A queer ya novel reminiscent of Grease, Only Mostly Devastated follows Ollie as his fond memories of summer romance come to a startling end when he unexpectedly goes to the school of his fling - only to find out that Will is still closeted. What seems at first glance like a beach read is actually surprisingly thoughtful (dealing with issues such as grief, homophobia, misogyny, bi-phobia, anxiety, and fat shaming) and while the ending was slightly stereotypical, I still found myself cheering for that very same ending to happen.

A special thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a free advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Grease, but make it good

I was a little torn going into this because it has a weird combination of things I like and things I don't. Retellings? Love em. Grease the musical? Keep it away from me. High school contemporaries? Sometimes, maybe, if you do it well.

Suffice it to say, I was pleasantly surprised by Only Mostly Devastated.

The story follows Ollie as he spends the summer in North Carolina with his family to be there for a terminally ill Aunt, and ends up staying there for the year. After their summer fling, Will ghosts him as soon as the two separate, but the two soon reconnect as Ollie starts senior year at a new school.

This book was a charming, quick read that left me absolutely satisfied. Gonzales took all of the parts of Grease that I hated and, in modernizing the story, smoothed them over and allowed me to enjoy myself. Ollie and Will's relationship isn't necessarily ~cute~ in the way you might expect from a contemporary romance, but it feels real, and the development of that relationship (and consequently of the two as people) was engaging and, of course, heartwarming in the end.

So much of Grease is about, obviously, these two messy, entangled friend groups, which I think Gonzales did pretty well. In sticking only with Ollie's perspective we focus significantly more on his friends rather than Will's which I did not mind one bit since all of Will's friends were pretty obnoxious. By focusing on just one friend group, though, those relationships and characters were explored more deeply, and I really enjoyed them. Lana, in particular, was probably my favorite character (although that's definitely just because I related to her the most).

All in all, Only Mostly Devastated succeeded in everything it set out to do. I was never frustrated or bored while reading, and in fact, rushed through a few aspects of my day today in order to finish it sooner.

I stayed up until 1 am finishing this book because it was so good. Yes, it's a queer retelling of Grease, in a way, but this book also has the realest, most gut-wrenching depiction of grief that I've ever read.

Ollie is a California transplant staying in North Carolina for the summer because his aunt is terminally ill. He meets and falls in love with Will, and when they say goodbye at the end of the summer, both of them think that's it. But Ollie has to stay in North Carolina, and when he enrolls in school, he's startled to discover to find Will in his grade, but not the Will he remembers from the summer. This Will is a closeted jock who is apparently over his summer fling. But then Will starts showing up everywhere where Ollie is, but who is the real Will? Ollie has to deal with the grief of losing a family member, fitting into a new school, and seeing if he and Will still have a chance at happiness. Ollie is so funny, and I found myself laughing at loud, and then crying a lot later on. Highly recommended!

**Thank you Netgalley ‘**

I looked forward to reading this one as Grease was one of my favorite classic movies. I felt the Grease vibe in the beginning which did capture my interest in the book, yet this may be just not me as the target group. I expect this to be aimed at a really young YA/teen reader.

I liked the story overall and found it interesting, fun and lots of positive messages. I felt there were way too many extra side characters added as just fillers, Ollie was a sweet character, he made all these new friends, yet had a life - a band and great friends from California that he was so disappointed to leave. Then we hear nothing about them ever again, then his new band and the members are also felt like fillers, no real conversation or connections.

Will...I never had a real sense of him or his real connection to Ollie. For me he was flat,

Personal grievances aside fun light cute.

3.5 Stars

If you’re into YA I think this will be a big hit for most people. Ollie is totally loveable, and the world crafted around him is believable and engaging. There’s some serious topics touched on without bogging down the story. I really enjoyed his interactions with his new girl-friends. They all had their own quirks and stories for us to learn from as well.

The one thing that kept me from enjoying this completely was my growing frustration with Ollie’s lack of backbone/ Will’s selfishness. However, when Ollie finally stands up for himself, that was a shining moment. I felt for him so much.

“I just wanted you to care,” I cried. My throat felt clogged up, and I knew I’d start crying any second now, so I chose anger. Better than sadness. And hurt. “But you didn’t, and you don’t. So, get the fuck out of my car and leave me alone.”

