I went through this pretty fast. I've never actually seen "Grease" (though I'm familiar with its general story), but it's apparently based on it. The gist of the story is that a boy had met another boy over the summer and they reunite at school after one of them gets ghosted by the other. 

Something that's good about this story was that it wasn't solely focused on the obvious angsty romance between Ollie and Will, but it also incorporates other issues that occur around Ollie. We see how Ollie and his family is struggling with his sick aunt, and his issue with Lara, a girl among his new group of friends who treats him with a cold shoulder. 

Although this was a pretty quick read, I wasn't in love with the story. Ollie was a pretty good character, a guy who is comfortable with his sexuality and is not afraid to point out people's flaws/issues/wrongdoings. On the other hand, Will is someone who is very much in the closet and seems to act differently when he is around his basketball friends than when he's with Ollie. This aspect did bother me because he didn't really treat people the best when he's with his friends and apologizing later to Ollie for his behavior doesn't really solve this problem, which Ollie thankfully points out. Lara is another interesting character because she has quite the attitude, but is also struggling in coming to terms with her sexuality, as she has unrequited feelings for another girl who has a boyfriend. Overall, these three are the only characters that really stood out among the cast of characters. 

Overall, it was a pretty good read, not amazing, just pretty good.

Look at me, I'm Sandra Dee . . . . or not. Not Sandy, but Ollie. Set in the key of Grease, Ollie meets Will at the lake over the summer. Romance ensues. Ollie, from California, is out of the closet, but Will is a basketball playing bro who hasn't had the conversation with establishing his preferences with his friends, family, anyone, really. So, as per the original narrative, Ollie finds himself at Will's school without Will knowing and go, go greased lightning, let the games begin. While there is a playful side to the romance, there is also the somber background of Ollie's aunt who is dying from cancer, so we stray from Rydell hijinks to knowing that time is limited and we have to step up before time runs out. Fun to read, but also asks the big questions. Deus ex machina ending keeps this from earning more stars.

For the first chapter or two, I was worried that this was going to be too Sarah Dessen-y-- the NC location, the family dynamics-- but once it finally clicked that I was actually reading a queer take on Grease, I stopped worrying. Ollie's voice is funny and believable, and the relationships between him and his friends (and would-be boyfriend) mostly ring true. I love the way that the Roses interact with each other and represent very different experiences of adolescent womanhood, too. The ending felt rushed to me, but overall, it's a nice, mostly uplifting queer romance.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an eARC. 

I absolutely LOVED this book. I finished it very quickly, because I couldn’t stop reading it for very long. The storyline had me on the edge of my seat. It’s such a good mix of emotions and it is a truly believable story. I also love how it had some honest bisexual representation. That is hard to find.

Disclaimer: I received an eARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Ollie was in North Carolina, just for the summer, spending time with his aunt who has cancer and helping to watch his cousins. This was the perfect time to start a summer fling with a boy named Will. What Ollie didn’t plan on was his parents springing the news on him that they were staying in North Carolina for now because his aunt’s cancer is progressing.

And what Ollie definitely didn’t expect was for Will to be attending his new high school.

However, school year Will is quite different. He ignores Ollie, and Ollie is left to try to forge his own path while trying to figure out what happened with this summer romance.

Despite being labeled as a rom-com in the author’s bio, this is NOT a rom-com. I found this to be an immensely heavy book, dealing with homophobia, the fear of coming out, the fear of leaving friends behind/calling them out if they are homophobic, and dealing the impending loss of a family member. And while there are some lighter moments within this book, the majority of it really does deal with all of that.

Overall, I felt a bit let down because I went expecting one thing and got something quite different.

This book dug straight into the core of me, extracted every feeling teenage me ever had, added in all of my first love/ coming out angst, and slapped it on a page. I've been out in a fairly chill way for quite a long time now, but this book just put me right back there. But more than it stirred up my old coming out emotions, it reminded me of how incredibly intense and painful and wonderful and awful first love can be.

So, the basics. Ollie and Will meet during the summer. They fall into intense like. Summer ends. Will ghosts. But, plot twist. Ollie ends up moving to the town where he was over the summer and yup, right into Will's school, where he is immediately adopted into a small group of awesome girls who just so happen to hang out with Will. 

So plot-wise, it's a bit Grease/ High School Musical/ etc. But I'm kind of not mad at it. Because it took that boring old hetero tail and queered it right up and into this century for us. And man did Sophie Gonzales do it right.

