This was a really cute book about high school student Ollie, who has a magical summer with Will, a boy he shares a fun lake romance with. Ollie thinks he’ll never talk to Will again after the other boy starts ignoring his texts. But when Ollie and his family have to move to take care of his sick aunt, Ollie ends up at the same school Will goes to- where he’s a popular class clown who doesn’t like Ollie.
Not only was the book super fun and full of cute romance, there was also a lot of depth- grief over lost loved ones and finding out who you are in the world. The characters were funny and very real. They all had their strengths and their shortcomings. Ollie’s new friends were great side characters, who were also very well developed. It’s a fun and summery fast-paced read.

California teen Ollie is spending his pre-senior-year summer in North Carolina, where his family has temporarily relocated to help Ollie's Aunt Linda - who is fighting cancer - and her family. What Ollie didn't expect, beyond babysitting his aunt's kids, was a summer fling, which comes in the form of fellow high schooler Will Tavares, a hunky basketball player whom Ollie shares a blissful romance with. The end-of-summer goodbyes are painful, but even more painful is when Ollie learns his parents have rented a home in Aunt Linda's town indefinitely, and he will be spending his senior year in North Carolina away from his friends and having to adjust to a brand-new school, due to Aunt Linda's condition becoming worse. Biting the bullet, Ollie - openly-gay but with no idea how that may roll in NC - arrives guarded and edgy his first day for classes, but quickly meets a trio of girls who befriend him; so much so, he comes out to them and even shyly tells them about his summer romance (well, he was dying to tell someone!). One of the girls, Lara, invites Ollie to go with them to a back-to-school party that night at a friend's house ... where Ollie is shocked to find that Lara has actually set him up, for who else should be at that same party but Will! Will, along with a gaggle of Will's very hetero basketball team buddies, and when his summer love gives Ollie the cold shoulder it becomes obvious that Will is freaked (not happily so) by Ollie's presence as the newest kid in school ... and even more obvious that this year just might be more torturous for the broken-hearted Ollie than even he had ever dreamed. Only Mostly Devastated is a loose retelling of Grease that works very well on the page, largely due to its wonderful, endearing lead character; we've all felt Ollie's confusion and pain of first love, and writer Sophie Gonzales keeps his fresh, funny voice one that always (thankfully) falls short of becoming annoying or whiny. Openly-out Ollie's ups and downs with a closeted Will come across very authentic on the page, as does Will and the engaging supporting cast of characters that make up the boys's friends and family. The subplot of Aunt Linda's cancer plight and how Ollie deals with that as well pulls at the heartstrings without ever becoming maudlin or melodramatic. Best yet, when you think you know how and when things will develop with Ollie and Will, the book still manages a wholly believable, touching finale that may seem too pat for some but brought a tear to this jaded reader's eye. Wonderfully done, my only (very minor) complaint being the author's use of the occasional British word or phrase, in Ollie's voice (the book is told from his POV), that would throw me right out of the story by not sounding like a typical California/American teen's verbiage. That's a small bump-in-the-road, though, to a wonderful, humorous, and romantic love story whose main characters leap from the page to find a place in your heart. 4.5/5 stars

NOTE: I received a free ARC of this title from NetGalley and the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, this was such a cute book!

So this is essentially a story is a high-school rom-com about a popular and unpopular kid falling in love. I know it sounds cliched, but this was such a fun and fast-paced read! I really enjoyed it! Ollie and Will both have very distinct personalities and are each amazing as individuals, but together you really begin to see the chemistry as their relationship flourishes.

This book also deals with some heavy issues which I thought were very well done. And the writing really bought the characters to life. Overall, a great read and highly recommend!!

A big thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me an advanced reader’s copy of “Only Mostly Devastated“. I loved reading this book! Even though it is a typical high-school rom-com of the popular guy falling for the unpopular one, it is written in such a charming and sweet manner, that I could not put it down!

The main leads Will and Ollie light up the story! Ollie is wonderful as the funny, over-thinking, dorky, awkward guy and I loved him from the first page. I really hated Will in some scenes because of how he treats Ollie, but at the same time, you can understand what he is going through. After finishing the book, I still didn’t like Will as much as Ollie. But I loved chemistry between the two! All the supporting characters are amazing in their own way. I was surprised that Lara turned out to be one of my favorite characters, because I hated her in the beginning. Aunt Linda was wonderful as well and I felt her moments with Ollie so endearing.