They do eventually get their shit together in a totally adorable way, and I was super down for that. This was an engaging and lovely book for those who really enjoy a younger take on things.

Even if no one could promise that everything would work out perfectly, right here and now, in this exact moment, it was perfect. And right here and now was the only thing that ever mattered anyway.

Such a sweet story! Only Mostly Devasted is, at least in part, a modern retelling of the movie Grease with a small twist. Ollie, the main character, is gay, and his summer love isn't out to his high school buddies yet. This book touches on so much-homophobia, cancer, complicated family relationships, etc-and handles it all in a respectful manner. I would certainly let my young adult read and enjoy this book, and I got so much out of it as an adult.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

Ollie Ollie Ollie! This was such a wonderful YA story about being gay, coming out, and accepting yourself above all! It also touched on topics such as death and grief in a beautiful, insightful way. A very well written and well thought out book. It was also sweet, funny and enjoyable! I really loved Ollie and I definitely grew to love Lara! Fabulous book!

I absolutely adored this.

This was what the blurb promised, very <i>Love Simon</i> meets <i>Grease</i>, but with it's own spin on it.

Oliver has come to North Carolina with his parents for the summer to help his aunt and uncle, seeing as his Aunt Linda has cancer. Over said summer he meets and falls for Will, and at the end of the summer Will seemingly completely ghosts him, and oh yeah, his parents actually offer to stay however long their Aunt Linda needs, and Oliver is mostly to help with their kids, his cousins, to look after them.

So instead of going back to California, he's staying in NC, and happens to go to the same school as Will, who is actually a big high school basketball star, and also pretty closeted.

So when he acts hot and cold with Oliver, it hurts him and it's the back and forth, push and pull thing between them. Will has a lot of shit to sort out, but Oliver himself is going through things and has his own faults that he doesn't even realize until the end, really.

What I loved about this book is that yeah, Oliver calls out Will for his behavior, as he should, but Oliver basically calls himself out as well (with some help from his Aunt Linda) and see how he made mistakes too and that he could do better too.

I loved how complex all the characters were. Will was more than just a closeted asshole who was hurting Oliver. He did those things, and acted like an asshole, but there was more to it than that. He had his own perspective, his own reasons for why he acted the way he had, and he also came to realize his faults and admit to them. Oliver was our POV character, our MC, but he wasn't perfect either, he wasn't 100 percent in the right with their relationship either. He was a tad selfish at times.

The secondary characters were amazing as well. Lara, who started out to be a pretty mean character, but who as going through her own shit, and who slowly became my fave character in this after our two MC's. She could have made it up to those she wronged a little better, but her change in attitude and her growth went a long way with her.

I did adore Niamh and Juliette as well, they were great friends. I loved how we saw their stories being more about the boys (or girls ;) they were into, and how Juliette never even had a LI and still had a story to be told in this. More stories with women written like this would be amazing.

And lastly, I felt the chemistry between Oliver and Will so much, they were great together, even when they were fighting. This is a YA so we didn't get much more than kissing, but the kisses we did get were great. Also the longing for each other, the romance, the small things like them sneaking glances at each other, was awesome.

This was an amazing story and I can't wait for you all to read it, it's definitely worth a read. This is just so well written, with well-rounded, interesting and great characters who really made this story amazing.

Two massive thumbs up fro me! HIGHLY recommend!!

This book needs to find a place on high school library bookshelves. Summer lovin' had Will and Ollie having a blast, but when Ollie unexpectedly ends up staying in North Caroline and attending Will's high school, things get strained. Ollie fell head over heels for Will over the summer, but the people in Will's life doesn't know he's gay. The two start a complex relationship that has them both growing up and discovering a lot about themselves and each other throughout the course of the book.

RATING: 3/5 STARS

This was a fun read. I enjoyed the voice of our narrator, Ollie, as he aimed for his happy ending with Will but encountered bumps along the way. The writing was snappy and witty, which kept me engaged throughout. Ollie was such a sweet character. He was sensitive and considerate of his friends and family, and I really rooted for him.

