This book has everything you would want in a book. There is romance, heartbreak, grief, and friendship. All the characters are multi-faceted and the situations they are dealing with are realistic. The ending is a bit predictable but the story getting there is well written and a definite page turner. I look forward to many more stories by this author.

I enjoyed this book and read it fairly quickly, due to it being a lighter read than my usual choices. It was refreshing after a steady diet of fantasy and horror, and the romance was delightful.

Only Mostly Devastated is compared to Grease and Clueless, neither of which I have seen, which I think made me enjoy the book more because I didn't have any expectations going in except for it was supposed to be a LGBT+ rom com. The characters were so fun and I was rooting for them from square one. This is definitely a book where you immediately start hoping for a happy ending, and planning to throw the kindle out the window if one isn't given.

I definitely recommend this to readers who enjoyed Simon Vs. (and really, anything by Becky Albertalli or Adam Silvera).

4.5/5
This was everything I wanted from it and more.
The characters were believable and likeable, the grease inspiration was done delightfully (taking all the fun parts and leaving the problematic shit), the romance was just the right mix of sweet and angsty and the family sub plot managed to make me cry despite me predicting that plot point from the first chapter.
So yeah, y'all are in for a treat next march.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Only Mostly Devastated is an LGBTQ+ retelling of Grease. I'm not usually a fan of retellings, but I found this one to still manage an interesting and fresh take on the story.

However, there were parts of it that seemed a little problematic. I do want to state that I am not LGBTQ+, so I do not have the right to say it is or is not offensive since I am not part of that community. That said, some of the conversations between the main couple felt a little off. The main conflict of the novel is that one character is out and the other is not. This leads to a lot of arguments between the two and one character's use of a beard. Like I said, I do not have the right to say whether or not that is offensive or if the main character's anger at the beard is offensive, but I do think it needs to be stated in case it would be off-putting to any LGBTQ+ readers.

I have a few words for you all: a gay reimagining of Grease, except WAY better.

If you're not intrigued yet, let me explain further. I'm not a big fan of Grease. I think it's kind of a problematic movie, Danny Zuko is a real piece of work, and the moral of the story at the end is totally contradictory to what we should be learning and teaching about love. But the premise of Grease is actually really cute: Can a lovely summer romance turn into a real relationship when the pair come from different worlds? Only Mostly Devastated takes that concept and puts a modern-day, LGBT+ spin on it, creating a heartwarming romcom (with an HEA/HFN!!) that we all deserve.

Ollie and his family are out in North Carolina for the summer, leaving their home in San Jose to take care of Ollie's aunt, who is dying of cancer. Ollie's tasked with babysitting his aunt's two young children at their lake house on the coast, and along the way, he meets and has a fiery but fleeting romance with a boy named Will. At the end of the summer, they both think it's the last time they'll see each other - but lo and behold, Ollie's parents drop a bombshell: Aunt Linda is getting worse, and they want to move to Collinswood, North Carolina for Ollie's senior year to take care of her. Ollie reluctantly agrees, but upon arriving at his new high school and its first party, he discovers that Will is not only very much a student at the school, but he's a stereotypical, popular, cool basketball jock who is very much NOT out to his classmates or parents.

To me, this conflict is much more believable than the original one in Grease: Danny is a greaser and Sandy is a goody two-shoes, so obviously they can never be together?! No. Try this: Ollie is an out and proud kid from California, while Will is a star athlete from a conservative town who is worried about the blowback he'd get from his family and fellow jocks, who make gay jokes (some of which are about Ollie) all the time.

As predicted, there's a good level of angst between the two of them: Ollie and Will basically want the same thing, but SOCIETY. There's also a big dose of sweetness, hidden romance, hurt & comfort, stolen kisses, all that good stuff. And as I expect to be the norm with more and more YA LGBT+ novels, there is a happy ending. Thank you to Wednesday Books for publishing this gem and for providing an ARC via Netgalley! Go read this for all the gay high school love of your dreams.

I had a lot of fun with Only Mostly Devastated! It’s the perfect summer contemporary, and a really well written debut, so definitely get your hands on it if you can.

I did think that the main character, Ollie, was a bit whiney at the beginning, but to be fair he’s a teenage boy, and as someone with three younger brothers I can confirm that this is accurate.

I got very invested in the ship, which is something that rarely happens to me with YA romance so that was an added bonus! Ollie’s relationship with Will was emotional and sweet, and they were a much better couple than Danny and Sandy. I got a bit weepy over some of their interactions because they were just so sweet.

