This book was a fun read! It follows the story of Charlie, a transgender boy who is attending an all-boys elite private school. The whole book is in Charlie's POV. While I did enjoy his POV, the constant anxiety did get a bit tiring. The level of anxiety he had was definitely understandable but just felt a bit repetitive at times. Or maybe I am just getting too old to read books with YA protagonists anymore, because sometimes the internal monologue of teenagers is just a lot for me.

Overall, I would recommend this book, I love to see trans protaganists in books and it definitely does a good job highlighting the challenges Charlie faces and how his identity impacts his relationships and his place at the school. I enjoyed watching the relationship between the MCs develop, and there were some good side characters as well. The world of the school felt very fleshed out with lots of good detail.

This is probably not one I will go back to and read again and again, but it was enjoyable and I would recommend especially for people looking for a YA read with good queer representation.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. All opinions are my own!

🏳️‍⚧️💌 And They Were Roommates by Page Powars 💌🏳️‍🌈
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5/5)

This book, y’all. I’m not okay. 😭❤️ If you’re a fan of Casey McQuiston’s humor, chaotic yet heartwarming vibes, and all the queer feels, then And They Were Roommates will have you screaming, crying, and throwing your Kindle across the room—in the best way possible!

We’ve got Charlie, the brilliant and sarcastic trans main character, just trying to survive at Valentine Academy for Boys, and Jasper, his literally the worst but secretly the best roommate (and ex best friend who broke his heart). The tension? IMMACULATE. The stakes? SKY HIGH. And when Jasper doesn’t recognize Charlie after he transitioned? Oh, the drama is SO delicious. 😏

But let’s talk about the love letters. The fake love letter scheme turned late night heart to hearts with Jasper had me swooning, cackling, and screaming, “KISS HIM ALREADY!” every five seconds. The pining is so real, the humor is laugh out loud funny, and the exploration of identity, friendship, and second chances is so raw and beautiful. 🥹✨

Charlie’s journey of navigating being the only trans student, while trying to protect his heart, will hit you right in the soul. And Jasper? I started off hating him, but by the end, I was like, “Okay, sir, you can stay. BUT ONLY BECAUSE CHARLIE DESERVES THE WORLD!” 🌈💘

This book is witty, heartfelt, and queer joy at its absolute finest. Perfect for fans of messy emotions, swoony romance, and chaotic roommate shenanigans. YOU NEED THIS. 🫶

Thank you to NetGalley, Page Powars, and Roaring Brook Press for the eARC of this book.

THIS BOOK!!!!! And They Were Roommates was such an amazing book! I had such a good time reading. I loved seeing Charlie's journey throughout the book, going from someone who felt like a complete outsider to someone who belonged. Jasper and Charlie's relationship was also great! I loved the second chance romance and slowly seeing Jasper realize his feelings for Charlie from Charlie's point of view was great to witness. Especially since Charlie did not notice it happening. What really made this book for me though were the side characters. All of them were so funny and caring and supportive. Xavier helping Charlie train and Luis being Charlie's first real close friend and person he could talk to and Blaze being Blaze. This cast of characters was so full and well developed that even characters that did not get shown as much had full personalities. I loved this book and I am so grateful that I was able to read it early.

I really liked this story, but...

Let's start with what I did like:
I liked that we knew there was a secret about Charlie that wasn't spelled out but could be inferred
I liked the friendships Charlie made at school
I liked his unwavering friendship with Delilah
I liked the dynamic he had with teachers

What I didn't like:
I didn't like how conceited Jasper was
I didn't like how it was obvious that the teachers and staff didn't treat the students the same
I didn't like the inconsistency of Jasper's feelings from "that summer" to now

I guess, I wish this book was set in college. It seemed very immature, even for high school kids. I would have liked more complex emotions from both Charlie and Jasper. It seemed very surface level.

This book was such a good coming of age book, especially as Charlie really came into himself and made friends with others at Valentine’s. The strength of this book was really how Charlie grew into who he is and was able to make friends, and accept those friends. The author did a great job with this throughout the book, with how reluctant Charlie was at the beginning to get close with anyone, until the end of the book when he has a great group of friends.

I was a bit disappointed in the romance of the book, because although Jasper and Charlie were together a lot, I just couldn’t feel the tension because of how afraid Charlie was of being found out. They did have some cute moments, but the romance didn’t really come together until the last fourth of the book.

Thank you to Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I think I will always like rereading this book and watching Charlie and Jasper fall in love and giving off HEA vibes. I loved Charlie's personality and charm and how he put his mind to things when he was determined enough. The suspence and drama leading up to the climax was amazing, though a bit intense to read through. As for Jasper, I think people's reactions will definitely be mixed and I think some will not like him and some will while others will cross back and forth and ultimately decide how to feel about Jasper. For me, I thought he was charming and sweet and caring despite his ego. I believe the event two years prior affected both of them, not just Charlie, and we see that part of Jasper after he finds out who Charlie is. There is one sentence Charlie says to a character towards the end of the book, on that class day after the finals, about Jasper and his personality and I agree with that wholeheartedly. A person is not defined by their personality or their characteristics and not only by their actions, they are defined by all of them. Overall, this is why I liked this book because I felt and saw the arcs for both of them, especially Jasper, and I really liked it!

Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and MacMillan Children's Publishing Group for this ARC!