What unfortunately lowered my rating was the love interest Will being quite a terrible person throughout this book. For the most part he came across as very inconsiderate and treated Ollie unfairly. I somewhat understood the reasons for the way he acted (not wanting to be judged by his peers and family for his sexual orientation--a legitimate concern for a teen that I don't underestimate). However, I was frustrated with Will's actions and would have liked to see more personal growth from him. I sympathized with Ollie's heartbreak with each rejection from Will, and was happy to see that Ollie reached a point in the novel where he realized that he deserved more than being a source of shame. I think the author did a great job building Ollie's journey of becoming more aware of his self-worth.

Overall, I was satisfied with the story's conclusion but the road to get there was a little rough. This was a promising novel from a new (to me) author. It had a really strong pitch to live up to (Simon vs. Homo Sapiens Agenda, Grease, and Clueless--three crowd favorites), but it delivered an interesting plot and well-rounded characters.

A sincere thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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This was a enjoyable YA romance told from the perspective of the male character Ollie's.

The story is very well crafted. With sweet, cute, funny and a somewhat serious side.

3 ✨

When Ollie's parents tell him he's not going back to California for the start of school, he's crushed. But he understands that his family needs to stay and take care of his aunt and her family as she battles cancer. As he tries to adjust to a new group of friends, Ollie is shocked to discover that his summer fling goes to his new high school. Ollie has to figure out how to cope with Will's hot/cold messages as they try to continue their relationship without any of his basketball teammates discovering.

This is a modern day Grease...told from the male characters point of view. Boy meets boy at the lake. They hang out together and fall into serious like together. Summer ends and they both go back to their normal lives. Well that is until they don't. Ollie's family relocate for the year to help his aunt and uncle with the kids while his aunt undergoes chemotherapy. Will goes back to his "normal" life of being a basketball hero and dating girls. No one knows Will likes guys. Well that is until the girls who befriend Ollie find out that he spent his summer with this guy named Will and it was amazing. Soon Will knows Ollie is at his school but will Ollie continue to keep Will's secret? Or will Ollie out Will in a big way when he discovers Will is a basketball jerk? Happy reading!

A hugely enjoyable YA romance which also tackles a serious subject-very well.This is only slightly touched on in the blurb so I'm not going to elaborate too much.





The theme of the book isn't a new one.High school setting with an out character and one firmly in the closest.But this is truly engaging.Told only from Ollie's pov and I think I fell for him instantly.





Ollie and Will have a summer fling.It's intense and passionate but once the summer is over Ollie is baffled by Will's silence.To make things worse Ollie and his family must move temporarily and Ollie starts a new school.Will's school and if Ollie was confused about Will's silence after their fling he's even more bewildered by Will's indifference to him at school.





Ollie is befriended by three girls who kind of take him under their wing.These characters definitely added depth to the story.They're not the stereotypical high school girls.They're individual with issues of their own that I'm sure any young person reading this will identify with.



I read The Law of Inertia by this Author and loved it so I knew I liked her writing.She manages to tackle a serious subject here,which doesn't overwhelm the story,along side the romance between Will and Ollie.



There are no on page sex scenes between the MCs at all.And I honestly didn't miss them.The story didn't need them.Strangely,I think I enjoyed the story more without them.





The story is very well crafted.It's sweet with a bit of angst,funny,with a serious side.Two highly likeable MCs,and great supporting characters.


A YA story that will appeal to a lot of people.Maybe too much of a 'young' feel for me but still very engaging.

This was a fast read that I really enjoyed. I really enjoyed the twist on one of my favorite movies, Grease. I definitely recommend this book if you are looking for something cute to read!

I pretty much devoured this book. I think I'd have read it in one sitting if I hadn't been spending time with my brother while he was in town visiting. I think the comparison to <i>Simon vs.</i> is spot-on with regards to tone and writing style, though I don't really see the <i>Clueless</i> connection myself.

<i>Only Mostly Devastated</i> is a modern retelling of the musical <i>Grease</i> with gay love interests. Ollie (i.e. Sandy) is a California-native who spends the summer before his senior year visiting family in North Carolina, and ends up having a summer fling with Will (i.e. Danny Zuko). When Ollie's family decides to stay in NC longer than planned, Ollie ends up attending the same high school as Will. Only to discover that the sweet, sensitive, attentive boy he knew during the summer is actually a rude, smug, jock at school . . . and he's closeted. Cue a hot-and-cold secret relationship while Ollie tries to dig down into the jerk to find the gentleman again.