I have not read any of Sophie Gonzales previous books, but I really loved her style of writing! She truly has a special gift for turning a simple story into an engaging read. Each of the characters is complex and is going through their own issues. Moreover, the author covers some key topics like coping with the loss of a loved one, and coming out. Another point I appreciated was how the book is not overly dramatic or negative. There is no violence or bullying as such, and most of the characters are understanding and sympathetic. While this might not be a realistic scenario, I loved how idyllic it sounded in the story.

Overall, I loved reading “Only Mostly Devastated” and cannot wait to read the author’s future novels! I would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to read a queer, feel-good, rom-com novel.

What a cute story! I loved the entire cast, especially Ollie and all of his supportive friends.

Only Mostly Devastated is a super feel good story that you can't help but love. It's a light-read, perfect for times like these. Something that really stood out to me was the diversity, not only in characters, but in the important topics being talked about, such as sexuality (not only Ollie's but another character, whom I enjoyed meeting so much), a woman of color dreaming of becoming a plus-sized model, and fat-shaming. All of these were handled with grace, poise, and eloquence.

I'm definitely looking forward to reading more by this author!

This was a Grease retelling but instead of Danny and Sandy it was Will and Oliver and I LOVED it! It was cute but also incredibly heartfelt! I loved the development of the characters and not just the main characters but the side characters as well. Ollie’s voice was perfect for me! His internal monologues were relatable, charming, and funny but sometimes it felt a little too rambling. The moments with his Aunt Linda were not what I expected, and I loved that the author didn’t just focus on what Ollie was feeling but what each member of the family felt, including Linda! Those moments were heartbreaking. The way prejudices were tackled, the coming out process, and the inclusiveness in this book was stellar. I would give it 4.5 stars and I will definitely be recommending it often!

I really enjoyed this book! It was a super fun and cute read, and I loved the relationship between Ollie and and Will and how they, slowly but surely, overcame the issues of living in a small town and being part of the LGBTQ+ community can have. I found that Ollie's group of friends was awesome. Specially the character development of Lara's character.
Apart from the romance aspect of the book, but I also loved the fact that it dealt with some heavier topics such as terminal illness and grief. The relationship between Ollie and his aunt was really sweet. I can't wait to read what Sophie Gonzales writes next.

3.5 Potential mild spoilers in this review.

I had extremely high expectations from this after all of the hype. I ended up liking it just fine. I really like the rep in here: gay MC, fat rep, bi boy and bi girl. The one thing that irked me was the fat rep, though. The character was dieting through out half of the book so she could be a professional model. She discovered she was diagnosed with PCOS and that is why she isn't losing weight so then she decides to eat healthy and work out for her health in general and not just to lose weight to be deemed "beautiful." The rep was great but I hate that part in the beginning, regardless of it being realistic or not.

When it came to Ollie and Will's relationship, it was all talk. There wasn't much to actually see from their relationship, just he said/she said. I liked the character development and how their relationship wrapped up at the end but I wish we could have seen more of the growing relationship.

I liked this book just fine and will recommend it to anyone who is looking for LGBT rep. I liked the spin on Grease and I do agree on the comparisons to Simon vs. If you want a quick read with a little bit of heartfelt moments, this is the one for you.

School fun read! A warm book that including friends and relationships. Cute, funny characters with cry worthy family. A perfect all-rounder book you are looking for

Ollie meets Will over summer vacation at a lake in North Carolina and they have a summer romance. When Ollie’s parents tell him they’ll be moving to NC for his senior year to help take care of his sick Aunt, he’s excited to be living close to Will. But when Ollie texts Will to let him know, he gets no response and realizes he’s been ghosted. When Ollie starts his first day at his new school he makes friends with three girls, and tells them about his summer fling. Little does he know Will goes to the same school, and he is not out of the closet. Did Ollie accidentally out Will and where will their relationship go if one of them is out and the other isn’t? Will Ollie and Will end up together or will Ollie end up only mostly devastated?