The Grease parallels were a lot of fun, which is something I think we can all appreciate!

There was also a lot of bi rep in this book, which I wasn’t strictly expecting going into it. I enjoyed that part a lot, although I do with that one of the bi characters hadn’t been portrayed as overly sexual, as that seems to happen a lot. That’s not really a complaint, but just a personal preference!

it is branded as an LGBT version of Grease which im not really big on LGBT but LOVED Grease so I thought why not read this free book? It tackled a few serious topics all well managing to be a cute romcom that hits your heart. very well written I enjoyed this book.

Representation: Ollie (main) is gay, Will (side character) bisexual and Venezuelan-American, Lara is bisexual, Juliette is a woman of colour, and Niamh is a “curvy” woman of colour with polycystic ovary syndrome.

Content warnings: Slight homophobia/homophobic language, some fat-shaming comments, some slut-shaming comments.

I can absolutely see this being a favourite book for so many people.

I quite enjoyed the Grease-esque retelling/vibes from this story.

What I loved most about this book was its side-plot involving Ollie’s family. More specifically his Aunt Linda and his cousins. I really loved reading about Ollie interacting with Crista and Dylan. They were so very precious, and it just made the whole story so much more to me.

There were parts of this story that I wished had been longer, or had gone into more depth, but on the whole, it was really lovely, and made me cry in parts (you’ll know when you read them, if you read this book).

Ollie is an amusing narrator – he left me chuckling a few times, which is always a good thing.

I am a massive fan of flashbacks, and it was so lovely to see some flashbacks to during the summer where Ollie and Will met. Some of their moments together were so sweet, and swoon-worthy. It set up their relationship really nicely, I think, and it just made me do the heart-eyed face at the page whenever they were alone together.

Another thing I really enjoyed is that the characters actually read like they were growing as people. I love that in a book when you can see the characters changing and improving upon themselves. It’s so lovely to see.

I don’t want to say much more because I don’t want to spoil the book, as it’s still another 6ish weeks before it comes out.

This book would make a very cute movie, too.

4/5 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy of this book.

Only Mostly Devastated was such a good book. I loved Ollie, I loved his narrative. This is a light read that touches on heavy topics, but handles it honestly and amazingly. I was a big fan of Simon vs the Homosapiens Age do, so I was excited to read this one. I can see how it's a Grease "retelling", however, I feel it's a bit different. It's definitely not as breezy as Simon, but there are some truly laugh out loud parts.
Overall I feel it's an honest, important book. It's very real, and flows quite nicely. I enjoyed the story and all the characters and I feel it tackled tough issues that you can definitely relate to. 4/5

This book was so freaking cute! I didn't really get the Grease aspect (never watched the movie) but I thought this story was told so well. This book didn't feel like it was being diverse so it could brownie points for being inclusive with lgbt+, race, and socio-demographic of all the characters. Nothing felt out place and you feel for all these characters and what going through.
It touches on how it can be easier come out if you live in different state or who your parental figures are if they're going to except that part of you. Toxic masculinity and homophobia are also dealt with in this book and it was handled very well.
The only thing I do have to nit pick at is, I just wished it was little longer so, some more of the plot could more flushed out instead of rushed.
But I'm so excited for everybody else to read this and enjoy it as much as I did.

What starts as a goofy M/M YA tribute to Grease turns out to be much more. Okay, Ollie and Will have a summer fling and then surprisingly encounter each other at their senior year of high school when Ollie's family decides to stay in North Carolina to help care for a sick family member. And yes Ollie is befriended by three girls who bear a passing resemblance to the Pink Ladies (one's an aspiring model instead of a beauty school dropout like Frenchie, one is the bitter sarcastic Rizzo equivalent and one is just nice). But the issues that arise when Ollie and Will come face to face are more complicated than nice girl meets bad boy. Will isn't out to his friends or family, and his cool behavior towards Ollie is both understandable and heartbreaking. What ensues is an exploration of how two teens navigate a relationship when they are in very different points in their sexuality journey, and whether they can be together in some way without either one being seriously hurt.

I spent most of the book furious at Will for stringing Ollie along while outwardly clinging to his jock-bro personality (view spoiler) and rooting for Ollie to stand up for himself. Towards the end Will redeems himself a bit, and Ollie has a few epiphanies about their relationship that helped me to see Will in a slightly different light. Still, I wouldn't call this a sweet adorable romance like Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda; it's more bittersweet and complicated, albeit with a happy ending.