Very sweet coming of age book. I enjoyed it! I definitely cared about the characters and wanted to keep reading.

I loved this book. I feel like it’s become pretty common for YA LGBT books to have one member of a romantic couple that is closeted for one or more reasons, but I thought this particular book was a lot more normal. The relationship between Ollie and Will seemed easy, even if their sexuality isn’t always. The voice of the book read teenage. Everything felt a lot more authentic. This is definitely going to be used in my classroom.

I actually really enjoyed this book and felt like the characters, especially Ollie and Will we're fleshed out great. The book weaves together humor, angst, and sadness in a fine way. I also felt that the characters reactions to loss were genuine as well. I also like the representation within the book-there are plenty POC who are side characters but play important roles within the story, as well as a character of size and besides Ollie, other queer characters as well. My only gripe is with one of the girls characters, as she comes off as mean and spiteful at times towards her own friends, which didn't sit well with me. I understood she was going through her own issues, but the way she lashed out towards her friends was cruel. I'm glad she became a better character towards the end, but when I first encountered her, I did not like her.

I don't even know where to begin except . . . . . I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVED this book!!!!  I typically try not to compare books to other books because every author's story deserves to stand on its own right, however, for this one, I feel like the only way I can express my love for it is to compare it to one of my all time favorites - "Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda" (it was also compared to it in the description, soooo...).  I mean this in the sense that Gonzales has written a story that is equally funny, equally delightful, and equally thoughtful.  Both Ollie and Will are so well developed as are the supporting characters.  Everyone is so well layered that you really need to read the entire story to appreciate just how evolved they truly are and to appreciate the care that Gonzales put into crafting them. 

This will definitely be a book that will fly off the shelves making it a necessary purchase for every YA (and home) collection.  Additionally, there is a lot to unpack in this book making it a fantastic book for teen book clubs and/or other discussion opportunities.  Seriously, is it 2020 yet, because I want my own copy ASAP!

This book is completely and utterly charming. I smiled from start to finish. Ollie is a great narrator, and Will is an even better love interest. 

I gave it four stars because there were a few moments of weird lull and ancillary drama that didn't seem to add much to the overall arc.

I was first intrigued by the title of the book and then felt I should read it based on the description. I'm glad I requested this book from NetGalley!
Throughout the story, the characters felt real and more than just surface deep. Things didn't happen easily for them nor did they just always go with the flow. There was tension and bickering and love and heartache - all real emotions that never felt forced.
I think the thing I loved about this book the most is that things didn't work out perfectly just because it's a book. Things were messy and real. The characters adapted and made due with what they got which is more realistic. 
I'm definitely going to grab a copy when it comes out to put on my classroom bookshelf!

I really enjoyed this story.  I found the main character compelling and interesting.  I loved that he was struggling with not his own coming out but understanding that of another person.  This book also dealt with the illness of a family member and the real situation of loosing someone when you are young.  It was a fast read and very engaging.

I loved this book. I fell in love with the characters, each experiencing life their own ways but lending a helping hand to those around them. 
Ultimately, however, the editing in this book drove me insane. There were no transitional markers/indicators to show the reader scene changes. There were so many times I had to go back and re-read sections because I was so confused. It took a lot away from the book. Without this issue, I’d give the novel four stars.

I really enjoyed this book. The writing is tight, but funny and heartfelt, which I appreciate. The characters aren't perfect; they struggle with themselves and grow from their experiences, which is age-appropriate. Was it the most innovative story ever? No, this is Grease/High School Musical's basic plot. Was it enjoyable to read? Yes! The characters are interesting and relatable. The resolution at the end perhaps happens a bit too quickly without much fallout, since the fallout was what drove most of the plot. I get it, things aren't as scary as they seem, etc. etc., but at least something would have made all that waiting a little more palatable.

Some parts of this book had me falling over laughing while others made me want to cry, but the parts in between were a bit flat. The plot felt a bit unstructured at times but the characters were fun. Overall it was a quick read but not one of my favorites.

I was really ready to love this book, but unfortunately it fell a bit flat for me.

Overall, I did enjoy the read, but it reads rather generically. There's nothing that really emotionally sticks, not even the heartbreaking scenes toward the end.