Let me start by saying that I had serious Grease vibes reading this book especially at the beginning. In this case, it’s boy meets boy over summer vacation. Boy moves to other boy’s town and doesn’t realize they go to the same school until their friends reunite them at a party. Totally sounds like Grease, right? Surprisingly though there is so much more to this story.

There’s the touching relationship with Ollie and his family and the way he takes care of his young cousins to help out his aunt who is battling cancer. I loved the kids, Crista and Dylan, and I thought Ollie’s relationship with his Aunt Linda was very sweet. Then there’s his friendship with Juliette, Lara, and Niamh. I especially loved how Ollie and Lara’s friendship progressed throughout the book. Finally, there’s Ollie and Will. I think the author did a great job of telling a realistic story of a couple where one is out and the other isn’t. They obviously go through a lot of ups and downs especially with Will’s being a jock and his friends on the basketball team making fun of Ollie.

It’s a heartfelt story that had me both laughing and crying. Ollie’s awkwardness is endearing throughout the story, and I love how the author showed growth in all of the characters. This is definitely a YA story, but I think adults will enjoy it as well.

Thank you NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This is the perfect lgbtq+ romcom. I loved the concept of the story and how eventually everyting worked out. It was very cute and easy read.

As a thank you to Netgalley and the publisher (Wednesday Books) for a review copy of the Sophie Gonzales novel “Only Mostly Devastated.” In reading this novel I was able to follow along with the audiobook released two weeks after the book was published.In comparing the completed novel to the advanced reader's copy was I able to appreciate work the author put into flushing out her characters' stories. This added an emotional quality to the story only hinted early on and by its end earned in a lovely way. This story has been described as Grease for the 21st century. I certainly would agree with the analogy as Grease would best describe the context of how our lead characters meet. It is unabashedly queer and places identity at the forefront of this YA coming of age story. Overall, I appreciated the novel and give it four out of five stars on GoodReads. I recommend it to those who loved “Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda.”

A very sweet story of love and friendship that is pleasantly reminiscent of Grease, luckily without the questionable ending. I was excited to see that Ollie, the main character in the book, is already out and proud at the beginning of the story. Although he does briefly grapple with the issue every LGBT+ person will face for their entire life, the awkward process of telling new people even if you've been "out" for a long time to those closest to you. There are two characters in the story who do struggle with coming out as bisexual. As a bisexual teen, it meant a lot to me to see two questioning characters coming to terms with their bisexual identities and be accepted by the people around them. This book is laugh-out-loud funny with lots of heart, and it still managed to make me cry a time or two.

Only Mostly Devastated was a quick contemporary that I was easily able to fly through. While the story is simple and fast paced, it still managed to hold some hard blows. I think the balance between the family storyline was very nicely intertwined with Ollie's school drama. Ollie's friendships were highly captivating as well and I enjoyed how he came to fit into the ragtag group of girls. The romance was very easy to like, but I wish the story had tried to build up more angst. I felt the connection from the love interests, but something fell short. I loved the flashbacks and that helped to understand why they liked each other, but even those felt too little. I was never angry that the characters couldn't be together when I felt I should have been if that makes sense. Other than that, I think Only Mostly Devastated is a delightful story that portrayed the wonders and horrors of moving from California to a small town in the deep south spectacularly.

Only Mostly Devastated is a fun but surprisingly heavy queer retelling of Grease that I simply adored. Sophie Gonzales manages to balance these two facets of the book perfectly: one moment you’ll be laughing and the next on the verge of tears.

Ollie has an amazing summer romance while holidaying with her family in North Carolina, but when it comes time to go back home, his parents decide to move there to take care of Ollie’s mother’s sister who has cancer. So Ollie moves to a new town for his senior year and, unbeknownst to him, begins going to the school his summer boyfriend attends … a boyfriend who is not out. And who now begins to ignore Ollie, but can’t stay away from him either.

I was surprised to learn that this book covers an array of heavy topics from cancer, to fatphobia to homophobia, as the book was more marketed as a romcom. That being said, I feel Gonzales discussed each theme with nuance and delicacy, especially the scenes that involve terminal illness and grief. I think this book really captures the true teen experience: falling for your first love, dealing with the death of a family member, struggling with weight and learning to love your body, and exploring your sexuality. Teen’s lives can be messy and difficult and confusing, and we need more books like Only Mostly Devastated that show this.

