Only Mostly Devastated was a fun, quick read that I devoured in just under a day.

Thank you to NetGalley for advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me an ARC of this book!

A feel-good, heartwarming, and cute coming-of-age story about teens finding out and accepting who they really are; getting over their fears and trusting in themselves and leaning on the ones they love for understanding and acceptance; and of course, FALLING IN LOVE. <3

This is such an adorable and cheesy book that has its fair share of heartaches, real-life shit people deal with, and giddy moments; perfect for a Christmas-y read!

"Sometimes in life, terrible things happened. And sometimes really, really amazing things happened. And sometimes those things all kind of happened at ones. But screw tomorrow. Even if no one could promise that everything would work out perfectly, right here and now, in this exact moment, it was perfect."

Note: Snippets taken from the book as seen in this review is from an ARC and should be checked against a finished copy of the book.

I understand where the comparisons (Grease, Simon vs.) come from, but I didn't really feel like very much...happened? I know that things did, but nothing really felt overly impactful, and I didn't really feel an emotional connection to any of the characters or relationships. I wonder if both of these issues would have been better served by including more of the summer romance, but overall, it just seemed as if the book slipped pretty easily into my mind, but would slip right back out again.

My enduring impression of this book consists of a shrug and an “eh it’s cute”. But, ultimately, not much more than that. It was cute. It was an easy read. But it was also, to me, nothing particularly special. (Okay, that came out harsher than I meant it to but. My point remains.) And there were too many small things that irritated me.

Only Mostly Devastated follows Ollie, whose family is staying with his aunt and uncle over the summer to help out, as his aunt has cancer. He meets (and falls for) Will, and they have a summer fling. However, Ollie’s aunt has a further health scare and Ollie’s family ends up moving to stay with in North Carolina for a year. And Ollie ends up at the same school as Will, who seems a completely different person to the one Ollie got to know.

Like I said, the book is cute. There’s plenty of second chance romance type pining (always appreciated), and there’s some nice wlw/mlm solidarity between Ollie and Lara. And the writing’s good. But, sadly, that was about the sum total of the positivity I can muster for this book. Not that the rest is wholly negative, mind. More like meh.

Most of what irritated me wasn’t really outright Bad Things, but more like a sense I got from reading. Like how it feels like it’s sort of implied that Ollie is holding Lara’s secret (that she’s bi) over her for whatever reason. Or how, despite telling Will that he wouldn’t force him to be out, Ollie seems to lack any sort of sympathy for Will’s situation (though, yeah, I understand that a little when it comes to the making/laughing at gay jokes and, yeah, Ollie’s 17). There was what the narrative was saying, and then there was the feeling I got from it, and they didn’t match up.

But then there were the bits where it got messy. Like how Niamh, who is, on first meeting, described as being fat, then starts talking about the gym, only seems to get into conversations about the gym or her weight or dieting. Apart from when she gets into a conversation about the guy who’s supposedly her love interest but isn’t really developed enough as a character for you to draw any conclusions (except that one thing he does which makes me think he’s a dickhead). And Will, who is bi, and who skirts very very close to being the cheating bi stereotype, if not actually becoming that, especially the prom scene where he has previously sort of got back with Ollie, but is busy flirting with his ex-girlfriend/prom-date. Actually, scratch what I said about skirting close, on second thoughts.

And throughout, it all just felt kind of superficial. Which is not to say that books like this have to be deep or have another message in them or whatever, but here something felt lacking. It was cute but not much more than that.

This was so cute! Not only was the romance adorable (and I totally loved Ollie as a main character), but I loved everything that the author pulled from Grease into this story! Grease was one of my favorite movies growing up, and I loved getting the chance to almost relive it in a strange way.

The story did a good job of paying homage to Grease and pulling from it, while also being its own work. It's something that you could read even if you hadn't seen Grease before and still enjoy, which I appreciated.

All I have to say is HOLY FUCK THIS IS EVERYTHING.

Only Mostly Devastated is just an incredibly brilliant, all consuming, 90s rom-com film in book form and it is amazing!! Described as Simon vs the Homosapiens meets Clueless, by way of Grease, I can say with 100% confidence it is definitely that. This is a brilliantly fun contemporary romance with such reminiscent ties to my favourite rom-com films of the 90s I’m just in love.