Ollie is a lot like many YA first person narrators - smart, snarky and confused. But he distinguishes himself by his nurturing, caring side that is apparent when he babysits his young cousins. The secondary characters, especially the three girls who befriend Ollie, are well-developed, arguably more so than Will. There is a fair amount of sadness in the book's subplots which give it greater depth than a typical YA rom-com.

Grease is only the starting point for this extremely strong novel. I hope it gets the recognition it deserves.

ARC provided by Net Galley in exchange for honest review.

Being a fan of Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda, I couldn't pass on requesting this novel.  I can see how it's very loosely based on Grease in that there was a summer romance, but things are different in the fall after they meet again at school.  No matter - it was a sweet, melancholy read that I thoroughly enjoyed.  

Ollie is a perfect narrator, and I loved his voice from the first page.  Equal parts awkward, adorable, funny, loyal, and just plain entertaining.  He makes an astute observation about Ronald McDonald that made me glad I wasn't drinking anything - totally would have snorted it out.  Was he obsessed with Will?  Yeah, kind of.  Did he let that obsession rule his life?  Mostly, no.  Ollie also spends his time working on his music, hanging out with friends, and helping take care of his young cousins while their mother battles cancer.  His genuine and delightful scenes with the kids are among my favorites, and Ollie has the patience of a saint.  His parents and aunt and uncle aren't strong presences in the story, but you definitely get the sense family is very important to them.      

Heavy topics are dealt with - cancer of a family member, homophobia, fat shaming, biphobia - which I felt were handled well.  More differentiation between some of the  supporting characters would have helped - I kept getting a few of them mixed up - but it really didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book.

If you're a Simon fan, I definitely recommend adding this book to your list.  A fun way to spend an afternoon.  

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

2.5-3 stars. I had high hopes for this book, especially with it being described as a modern, m/m retelling of Grease. I wasn't wowed by it unfortunately.

Like Grease, Ollie meets Will over the summer when Ollie's family visits North Carolina. They have a whirlwind romance that ends when Ollie must go back to California at the end of the summer. Plot twist--Ollie's family decides to stay in NC in order to help his aunt who is dying of cancer. When Ollie tries to contact Will to let him know that he's staying, he's met with radio silence. It isn't until a party on the night of his first day of school when Ollie realizes that his new school is also Will's school. Also like Grease, Will isn't the same boy that Ollie met over the summer. He's a jock, kind of a jerk, and also very much in the closet. If you've seen Grease, you can imagine how the story goes from here.

It's for that reason that I felt like I couldn't get into this book. It ended up being too predictable. I felt like the author tried too hard to take every opportunity to throw a Grease reference into the story when it could have easily stood on its own and that became too distracting. There was also a lot of jumping around that made the story more confusing. Overall, it wasn't a bad read. It just wasn't anything memorable.

Only Mostly Devastated exceeded my expectations. I absolutely loved this book. First of all, it's a Grease retelling - C U T E. But it's so much more than that. This book handled grief and the way different people of all different ages handle it so beautifully. It touched on mortality, fatphobia and homophobia in really subtle and impactful ways. It was so good, guys. So good! 5/5

ONLY MOSTLY DEVASTATED is a charming YA contemporary romance that follows Ollie. Ollie had lived in California, until this year when his parents and he went to North Carolina for the summer to help out his aunt, who has terminal cancer. When she is not getting better, they end up deciding to stay for his senior year in North Carolina. Although Ollie is concerned, he is more worried about his aunt, and he wants to be able to help.

As an added perk, the boy he fell in love with over the summer, Will, lives in North Carolina. However, since their last night together- which Ollie thought was completely unforgettable- Will has been ghosting him. Ollie can take the hint, but he's still pretty hurt about it. When he sees Will at his new school, he is once again hurt by Will's dismissal.

What follows is a journey of familial and romantic love that is challenged by circumstance. Will is very much in the closet and worried about what his parents and friends will think. Compared to Grease, it is easy to see the parallels, but this book reaches far deeper than the movie did and gives a much better couple and romance.

What I loved: The book moves quickly, and my favorite parts were about Ollie and how his family comes together to deal with cancer. It was raw, moving, and beautiful, showing both the grief and love. There are also some great side themes about self-confidence, owning who you are (such as Niamh, who will be a gorgeous model- plus-sized), and finding the people who get you (in Ollie's case, musicians). While there are some tough moments about Will and his cold-and-hot reactions, this also felt really believable to me for a teen who is not ready to come out, and I think this will speak to some really well.

While I was reading the book, the Grease parallels were not overwhelming or hitting you over the head- they were subtle, and it made for an even better story.