One of the most important topics in this novel is the love interest Will still being deep in the closest. As he comes from a Venezuelan family, Will believes his family will disown him if he comes out and that his friends will abandon him. As such, he makes bad decisions trying to prove he’s not queer and as a result, treats Ollie like crap. But Ollie still has feelings for him and doesn’t know how to let Will go. A lot of people will be able to resonate with Will; I myself did, coming from a religious Italian household and struggling to figure out how to come out to my family.

You may be asking, “but didn’t you say this was a fun book? How?” I did, because I truly feel like it is! This book definitely tackles heavier subjects with nuance, but at it’s core, Only mostly Devastated is a romance and a sweet one at that. Will’s internal narration is funny and so like a modern 2020 teen — very relatable.

Only Mostly Devastated is a fantastic contemporary novel that I highly recommend. It’s fun, light, heavy at times and discusses some tough topics, but is ultimately a lovely romance. Do your selves a favour and read this book!

(review on blog going up 28/3)

Big thank you to Wednesday books and NetGalley for an early copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. This was such a sweet and wonderful love story! I loved the inclusivity of all the characters. There were so many different types of people represented and I’m here for it! I loved how this book tackled so many issues that all of us face in life. Ollie is such a lovable character who has flaws and is so relatable. I really loved this book.

"SIMON VS. THE HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA meets CLUELESS in this boy-meets-boy spin on Grease."

Right from this description alone, I was hooked. Simon, Clueless and Grease??? Three things I love? I knew that this book was going to be a good one.

I was so invested in the beginning that I could not stop reading. Every word was being permanently written into my brain because the description that I read was spot on. It was so diverse, so interesting and so entertaining that I didn't want to put it down.

When I hit the halfway mark, I had no idea what happened. I was sitting there thinking..am I going to have to put this book down? It slowed down to the point of confusion. I was so hoping that the book was going to pick back up to the speed it was when I first picked it up.

After I hit that little patch of slow, it did (thank god) pick up and I was able to fly to the end with enjoyment. After finishing and reflecting, this book was a solid four star read for me. I was so thankful to give it a higher rating because it did pick back up after starting so strong.

I just loved the characters. Ollie and Will were such good characters that I wanted to really dive deep into their lives. This story is told in first person through Ollie and at some points, I wish that we had a duel narration in Will's head as well. Maybe for another time or book!

I loved the romance in this book as well. For a young adult novel, sometimes it's either too sweet or not sweet enough, but this one was really good in that sense. The angst and the romance were a perfect ratio throughout the novel, especially towards the end.

“It'll get easier. That's the beautiful thing about the universe. It puts you through trials, but it never gives you anything you can't handle. We grow from these things.”

Sophie Gonzales did a wonderful job with this book and I'm excited to see her books in the future. If they're anything like Only Mostly Devastated, which is EXACTLY how this book will leave you, then I'm very ready to drop every other book I'm reading in this moment to read hers.

This was such a nice surprise I didn't expect to like it so much!It was funny and adorable.I did like how diverse this book was, exploring sexuality .I think the author did a great job!I loved how complex all the characters were. I felt the chemistry between Oliver and Will so much.The secondary characters were amazing as well. This was an amazing story .

I enjoyed this book.

I loved the connections with Grease, as that was the initial thing that drew me to the book. Grease is one of my favorite movies! I thought the connections between the two were well done.

I felt a disconnect while trying to get connected to the characters. Things would happen that would've been a big deal if I cared about the characters but I just didn't. I also didn't love the constant insertion of modern-day references such as Hamilton, Coco, Post Malone etc. I think things like that in books makes me wonder what someone will think picking this up in 5-10 years and if they'll get it or enjoy those aspects of it.

I thought the plot was well done and I enjoyed the representation, though as I am not a member of the community I cannot speak to the validity of it.

Overall I thought this book was good but I won't read it again in the foreseeable future.

I loved this book so much. I found myself constantly comparing the characters to those in Grease and could completely see how Sophie Gonzales had kept the spirit of the film alive through her modern re-telling. I loved the romance story and how characters developed throughout the book. The group of friends were brilliant and played an important role which was nice to see. A generally feel-good book with some upsetting moments and tough realities that were overcome in the end.