I fell in love with this book from the very first page:
“It was late afternoon, on the very last Wednesday of August, when I realised Disney had been lying to me for quite some time about Happily Ever Afters’.
The protagonist, Ollie, has been ghosted by the person he had been hooking up with over Summer. And now, it turns out he will be staying in North Carolina, instead of returning to his home and friends in California, in order to help out with his Aunt’s family, as his Aunt has fairly progressed cancer. Uprooted, and to top it all, late to his very first day of school, he probably doesn’t quite expect to see the very person he’s been hooking up with all summer at his school. But of course, this is a book reinvigorating the 90s romcom genre and so of course that’s exactly what happens. The only problem is that Ollie’s Prince Charming isn’t out at school. And so pretends he has nothing to do with Ollie at all. What follows is a rapid whirlwind of teen romance, of the trials of love, and of the fear and anxiety that comes with facing up to who you are.

The writing style is utterly to die for. Ollie’s voice is exceptionally strong, he is snarky, sarcastic and completely hilarious. It felt like taking a walk through my own brain. I loved him so much. I loved how overly dramatic he was (“after finding an appropriately melancholy playlist on Spotify”); I loved the hidden throwbacks to the books’ comps (“I’d end up pining over him, all hopelessly devoted and hurt”); and I loved the hilarious honesty in admission of his own flaws (“It totally went against my personal philosophy of overanalysing everything and only taking risks when there was a 5 percent or less chance of failure”.) I mean, what a mood. But most of all, I adore Ollie’s strong viewpoint on the most important issues impacting us all: “A sweaty red skittle is worth three green skittles.” A truer line has never been spoken.

The romance was a slow burn, angst filled, and yet somehow totally and utterly joyful mess of love. The book discusses themes around coming out and the difficulties of doing so. It also does so well at picturing the struggles of those on both sides: of the pain and hurt of those needing to stay hidden, who feel ashamed that their partner doesn’t want to be seen with them; but also the fear and terror of those not yet out, of their panic at upending their lives and not knowing how to do it.

Only Mostly Devastated is beautifully queer at its core. Alongside Ollie and Will are a host of characters, queer and not, who make this book the dazzling queer masterpiece it is. From the testosterone filled jock standing up for his bisexual crush, to Lara’s coming to terms and acceptance of her sexuality, this book is just heaven. I personally admired Lara’s struggles, and the discussions of bisexuality as valid, as something I too have had to deal with. She keeps herself so hidden behind this incredibly tough exterior, but as she opens up, you see how vulnerable and loyal she really is. She is an absolute gem of a character and I need to embody her sassiness way more in my day to day life.

Alongside the romance, is the heartbreaking story of cancer and the impact it can have on entire families. It speaks of the strength of those fighting the disease, and the strength their families have to continue on and it was so emotional - please do take note if this is something that might particularly affect you, as these scenes do get incredibly emotional.

All in all, I found Only Mostly Devastated to be the queer romcom I needed in my youth. It makes me think of all my favourite movies as a teen from Grease, to 10 Things I Hate About You. The writing style is fantastically deadpan and sarcastic and there were so many moments to laugh at, I absolutely loved this one!!

<note to publisher: review will be posted to my blog closer to release date>

Ollie had the summer of his dreams. He met an absolutely gorgeous guy, Will, but unfortunately is likely never going to see him again. That is until Ollie's family decides to stay in town after their summer to help their Aunt Linda as she battles cancer. Much to Ollie's (and Will's) surprise, they end up at the same high school. The biggest problem? Will isn't out. Ollie must figure out how to tackle his feelings for Will while remaining sensitive to the situation.

This was a really good contemporary romance. As a queer reimagining of Grease, I really enjoyed it! I had hoped for a bit more character development, but for a teen/YA romance I can definitely see how this works. Even without it being a reimagining of Grease, the book was a bit predictable, but no less enjoyable. Overall it was very entertaining and tackled some tough topics including LGBTQ rights, death, and body image. I just hoped for a bit more depth to the characters and dialogues that would make the story even more real.