<b>I knew myself, and I wasn't much of a "let's stay friends" kind of person. If I didn't cut Will off cold-turkey, I'd end up pining over him, all hopelessly devoted, and hurt, and unrequited.</b>

This book has the same story beats as <i>Grease</i>, but with enough twists and subversions to keep it interesting. A big addition is more focus on family-- the reason Ollie is in NC is because his aunt is sick with cancer, and Ollie's family are helping out while she undergoes treatment. Ollie spends a lot of time looking after his young cousins. Because the entire book is from Ollie's perspective, we spend a lot more time with "The Pink Ladies" than we do with "The T-Birds," to the detriment of the male side characters. From Ollie's POV, Matt (i.e. Kenickie) and the others are just rude and homophobic, though there's definitely some growth in the end. The girls have a lot of great character development, though, especially Lara (i.e. Rizzo). Lara is closeted bisexual, who uses sarcasm and cutting remarks as defensive armor. She and Ollie have some serious solidarity throughout the story, even though they definitely start off on the wrong foot. Juliette (i.e. Frenchy) is a clarinet player trying to get into her dream school, and Niamh (i.e. Jan/Marty, I guess) dreams of being a plus-size model in New York.

<b>"You can kiss whoever the fuck you want." I said firmly. "And it's no one's business but yours."</b>

There's a lot of good diversity, besides the main MLM ship. As I said, Lara is bisexual, and Will is as well. Will is also Latinx, and Juliette, Niamh, Matt, and Darnell (i.e. Sonny/Putzie?) are Black or unspecified POC. Niamh is "plus-size" and has polycystic ovary syndrome-- I was so excited to see PCOS represented in a YA book. Plus, there was frank discussion-- to combat some fatphobic remarks-- about diets being unhealthy restrictive eating.

<b>Why was I so willing to accept whatever scraps he handed out? All this time, I'd been wondering when my needs would start to really matter to him. Maybe I hadn't spent enough time wondering when my needs would start to really matter to me.</b>

I was really impressed with the way the romance was written. We only have Ollie's POV, and so are given more opportunity to sympathize with his side of things. So Will definitely comes across as an insensitive jerk for most of the book, but he also has some nice private moments with Ollie and we see some flashbacks to their summer together that it's not impossible to understand Ollie's attraction to him. Plus, I liked that Will wasn't villainized too much-- he gets his chances to explain his side of things, and his actions do make sense from his perspective. Both Ollie and Will learn how to compromise and support each other, and I thought it was really sweet!

One thing I wished for that is missing from the story is some closure between Ollie and his parents. His parents are kind of shitty to him through most of the book. It's not totally un-understandable, considering they're all wrapped up in a very emotionally stressful situation. But I really wish there'd been a good, cathartic argument between them (especially Ollie and his mom), or that they'd at least apologized for shunting Ollie's feelings aside.

I pretty unashamedly adore <i>Grease</i>, so I might be a bit pre-disposed to like this story. But <i>Only Mostly Devastated</i> is the best queer contemporary I've read in a while, and I really loved reading it!

TW: homophobia, fatphobia, cancer, forced outing, death of a loved one

Recommended: Sure
For an easy romance read, with some fun parallels to a classic story before developing into it’s own

Thoughts:
This was being touted as an LGBTQ+ version of Grease, and while I love that story, I wanted to read this story, and worried it wouldn’t develop it’s own identity for leaning too heavily on being a recreation with a twist. Happily, that was not the case! There were enough similarities, mostly towards the beginning, that it was a fun parallel to unravel. As the story continued, it branched onto it’s own path and away from being merely an imitation.

The struggles Ollie and Will have with their sexuality, Ollie as someone who’s out already and Will as someone who definitely is not, were decently handled. I appreciated that we got the point of view from both sides when Will opens up towards the end about how it felt for him. Understanding where your S.O. is at is critical in every relationship! It also helped redeem the past hurt and anger from Ollie, and remind the reader that Will is supposed to be the guy to love, not hate.

My biggest issue lies with some of the side characters who were quite undeveloped and felt somewhat pointless at times. If you’re not paying attention, you might have no idea who Ryan and Hayley are (I think I remember their names right…), or why Ollie briefly considers calling them when he’s distraught midway through the book. These 2 characters get 4 (MAYBE 5) mentions in the whole book, and for people who were his best friends his whole life, that felt pretty flimsy. Frankly, it made me think “Wow, Ollie sure is a crappy friend.”