Final verdict: Heartfelt and charming, ONLY MOSTLY DEVASTATED is a touching and delightful YA contemporary romance. Highly recommend for fans of Nicola Yoon, SIMON VS. THE HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA, and SICK KIDS IN LOVE.

Please note that I received an ARC. All opinions are my own.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book in exchange of an honest review.

OMG... SUMMER LOVING !!!!!
Okay let me start by explaining why this interested me;
1. I loved : Simon vs the homosapiens agenda
2. GREASE
3. dare I need to say more !?!?

This book was such a lovely read, not to say that it doesn't tackle serious subjects because it does.
I picked up this book when I was in a reading slump, coincidentally simultaneously sick in bed.
It was the perfect book to get me out of that, I can't wait to read the final copy of it another time, because it was THAT GOOD. It has a variety of great LGBTQ+ representation, shows great friendships and familial bonds. The side character also have so much life to them. they don't feel like they were just there to be briefly in the story, they felt like they are actually people.
The character growth in this is also great,
Get ready for a wild ride that will play with your emotions in the best ways. I can't wait to read what this author publishes next !
5/5 stars
-Bookarina

Ollie & Will gave me all the heart eyes!!! Especially Ollie - gosh how I loved him...

I mean when I saw this promo - SIMON VS. THE HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA MEETS CLUELESS, INSPIRED BY GREASE - of course I was all over it.

This one is sweet, genuinely LOL funny but it's also honest and relevant and the author treated real subjects in a very respectful and education (but not preachy) way.

Definitely recommend this one.

What an amazing read. This book is definitely YA and touches on sensitive topics such as being sexuality including coming out during high school, making new friends and dealing with death. I loved how the author gave so much life to the characters and made me tear up and laugh out loud. I really enjoyed the book - it definitely has important messages, regardless of your age.

I’ll admit that this didn’t end up being the most amazing wonderful adorable hilarious queer YA rom-com I expected it to be back when it was first announced. But I think, based on how insane my expectations were, this was still a pretty good read; even if, despite the ages of the characters and some of the subject matter, it did read a little on the younger of the YA side.

If you’re picking this one up hoping to see some Grease references, you’ll be pretty happy, I think. They weren’t overdone, it didn’t stick to the script half as closely as I expected, and it ended up being very much it’s own thing — with it’s own emotional backbone to set it apart — but you don’t need to go hunting too hard to see some parallels. Though I’m still waiting to understand the Clueless connection, so, fair warning for that comparison.

That said, it was also kind of hard to read at times, too. I definitely didn’t expect the conflicts between the leads to hurt as much as they did. For all we are told of the sweetness of Will, mostly through flashbacks, and in a few quiet one-on-one moments, he did and said some pretty unforgivable things to keep up his “straight” pretense; and while I appreciated some of the lightbulb moments on Ollie’s side, some of which I agreed with and others I think just created so Will wasn’t made out to be, like, a villain, it was still pretty unbalanced between them. Actions speak louder, sure, but words are still hurtful af.

That emotional backbone, I mentioned? Well, it was emotional. And while there were times I disliked both of Ollie’s parents, I think in the context, some of it is forgivable. And in that same vein, it was nice to see a story like this were a teen is facing hardship and not resentful about it. Which, I mean, would be a completely valid thing but it was nice that this book didn’t lean too hard into that potential for angst. There was plenty as it was.

So, yes, not quite the lighthearted-adorable-this-was-everything that I wanted, but this was diverse, and queer, and I know that plus the adorable cover is going to make this a hit for so many readers.

Visiting North Carolina for a few months with his parents to help out with his sick aunt's family, Ollie has an amazing summer fling - but now the season has ended and suddenly Will has gone radio silent, and Ollie is brokenhearted. Then when Ollie's parents decide last-minute to stay for the school year instead of going back home to California, Ollie shows up at his new school to realize that not only does Will go there, but also he's kind of a popular kid jerk and is most definitely not out... As Ollie starts to find his place in this new school, he has to decide if he can give up his heart again after it was so trampled the first time, and if he's going to change himself to fit with Will - kind of a modern-day Grease. You get some of the things I love best about YA - great friend side characters, the angsty exploration of fitting in and finding love combined with snappy dialogue, and a bit of swoony-ness to boot. The female version of this, in which an openly out girl moves to a smaller town midway through high school and has to contend with hiding that identity/falling for someone who isn't yet ready to be out, would be Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruits, which I liked a lot. Overall, a sweet YA romance/coming-of-age story that is an enjoyable reading experience, even if it's not one that's going to stick with me forever. 3.5/5 stars