Well, I guess we have a winner in this second half of 2019.
[arc provided by Edelweiss and Netgalley, to whom I am immensely grateful. The book is out on the 3rd of March 2020 and you don't wanna miss it!]

I have been blessed by the Great, Ethereal Being, because this book was everything I expected and WAY MORE. I had started it because I was looking for a story with a light and funny vibe, that could make me feel in a good mood, and this book has basically been presented as a Grease modern queer retelling, so I was super curious and intrigued.

What I did not expect was to emerge from it profoundly enriched. It's easy to write a retelling. It's way harder to take the plot of two cults (Grease and High School Musical) and don't turn it all into a trashier copy. But starting from a storyline like that and make it all deeper? I wouldn't have bet on it. And yet this story never felt commonplace, never boring, never did I feel like I knew what was going to happen, no. Because "Only Mostly Devastated" takes the Grease storyline and makes it something MORE, something important for the young people in our days, and it does it in the most original way despite being a retelling, and in a fresh and funny style that reminded me of Simon Vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda and John Green's books, but also of the powerful and delicate messages conveyed by Alice Oseman and Skam.

The author's take on the original story -- her way to make it queer and set in our days 
--is just BRILLIANT, and natural, and never felt forced. I mean, I'm still laughing at the idea of Will seeing the texts and not replying as a way to convey the 'he's over me' Grease feeling, and Snapchat, Frozen and Coco and other references to our world in the Grease storyline that fit in just wonderfully. And even the other plot elements that were not from Grease were just as perfectly-handled and only gave the story an additional meaning.

The characters and their relationships were so relatable that after finishing reading, I felt like I had lost my friends. They were so well written that they felt real. Some of them were totally taken from Grease, some of them felt like a blend or completely invented by the author, but all of them stole my heart in a different way.
I loved Ollie, HE IS ME. Like, relatable in every way: super awkward, super anxious, super overthinking about writing another message to his crush. And can we talk about the fact that he's surely named after Olivia Newton John?
And Will made me want to kick him and kiss him at the same time, he was the perfect blend between Danny Zuko, Oliver from CMBYN and Troy Bolton, you can't change my mind🤣. But trust me when I say that here it is more difficult to take parts than in Grease. Things between them are... A little more delicate. Which made it all so damn angsty as well. AND THEIR FLIRT IS 🔥, which was the most beautiful surprise for my shipping heart!
But 100+ points also go to the friendship between Ollie and Lara. Lara is sort of a Rizzo... But she is definitely more precious.

What can I say? I expected a lot, but not this much, and now I can definitely say that this book saved the terrible turn my reading year was taking. While reading OMD I fangirled like a 12 years old (DAMN, NOT ONLY NOW I CAN'T TAKE THE GREASE SOUNDTRACK OUT OF MY HEAD, BUT I ALSO HAVE A NEW OTP! THOSE TWO ARE TOO SOFT TO BE REAL. AND NOW I'M HATING MYSELF BECAUSE I HAVE TO WAIT A LIFETIME FOR FANARTS. AND I WANT A MOVIE BASED ON THIS). I daydreamed all day for the beauty of summer romance like I felt while reading Call Me By Your Name and Aristotle and Dante, but I also found myself moved by the importance of some themes conveyed: coming out and outing, mourning, respect in a relationship, eating disorders and friendship are just some. And then there's the theme of carpe diem that always makes me cry. Again, the way they were conveyed made it all more special, and never felt cliché to me, despite the plot. So I started this book laughing out loud and I finished as a sobbing mess. It warmed my soul and it made me feel so good, and especially hopeful and empowered. These are the books I want to believe in.

The story was such a surprise, it was IMPOSSIBLE to put down (and just for this, it wins everything) and definitely too short--but that's not a flaw, since damn, it had the perfect pacing and never felt rushed or slow. And it was a freaking roller coaster from happy to sad moments and it was so important to me I couldn't help feeling so blessed, because a book like this doesn't happen everyday. At the end, I actually wanted to hug it. What a shame I don't own a physical copy. WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE A STANDALONE? We have plenty of series, why can't this be one?