I think there are several reasons this didn't work for me:

1) The characters were lackluster. They all felt very one-dimensional, and I didn't connect with any of them. The friendships the MC makes feel superficial, and none of the characters were interesting and compelling enough for me to root for. Even the protagonist himself felt like a cardboard cutout of a protagonist. I still don't understand why he was friends with the girls, who felt like antagonists for much of the book. It felt like he just jumped on the first friends he could find, and they didn't mesh well as a group. (As an aside, it didn't sit comfortably with me that the girls seemed to cast him in the GBF role most of the time and treated him like he was boring or prissy for not wanting to drink, along with other little things throughout the book. This kid deserved friends who wouldn't dismiss his boundaries and who he could actually talk to when he needed comfort or help!)

2) The pitch is a bit misleading. I don't know exactly what I was expecting honestly, but if I see something pitched as a modern, queer "Grease!" I'm going to assume that there is a reasonable amount of that movie's elements sprinkled throughout the story. This isn't the case with OMD. There is a summer fling, the MC does end up at the same school as said fling, and there are jocks and some good ol' repressive tendencies. But had it not been pitched as such, I never would have recognized this book as a throwback to the movie. It just doesn't quite warrant that comp in my opinion.

3) The writing felt a bit basic. There was nothing outright wrong with it, but I think a bit more skill this might have really been a banger of a book. Unfortunately, the writing was just...there. It got the point across, but not much more.

All of that makes it sound like I hated the book - I didn't! I had a good time reading it, even if part of the reason I kept reading was to see if the spark of "Aha! I love this!" every showed up. But I found the story charming overall, and everything was reasonably clean and well-paced. I'm sure a lot of people will love this book, and honestly, had I not read so many truly incredible queer YA books already this year, I might have too. A few years ago this probably would have been a favorite, but it just doesn't stand up against this year's releases.

This is a fun read with enough drama to keep me hooked through to the end. It is a good, light read for the Summer.

I really enjoyed this book a lot. I was a little worried when it was compared to Clueless and Grease. I thought it might too much. I personally wouldn't have compared this book to those movies but if I squint I can see why it was. 

This was a cute and emotional story. Ollie meets Will at the lake while on vacation over the summer. The two boys hit it off and become involved pretty quickly. Then Ollie's parents tell him they are actually moving to NC from California to help his sick aunt with her kids. Ollie is excited because he knows Will lives in NC, but not where. He thinks they'll be able to be connect. Only problem is Will seems to have ghosted Ollie.

Of course Will happens to go to the school in the same town Ollie ends up moving too. Their reunion is not at all what Ollie was expecting. Ollie accidentally outs Will to 3 girls he meets first day at school. Ollie doesn't know that Will lives nearby and goes to the same school as him at this time. The girls drag Ollie to a back to school party and they run into Will. At first Will is excited to seem Ollie until one of the girls hints that Ollie told them about them summer and then he starts acting as if he doesn't know Ollie.

Will isn't ready to be out. He is a basketball star at his school but wasn't good enough to get a scholarship for college. He's worried if he comes out his parents won't support him financially for school and that his friends will give him a hard time. As a result he ends up treating Ollie very badly despite liking Ollie a lot.

Ollie struggles with just letting Will go. He knows he deserves better and that Will is treating him terribly but he loves Will and as much as he tries he usually gives in when Will does something nice or begs or apologies. There is a point where Ollie has had enough and breaks it off with Will. Things are tense for a while. Ollie doesn't want to be with Will in secret while Will makes jokes about him or doesn't stand up for him in public. Ollie understands that Will isn't ready to be out and accepts that. He does not accept that they can't be friends in public and more in private. Will thinks that even being friends with Ollie will tip people off to their relationship.

As a reader you understand Ollie's frustrations with Will and you get frustrated as well. But you also kind of understand where Will is coming from and feel for him. You still root for the boys which is a good balance. I really loved towards the end when Ollie realizes that he's been pretty selfish about what he wants from Will but never considered what he could do for Will. Will took time to seek him out and hang out with him when he could. He took an interest in things Ollie liked but Ollie never once thought about it until Will invited him to a big basketball game. It was refreshing for the main character to realize that yes, Will had done some things wrong, but maybe Ollie hadn't been all that perfect either.

My absolute favorite part of the book was after Ollie's aunt had died. The way the author describes Ollie's grief and feelings and thoughts after he experienced death firsthand really hit me hard. I have never read a book where reading something smacked me with a serious "I AM NOT ALONE" feeling, but this part of the book did. It was so nice to see something that I struggle with so personally described so accurately in a book. I was sobbing during this part because I just felt like finally someone understands. 

This was a great book covering many topics and it was done very well.

Wow. This book was not at all what I was expecting and I am glad for it. It made me cry. A LOT. It also made me giggle like a maniac and get righteously angry a few times. A great read all around!