Ditto towards Ollie’s band friends (who I really don’t remember the names of because they only got about 4 mentions as well), and Ollie’s musical passion in general. He has a lot of groups of friends going on, so maybe that’s why some inevitably got less screen time, but they at least a little bit more attention to make it feel believable. (Though they do say that when you’re in love, you forget about everyone else to the point of being rude… maybe it’s just playing that up really well? 😉 )His focus on music felt interchangeable: he could have had any main hobby, and it would have worked just as well. There was never really a pivotal moment where it had to be music. Clearly he didn’t need it to connect with people at his new school, since his band friends are barely mentioned despite seeming like quite interesting and considerate people.

Overall, it was a good read and I definitely enjoyed it. Still, it was pretty middle of the pack, which could be changed by a little more development of some of the people around Ollie. There was definitely at least one moment where I was reading and told my boyfriend to shush before he started asking me something because I had to finish the scene – so definitely not bad! ☺

Only mostly devastated is pitched as “Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda meets Clueless, inspired by Grease”, but I would say it’s totally a Grease update, with the cheering vibes of Simon, and the result is this little bundle of cuteness.

Spoilers ahead!!

Ollie is one of the most well-adjusted teenagers I’ve ever found in a book. I’m so used to read about special snowflakes, badass killers and broken kids that I forgot that there are also regular teenagers out there whose fates have not been defined by ancient prophecies, and their stories can be just as gripping. Ollie is also smart, adorable, a bit socially awkward and super funny, with a self-deprecating sense of humour that had me laughing out loud frequently through the book. I wanted to hate Will for all the crap he put Ollie through, but I really couldn’t because the kid was terrified of being rejected by his family and friends, and who could blame him? So basically I spent the book suffering for these two. One thing I liked a lot is that Ollie actively tries to forget Will. He’s happy to have found Will again, but once he realises that they are not in the same page he tries to move on instead of wasting his senior year pining after a boy that doesn’t love him. So yes, he fails and succumbs to temptation, but my point is: he tries.

Ollie’s family story was just heartbreaking, and it was a good counterpoint to the funny and silly moments through the book. You know it’s not going to end well, but it doesn’t make it any less painful, and it was very interesting to see the different reactions of the family members through Ollie’s eyes, and Ollie’s own reaction, although his thoughts at this point felt a bit judgemental. Mourning is one of the worst things a person will have to go through in their lives, and there is no right or wrong here, you just do whatever you need to do to survive it.

The secondary characters are probably the weakest point here. They try to be different (the gorgeous best friend that is a plus-size model, the talented musician who doesn’t get into their dream school) but in the end they still feel quite archetypical. I didn’t love either how all of them (Ollie's friends and Will's friends) ended up happily paired in the end, with everyone going to the same college or close-by, especially because one of the things I loved the most about this book is how real the kids and the situations felt.

So basically this was a little ray of sunshine (with a side of heartbreak) that was perfect for me after the devastation of The Amber Spyglass. I highly recommend it to anyone in need of a feel-good boost, it won’t disappoint! :)

Thank you Netgalley & St Martin's Press for granting my wish with this book.

I liked this book and I didnt.
I know weird right.

I liked the MC and I didnt.

I liked the other MC and I didnt.

I Liked alot of things and then I didnt.

I dont want to give anything away because this comes out for the general public in 2020.

Mare~Slitsread

When I first started reading this book I thought to myself "what is this a retelling of Grease?". Then I read the tag line and was like ah yes that is exactly what it is supposed to be. I didn't love this book at the start, I thought it jumped into too many characters with no character development. Honestly what teenager is going to invite a stranger to their room to hang out and attend a first day of school party (which that alone, first day of school party?). However, the second half of the book was very redeeming. I loved that the entire book was from Ollie's perspective. I feel like this is exactly how teenagers think, and they are constantly wondering what the other person is thinking and feeling. I also appreciated the ending revelation that maybe Ollie was being selfish in his own way. I also came to love the secondary characters almost as much as the main characters. It was a quick wrap up but I was ok with that.