I am struggling to find any flaws, because this book has got everything I've ever wanted from a contemporary: funny and brilliant style, the PERFECT pacing, a romance that makes you swoon, perfectly-handled retelling but never a copy, and powerful messages everyone needs to know. It'll stick to my heart forever and I'm so grateful to have read it.

Only Mostly Devastated by Sophie Gonzales is such a cute book! I really adored it. It’s a retelling of Grease and I’ve loved Grease since I was young so this updated version was really fun. There was lots of humour in this book which I loved and the relationship between the two main characters Ollie and Will was really endearing. All the side characters were great too. I couldn’t put this book down it was really enjoyable to read. I highly recommend this book to any fan of YA contemporary romance!

"Only Mostly Devestated" is tagged "Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda meets Clueless, inspired by Grease"--- and yet I had no idea what a gem of a book I was walking into. In fact, although I read the description and saw the cover when I first requested this book a few months ago, I went into reading it blind.

Meaning that the first 10 minutes of my read kind of went like this:

<i> Ok, another teen romance. Ah. Ugh, summer romance with a perfect guy. Why did I I want to read this?! Wait. Is the main character a guy?.... I still don't know, but the MC is adorable. Let me look at the cover of this book and the description again.... </i>

This was a fluffy read and although I like the occasional fluffy read, this was to the point of being over-the-top cheesy and unbelievable. As a rom-com, I expect a happy ending. The "Grease" reference from the top probably refers to the last portion of the book, which is very upbeat and fun. It is satisfying, but a bit different from the rest of the flow and pacing of the story.

My only real 'complaint' is the lack of development of side characters. Ollie, the main character, is the perfect son and friend. He is very cute and I love hearing his inner monologue. Yet, everyone that he interacts with has been placed to fulfill a either a stereotypical role, or a role to address a social issue. Issues tackled include body image (with a reference to PCOS, which I found to be an interesting add-on), cancer/death, and toxic masculinity. Although these are all important topics, some of it felt diminished since their placement was not fleshed out through the characters. Kind of like how this last paragraph I wrote was packed with information in a short amount of space ;)

I really enjoyed "Only Mostly Devastated." It is exactly the light, summer-type read that I would recommend to people who enjoy to read YA books. I can see this being a fun book to movie adaption as well!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I requested this because it was blurbed as Simon Vs meets Clueless inspired by Grease. Which shockingly are all of my favorite things!
I'm happy to report Only Mostly Devastated lived up to its hype in my head!

We follow Ollie after a whirlwind summer romance, as he unexpectedly ends up in a new high school for his senior year. Imagine his surprise when the object of his summer fling ends up being one of the most popular jocks at his new school. (GREASE LIGHTNING)
While the story is mainly about Ollie and his conflicting feelings for his crush Will, the story is so much more than a fluffy romance.
One of my favorite aspects of the novel was Ollie meeting his new friends and becoming part of their crew. (PINK LADIES) Lara is the one he has the most trouble figuring out but their friendship is my new religion. Also Lara is a bi queen and she deserves the world.

I seriously loved this!
Thanks to netgalley for a copy!

TW: Cancer

Summer loving had me a blast
Summer loving happened so fast
I met a boy crazy for me
Met a boy cute as can be
Summer days drifting away to oh oh the summer nights - (from Grease)

Adorable book - the lyrics about sum up the main story. I wasn't too fond of his new friends, but they became better as the book went along.

As soon as I heard “inspired by Grease” – well . . . . . .

I got chills and they were multiplying.

Much like the band TLC I will fully admit I ain’t too proud to beg either and did everything in my power to acquire an early copy of this one. And as soon as Ollie started his new school only to run into his summer lovin’ Will who totally pulled a Danny Zuko with his popular basketball buddies you know this old lady was like . . . . .

Tell me more tell me more.

Only Mostly Devastated was everything I wanted it to be. It totally had Simon vs. the Homosapiens Agenda vibe as the blurb promised (not so sure about the Clueless namedrop – not really accurate and it wasn’t even necessary when the book is a guaranteed winner like this one), Will totally had some legit reasons for being a bit of a turd, Ollie was a great/understanding friend, but not afraid to use his words and was never a doormat just to make someone else’s life easier, there was just enough teenage drama, and of course it all culminated ♪♫♪at the high school dance, where you can find romance, maybe it might be loooooooove♪♫♪.

