 | Only mostly devastated Author: Gonzales, S. | |
| Price: $9.01 | ||
Summary:
When his aunt's illness keeps Ollie in North Carolina, he hopes his summer fling with Will can grow into something more, but at school Will proves to be a completely different--and firmly closeted--man.
| Accelerated Reader Information: Interest Level: UG Reading Level: 4.80 Points: 11.0 Quiz: 512285 |
Full Text Reviews:
School Library Journal - 01/01/2020 Gr 8 Up—Musically inclined Ollie spends his last year of high school in a new town, watching his beloved aunt die. Oh, and being madly in love with Will, the basketball player he met during the summer who, it turns out, is so deeply closeted that Ollie begins to hate him. As the school year unfolds, Ollie gains true friends, wrestles with understanding Will's trepidations about coming out, and discovers dimensions of his own as he experiences the ways those closest to him handle anxiety, as well as his own reaction to his aunt's death. Gonzales turns in a witty, smart, credible, and irreverent contemporary romance that handles all these elements skillfully and with heart. The characters, including Ollie's new besties—moderately mean bisexual Lara, quiet but focused Niahm, and boisterous Juliette—and his aunt's two small kids, have their own authentic personalities, and the pace is swift without skipping any essential beats that reveal the rhythms of their intersecting and realistic lives. VERDICT The power of this fun Grease retelling is that it normalizes the spectrum of sexual orientations. Recommended for all teens.—Francisca Goldsmith, Library Ronin, Worcester, MA - Copyright 2020 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
Booklist - 01/01/2020 When Ollie's family visits North Carolina for the summer to help care for Ollie's sick aunt, he has the perfect summer fling with Will. Then Aunt Linda's cancer worsens. The only upside to moving to North Carolina for senior year is that his thing with Will might turn into something real, but at school, Will is a different person: popular, a basketball star . . . and very much in the closet. Hopelessly devoted he may be, but shy, socially awkward Ollie knows he doesn't stand a chance, not when the basketball team is constantly making homophobic jokes. It takes the friendship of three girls—sweet, musical Juliette; ambitious aspiring model Niamh; and caustic, fierce Lara—for Ollie to realize that, whether or not Will is in the picture, he's his best if he's himself. This is a sweet and earnest adaptation of Grease that neatly updates its source material; instead of changing for each other, Ollie and Will (and a few others) have to do it for themselves. A worthwhile romance for any collection. - Copyright 2020 Booklist.