This was such a cute and fun read! I would’ve loved to have this book as a teen and I think queer teens now are going to love this. Also, I’m still not over the cover! 🤩

and they were roommates follows charlie, a trans teenager who has just started at valentine academy for boys—which is quite corny—and his new roommate jacob, who charlie knows from prior to his transition.

i have to say this was a truly beautiful story about finding who you are and both loving and appreciating yourself, but, unfortunately it didn’t hit the spot for me.

the problem is i couldn’t tell you a specific reason as to why i didn’t fully enjoy the book, because there’s nothing really wrong with all of the individual elements, but the overall picture wasn’t enough for me.

truth be told, when i first requested the book, the only thing in my mind was that famous vine, which might not be the best reason to want to read a book, but needles to say thank you NG, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group and Page Powars for giving me the opportunity to advance read this one.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and the publishers in return for my honest review. I really wanted to like this book more. The premise is lovely. I enjoyed a lot of the secondary characters a lot. I even enjoyed our love interest/antagonist Jasper. I really could not love Charlie. Knowing he’s a teenager, that he’s a young trans man, I understand a lot of his difficulties in trust and decision making. But he just made so many things much more difficult than they needed to be. I also thought the PM stuff felt like a throwaway. I understand the need for that bit, but it all went away very quickly.

And They Were Roommates is a much-needed book right now, in terms of trans joy, and I wish I could recommend it more. Though not badly written, I struggled to keep track of what was occurring in the more chaotic sections. I also found the main romantic interest annoying to the point where the romance simply didn't work. I enjoyed the premise and concept of the book, but there were simply too many plot-threads for this to work for me.

I'm not usually a YA reader but I'm happy I requested this eARC because it was a fun read!

Charlie and Jasper are great, engaging characters and their road to romance had just the right amount of angst. All in all it was a sweet, charming story that left me feeling glad I read it.

Silly goofy over-the-top teenage drama was exactly what I needed today. This was very sweet and wholesome, and perfectly queer. I'm always down for a not-at-all-serious YA and this delivered. Was the writing was standard, the love interest an arrogant ass, and it was all just a tad too convenient but I didn't even care! I loved the MC as well, he was particularly interesting to me, as I also am transmasc and struggled with similar issues when I was younger regarding how my body and actions/personality would be perceived my other men. I would definitely recommend this to anyone, and I'm definitely going to be picking up a physical copy because LOOK AT THAT STUNNING COVER how could I not.

This was such a good book. I loved the story and the writing so much. The characters were great and the story flowed smoothly. Will definitely read more books by this author in the future.

This book was such a fun read. I’ll definitely be recommending it and buying a physical copy for my shelf.

This was by far the funniest book I read this year. From the title to the last page, I was laughing! I loved it so much. The characters are all amazing, and the author avoids caricatures while at the same time making every character recognizable. I would read anything Page Powars writes!

This is exactly what I needed to get out of a reading slump! I loved the characters to pieces. This is a great addition to the queer community’s books. I will be recommending this non-stop once my library gets its hands on a copy of this, but not before I reread it. Absolutely recommend this one. The main character’s relationship is believable and precious, despite their differences and previous grievances with each other, and I’m always a sucker for forced proximity.

I can't stress in words how much I loved this book and how painful it is that it isn't published yet to recommend it to my teen patrons, or friends who read YA. Powars is back and stronger than ever with this cozy winter rom-com that'll leave you giggling and kicking your feet. I had to set this down so many times just to squeal. Charlie and Jasper are delightfully complex protagonists, in this second-chance romance with a dash of rivals to lovers. What really makes Powars' work stand out is his ability to wield many tropes (especially those familiar to fanfiction and romance readers) in a skillful, fresh way. It's familiar yet so new and exciting. For two terribly intelligent teens, Charlie and Jasper are also terribly daft when it comes to their own love lives and you'll be rooting for these two idiots to fall in love (again). Trans-positive, cozy, and fun, And They Were Roommates is something to put at the top of your to-read pile.

Everyone say: "Thank you, Page Powars." And They Were Roommates is exactly what I want out of a book. I loved The Borrow a Boyfriend Club and am so glad his streak of excellent books is continuing. And the cover? 10000/10 READ THIS!

And They Were Roommates was everything I wanted it to be and more! I first heard Page mention it at YALLFest in 2023, and I was so here for the total idea. The exicution of the idea was even better than I had hoped however! As a trans person, Charlie is so relatable and seeing his growth throughout the story was so fantastic I cannot recomment this book enough!

i received an e-ARC and am giving my honest review 

This was so good. So, so good. I’ve been savoring it, drawing out my reading of it to last as long as possible. 
Firstly, semi-sharing a name with the MC was sometimes a jumpscare, but it also made the book so much dearer to me. Reading Charlie’s inner monologue and fully understanding where he was coming from, but sometimes feeling as if he needed to see things in a different light, was so enlightening for me in general. It reminded me of how important it is to remember that everyone has shit going on too. Not everything is exactly how it seems at face value. 
I really loved how the characters were always accepting of Charlie’s gender. There was, essentially, 0 transphobia (besides his mother a tad) and although it isn’t entirely realistic, it was nice. It was nice to fall into a world where that would happen.  
The characters were all incredibly written and fleshed out as well. I loved learning about all of them, how they connected. Blaze was such a silly little guy and left me with so many questions, but in a good way! More so ‘what’s up with this guy??’ nothing that feels unanswered in a negative way. 
I really, really loved how Charlie and Jasper’s relationship bloomed. Jasper having a crisis BEFORE finding out was SO important and I’m so glad it was written that way. Jasper was such a fun character to read, every time he was mentioned I was SAT. I particularly loved seeing him grow very quietly. Although it wasn’t entirely on the page, by the end of the book it was very prevalent he had don’t a lot of self-work. And it paid off majorly. Him seeing what he did was wrong but also standing up for himself and his feelings was perfect. 
As a trans-man, this book hit close to home a fair amount. Never went to an all-boy or all-girl school, but I did go to a very private, small, Catholic school. This book healed some part of me that was still wounded by my time there, imagining that a private school could be so accommodating to queer students. 
I loved this book. So much. I can not wait to get a physical copy to reread and re-find all of my favorite parts