I ate this sucker up.

Highly recommended.

Endless thanks to Wednesday Books for the early copy. You got me feeling all . . . .
Rama lama lama ka dinga da dinga dong
Shoo-bop sha wadda wadda yippity boom de boom
Chang chang changitty chang sha-bop
Dip da-dip da-dip doo-wop da doo-bee doo
Boogedy boogedy boogedy boogedy
Shoo-be doo-wop she-bop
Sha-na-na-na-na-na-na-na yippity dip de doom

Wop ba-ba lu-mop and wop bam boom!

A charming YA rom-com! Ollie and Will fall in love at the lake, and both mourn the inevitable end of the summer and their romance. But then Ollie's family decides to stay in North Carolina for his senior year, and on his first day of school he tells his new friends about his summer fling--only to find that Will is the star basketball player at his new school, who has not come out yet. If this sounds familiar, that's because this book is a very loose modernized retelling of GREASE. It's utterly adorable, but also dives into serious topics, mainly Will's struggle to feel safe coming out to his friends and family, and Ollie's sick aunt, whom his family is now helping take care of. A whole host of compelling side characters helps this story come to life!

this being pitched as a gay Grease did not disappoint
likes:
- the friendships!!
- queer rep (MC is gay, side character is bi, love interest is bi)
- how Will still being in the closet was dealt with. I was hesitant about this plot line b/c I feel like it usually makes for an uncomfortable read w/someone getting mad at that person not wanting to come out. but Ollie was so understanding & only got frustrated when Will was truly being a shit - not for him wanting to stay in the closet.
- Lara's character growth
- the side plot of Ollie's aunt being sick. fucking WRECKED ME

dislikes:
- I don't think Will was fleshed out enough; he didn't really have too much of a personality IMO
- Ollie's friends back in California were kind of pointless - they were brought up in the beginning then p much completely forgotten until the end
- kind of the same thing w/Ollie's bandmates - we never learn anything about them besides their names

This was a hard book for me to read. While it is touted as a romcom, there is far too much included in this to consider it light reading. Depression, gays, public shaming on multiple topics, etc. At times I liked the characters, but there were times I really didn't or couldn't connect with them. I think it covers topics that are pertinent to our society right now, but it was too heavy for me.

Thank you NetGalley for and ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Summer Love or Summer Fling? That is what happens between Ollie and Will. Summer comes to an end and Will has officially ghosted Ollie. On the other hand Ollie has a lot of things going on in his life. His parents spring on him that they are staying in Town to help with his dying aunt instead of heading back home to California. Ollie is a senior starting a new school where nobody knows he is gay. To make matters worse he finds out he is going to the same school as Will who has ignored his text and acts like nothing happened between them.

I loved this book. I loved the story and the writing. I loved Ollie's sense of humor. I loved the vast cast of different characters and all there story lines. It made me cry and it made me laugh. Thank you St Martin's press and Wednesday books for an ARC of this book for an honest review!

Only Mostly Devastated is the gay Grease novel that dreams are made of. Ollie meets Will during the summer and they have a blast - but their love is cut short as they both return to their lives. However, with a sick aunt, Ollie ends up staying in the same town as Will - and attending his school. The story reminded me a lot of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda in the way that both boys are navigating high school with their collection of friends, one (Ollie) openly out, and the other (Will) definitively not. Music plays a central role in Ollie's life and there are lots of wonderful pop culture references that make this novel feel timely (cue: several mentions of Frozen). The central group of gal pals that Ollie hangs out with are all well developed, but I found the testosterone boy group to be less so (although I enjoyed picturing them in their basketball letter jackets in a rendition of Grease Lightning).

If you enjoy contemporary teen rom-coms, queer representation, and are always waiting for people to break out in musical numbers, you will enjoy this book. Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC, all opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed a great many things about this book. Characters were fleshed out and the plot was well spaced. Some of the secondary storylines could've used a bit more page space but all in all an enjoyable read!

★★★✰✰ 3 stars

“It was late afternoon, on the very last Wednesday of August, when I realized Disney had been lying to me for quite some time about Happily Ever Afters.”


