characters in this book felt REAL, albeit a little romanticized. This book was so easy to connect to and I am so glad I got a chance to read it.

This book was an absolute delight!

It wasn’t perfect - while I understand the WHY behind the conflict between Miles and Eric, I could have done without how it was done. Same with the secondary storyline between Rachel and Paige.

However, I will still heartily recommend this book to any and every one. I thought it was exceptionally written - engaging and just the perfect amount of messy. I loved how Miles continued to discover himself, and how he was both the same and different after coming out as trans. I love that music and the piano was such an integral part of that. This book was full of teenage angst and a bit of drama, definitely, but it was also so full of happiness and joy.

A definite must read!

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books, for the chance to read this book in exchange of an honest review.

Miles is a sixteen-year-old boy and he has two New Year's resolutions: win back his ex and beat his arch-nemesis in the biggest classical piano competion in the Midwest. But nothing is easy. His ex, Shane, broke up with him two weeks after he came out as trans and now he's ignoring him and now his piano teacher isn't happy with his playing. Then Miles meets a new boy in town, Eric, a proudly queer cartoonist and cares about art as he does and then, after fate dating to score an invite for a couples only party, they kiss and the ruse becomes something very real. Between butterflies in his stomach and his resolutions, Miles doesn't know what to do and he doesn't understand why Eric could like him. Why things aren't easier for him, like it seems to be for other people.

Always the almost is a gorgeous story, inside and outside (do you see the cover? It's amazing!!!)! I loved reading this book so much. Between resolutions and plans, music and art, new friendship/crush and growing up, Miles is a magnificent main character and it was such a pleasure following him in his journey into loving and embracing himself. This book is simply a warm hug, a rom-drama, a beautiful story about love and accepting yourself and I truly fell in love with everything since the very first page. Miles is amazing, his characterization, feelings, struggles and actions, everything was wonderfully written and I felt so involved in his story. Definitely a gem!

This book just screams trans, queer, joy! The author sets us up for that expectation from the very first page and never lets us go! Point blank - this book was a joy to read. I was swept up in the characters and their banter but especially in the writing style of Edward Underhill - his work is honestly masterful. I can sometimes struggle with YA contemporary romance because it can be difficult to relate to the characters but Miles and Eric, and Rachel and Paige were so well fleshed out that It was like being a fly on the wall or watching a netflix series in my head the whole time. I was counting down the minutes at work until i could be on lunch picking up this book or finally home so I could grab my kindle. I started with falling in love with the characters but then fell in love with Miles and his struggles and his passions/ambitions when it came to piano and his own journey of figuring out who he is and who he wants to be as Miles. We have all struggled with connecting to the tasks or skills or hobbies that bring us joy and reading that coupled with questions of impostor syndrome both at the piano and away in Miles' life....I loved it. I am in love with this book. If you love Simon vs. The Homosapien Agenda, Red, White, and Royal Blue or even something like How to Excavate a Heart by Jake Maia Arlow then this is absolutely something you need to move towards the top of your TBR! I can't wait to read more from Edward Underhill moving forward - I will be impatiently awaiting the release of his sophomore novel.

The keys were smooth beneath his fingers. He pressed gingerly on each one, listening to the sound they emitted. Each note tugged at his heart, expressing grief, and joy; all the emotions under the rainbow. The piano came to life as his fingers picked up speed. Music was a extension of himself, a beautiful portrait of what it’s like to be human.

Always the Almost was a beautiful coming of age, YA romance, following Miles, a trans boy navigating life. Miles is in high school, newly out as trans, and preparing for a piano competition that has his nerves on edge. A new boy in school is slowly bringing out the best in Miles and being loved for who you are is a feeling he’s learning one day at a time.

Piano music and an arch rival, quirky comic drawings, friends there for always, rainbow socks, and pizza. This book was a queer joy fest that had me smiling from ear to ear. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the love triangle, but I completely understand why it was included and helped Miles grow as a character. I love Miles and I love his friends… I love the pure innocent love. This book was a treat!

If you’re a YA fan, love friendships and classical music, competitions, and the budding of new love… please give this book a read!

This was so wonderful and such an accomplishment. Miles finding his trans joy through his piano playing was so genuinely moving; so many facets of queerness were also explored through side characters. LOVED Stefania. Can't wait to see what Edward does next.

I loved this book and know I can’t possibly write a review that lives up to it. So I highly suggest you skip the rest of this review and just go start reading Always the Almost instead.

This is a story about Miles. Miles is a 16 year old gay trans boy who sets 2 New Year’s resolutions - get back together with his ex Shane and beat his arch-nemesis Cameron at the annual piano competition.

Like all of my favorite books - the plot isn’t enough to tell you why I loved this book so much. It’s full of characters that felt so real. It’s full of people who are doing their best - but still sometimes letting each other down.

It’s also full of joy. Joy is my word for 2023 so I am particularly aware of it and I loved the ways it showed up in this story. And in the author’s note, Underhill wrote “Miles’s journey is about finding himself, in spite of everyone else. About fully, shamelessly, and triumphantly forging and inhabiting his own moments of joy. I wrote this story because I believe, firmly, that joy can be an act of resistance in challenging times. And trans and queer kids, especially now, deserve all the joy.”

I can’t believe this is a debut and can’t wait to read what the author writes next! Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for the free advance reading copy. I’ll also be buying a copy to put on my favorites shelf.

4.5/5

Always the Almost follows Miles, a young trans boy who has just recently come out and is determined to 1) get back together with his ex-boyfriend, and 2) beat his nemesis at the annual tri-state piano competition. However, things become complicated when Miles meets the new boy in town, Eric.

I couldn't put this coming of age story down. This book is in part a romance between Miles and Eric, but it's also a romance between Miles and himself as well as the piano. If that makes sense lol. Throughout the book Miles has to learn how to feel comfortable in his skin and is constantly exploring what being trans means for him. The piano competition plays a big role in who he is and how he comes to express himself. As someone who played an instrument throughout her school years, I felt like Miles's attachment to the piano was so well done. You could feel his love and joy for it and ultimately that's what I loved the most about this book.

TW: transphobia, homophobia, dead naming, body dysmorphia, cheating, off page sexual harrassment

Thank you Wednesday Books for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

16 year old trans boy Miles has two New Year’s resolutions: win back with star football player ex-boyfriend and win the regional piano competition. I loved this book! Miles was flawed and made some mistakes (I just wanted to shake him for being hung up on his ex Shane when new kid Eric liked Miles for exactly who he was), but he was still likable, and I really loved Eric. The piano competition added the right amount of intrigue to the story, and I’d highly recommend this story of queer trans joy! I’ve already added a physical copy of this one to my shelf. Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the eARC!

I loved this book so much! It was full of joy and angst. It was a beautiful story of friendship, family, and found family. I loved Miles's character growth throughout the book.