Only Mostly Devastated tells a cute but extremely formulaic story that is as memorable as a teen coming-of-age film (possibly of the Netflix variety). I really wanted to enjoy this but the plot is incredibly unimaginative and every single character, with the exception of Ollie and Will, struck me as being little more than stand-ins for certain issues.

Positives
✓ Sophie Gonzales' simple writing style effectively conveys Ollie's various thoughts and experiences. Rather than loosing herself in a purply metaphors Gonzales has opted for a more direct and plain prose and this first-person narrative is perhaps the most accomplished aspect of Only Mostly Devastated. Ollie hooks readers in, right from his opening lines, and keeps us entertained and engaged throughout the majority of the novel.
“Thankfully, Mom and Dad raised me to aim low, to encourage a healthy contentment in hitting par.”


Ollie's is an amusing narrator. He is fairly awkward, very sweet, and has a lovely sense of humour. He shows self-awareness and self-respect (two things that are often MIA in a YA main character). While he does use acronyms (I had to google D and M) and makes plenty of references to popular culture, these were well incorporated into the narrative (they didn't come across as just random insertions). If anything they made him into a believable teenager.
“A week later, and I was still getting lost more often than the girl in the Labyrinth movie, except I didn't even have David Bowie in tights as a reward for my efforts.”


✓ The Grease-inspired story had potential. This ‘Will isn't the same after the summer’ scenario created a good amount of tension and angst. Ollie is confused and hurt by Will's change of character (from a sweet and sensitive boy into an obnoxious class clown who doesn't want to be seen with Ollie).
✓ The relationship between Ollie and Will was well developed. While Ollie doesn't excuse Will's behaviour (“ I'm a dick because I've always been a dick around my friends wasn't really an excuse.”) he doesn't pressure him to make their summer romance public knowledge. Ollie, quite rightfully, finds it intolerable to be someone's ‘dirty secret’, yet he understands the difficult position Will is in (“No one deserves to be outed against their will.”). In spite of their disagreements and different attitudes, readers can see just how much they care for each other. They share many tender moments and I thought that their ups-and-downs were very realistic.

Negatives
✗ The storyline starts well enough but soon fell into a predictable path. We have a certain number of subplots following Ollie's friends and his aunt which were so thinly rendered as to have little impact on the overall story.
✗ Ollie's friends and his aunt seemed to exist only so that the novel could address certain hot topics. Sadly these characters were reduced to the issues they were contending with. Take Ollie's new friends: they just happen to be the three people he gets to know on the first day. One is there so the novel can include a hurried, and extremely superficial, discussion on body positivity. She has few lines and they mostly have to do with her appearance/body/diets+exercise regime...her personality was mostly non-existent. She was defined by this subject matter. Another one of his new friends (the girl who decides to nickname our protagonist Ollie-oop on the very first day...who does that?! Someone from Riverdale?) exists so the story can include an 'its okay to fail/keep trying' message. And then we have the girl who had the potential to have a more defined personality (not a good one but still) ended up being portrayed as a rather clichéd bully-with-a-heart. These three girls were poorly developed and rather unbelievable. Ollie's aunt (and her illness) seem to have been included only as an inciting plot-device...which isn't great as it is a cheap way to try to make your readers feel sorry or sympathise with Ollie (he didn't need this extra dose of sad).
✗ Ollie's parents are so unimportant as to be closer to two nebulous entities than to two human individuals. In her first appearance Ollie's mother tells him that they will be moving to a new state and he can't complain because she has a lot on her plate. Which...yeah. After that she has a few lines about 'energy' and such. Ollie's father makes his first appearance around the 40% mark and tells him off because he is stressed. After that I'm not sure he does or says anything of notice. They were like the adults in Tom and Jerry...barely in the picture.
✗ Ollie's 'old' friends disappear after one video call...clearly they had a very meaningful relationship with Ollie....
✗ Will's friends were as poorly developed as the rest...
✗ That ending was way too cheesy (even by rom-com standards).

Teens who haven't read a lot of YA might find more enjoyable than I did...for those who aren't keen on plots that rehash tired elements from high-school dramas might want to skip this one.