I had high hopes for this book but it was just so cliched, and the characters were very surface-level. Isaac is not a likeable protagonist, unfortunately.

This book was a great ya novel about comic con and finding the right way to tell someone the truth. The friendships in this novel were refreshing as well

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

Julian Winters has a talent for writing charming characters and awesome friend groups. This group of friends was exceptional with so much personality and inclusiveness. While I was clueless about both the comic books and gaming aspect of the friendships, I still loved the interplay that came from those hobbies.

There was great personal discovery as Isaac explored his relationships with Davi and Diego. Also trying to figure out where he fits in within this new group of friends. Knowing how he will eventually be alone at college, he learned how to put himself out there to find friends. The relationship with his family was also something that was relatable as he struggled with both sibling and parental relationships but learned to navigate them.

I can’t get enough of the way Winters’ writes characters and I will be actively looking for more of his work.

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.

Right Where I Left You is a bit of a let down. Not that it is necessarily bad, but the core romance really felt underdeveloped and a bit of an after thought.

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted book, all thoughts are my own.

Right Where I Left You was a sweet YA queer romance. A coming of age story about two teen boys who are right out of high school and trying to figure out the next step.

I really feel like this was the perfect book to end summer with. It was such a great book, funny and incredibly adorable.
I absolutely loved the diversity in the book. Having two Queer MCs that are POC is everything.
I loved every single character. The Six are my absolute favorite.

One thing I noticed and immediately loved was the little Easter eggs the author dropped. Julian Winters pays homage to other Queer authors and I couldn’t be more obsessed!

If you want a book that feels like a warm hug then I highly recommend this one.

Here's a book about the feeling of knowing someone so intimately, realizing the depth of your affection for them, and recognizing that this love, if you let it, can unfurl into much more than you imagined. It's discovering that this person might want to traverse the wilderness of a young romance with you and that all your fears about not being desired or enough are irrelevant. Perhaps in all the words you have not spoken aloud, you have built yourselves around each other, and it is more than enough; it is everything.

How Julian Winters manages to write sincere, believably deep friendships despite us meeting these characters years into their relationships will forever remain a mystery to me. There is insecurity and conflict, but it all boils down to the enduring presence of someone in your life, of soft burgeoning love. And I am content so long as I can keep scavenging all the "uh-oh, I think I'm hopelessly in love with my best friend" and "we're fools pining for each other" vibes.

#RightWhereILeftYou is warm and comforting. The way it centers on queerness, the experience of social anxiety, and wrestling with change felt so personal to me. The romance is crucial to the story but isn't all-consuming; the minimal plot leaves much room for us to empathize with the characters' hardships. The payoff is fantastic as we see Isaac deal with complex family dynamics, make mistakes, forge friendships, and navigate his relationship with Diego.

And where do I begin describing how perfectly Julian wove the wild and wondrous world of fandom into the story? I loved how he incorporated Isaac's favorite comics and fan comments/tweets related to them. And to top all the fun of these interstitials, we had Easter egg references to other queer YA stories and writers - THE PURE JOY OF IT ALL I SWEAR JUST THINKING ABOUT IT GIVES ME A SUGAR RUSH.

IDK, just trust me and read this for that good coming-of-age angst, love for fan culture, summery queer contemporary feel, I guess.

I absolutely love the anxiety rep in this book, as well as the romance. Sorry for the late review submission, I hadn't realized this book was still in my give feedback! But I have posted about it on my Tik Tok :)

This is a coming-of-age novel about two teenage boys who are right out of high school and on the cusp of the next stage of their lives. One (Isaac) will be attending college a few hours away from home and everyone he knows. His best friend (Diego) has decided against going to college with Isaac, and instead is set on pursuing a full-time gaming career. With a fork in the road in sight, these two do what all of us would do: try to make the most out of the final summer they have together.

Winters does a great job of setting the stage for readers by providing us with enough context that makes the depth of Isaac and Diego’s friendship believable. This is especially important for such a character-driven novel that does not place significant attention elsewhere (world-building, developing a complex plot, etc). Because the plot of the book follows a simple arc and the book takes place in a real-world setting, we’re able to spend the majority of the time inside of Isaac’s head exploring his inner emotional world.

I appreciate this book because it read very sincerely and genuinely. I developed an emotional attachment and investment in Isaac and Diego and their respective struggles. Though I would overall consider this book pretty “light” in terms of subject matter, it does touch on an important theme in its subplots: broken family dynamics as a result of infidelity. This often spills over into the interactions we see between Isaac and Diego and shapes how Isaac views the world/the people around him. Things inevitably heat up between Isaac and Diego as side characters are introduced and tensions rise. The conflict between the two characters feels very authentic, and it surprised me to read Isaac follow a thought process I the reader had the main conflict unfolded:

“Suddenly, the only thing I can hear in my head are Diego’s words from yesterday: “I’m happy for you, okay?” Of course, he’s happy as fuck for me. He’s met someone and doesn’t have to feel guilty about ditching me if I’ve got Davi to occupy my time.”

In all, Right Where I Left You simply felt like a sweet summer read. If you’re interested in a character-driven book with a simple plot and themes of complicated family dynamics, comic book craze, queer pride, and a whole bunch of coming-of-age angst, this is the book for you.

This is a heartwarming and sweet YA Romance with queer representation. The author discusses queerness, social anxiety, friendships, and past crushes.

It’s a coming-of-age story with a side of friends-to-lovers romance. This is a story about finding community and exploring your queerness, without it being a coming out story.

Right Where I Left You was a slow, sweet YA romance. The characters are all lovable nerds going through the high school to college transition. Most YA tends to end when senior year ends, so this was a refreshing angle to take.

Julian Winters is such a vibrant, and fantastic voice in YA contemporary. This was such a beautiful story and I found myself falling for both of our MCs so hard. I can’t wait to read what he comes up with next!

I am so here for young adult contemporary books about summer featuring queer boys of color. There are more choices of books to pick from featuring diverse main characters and friends, Right Where I Left You by Julian Winters is an absolute delight. This book features Isaac Martin who has just two main plans for the summer before college — attend Legends Con and Teen Pride. Unfortunately, when Isaac is purchasing tickets for himself and his best friend Diego, he ends up distracted by his crush, Davi.

Isaac misses out on purchasing the badges and it turns out the resell price of the badges are way out of his price point — which, relatable. To make things up to Diego, Isaac spends the summer hanging out with Diego’s crew of gamer friends who are cool. But then, there’s some drama around Davi and Isaac and it seems like Diego may have feelings for Davi. Oh and in the mix is the issue of Isaac’s parents who divorced and his siblings.

Right Where I Left You was a wonderful listen. The audiobook is narrated by Giordan Diaz. It is 9 hours and 56 minutes of emotions, and joy and references that an old person like myself got. So, I’ll admit I loved this book but was stuck on one thing. That is — Isaac’s abuelito met his abeula while watching The Princess Bride. That movie came out when I was born in 1987. So, I keep trying to do the math on his dad’s date of birth and how he can be a senior about to go off to college and his parents seem to be successful and his older brother went to law school and is in a lawyer career. Like, his siblings seem maybe 5 years or so younger than me. Y’all, I got really hung up on that.

BUT, I loved the nerdy fun in this book. I loved the chemistry between Isaac and who he ultimately ends up with and I love how multifaceted this read was. Highly recommend no matter which format you pick up — audiobook or print or ebook!

A very cute and very true to the trope story about a boy who just wants to find love, while also balancing family, friendship, college looming, and a very important comic con event. But how can he juggle all those things at once!?

Winters give us the best friends to *spoilers* lovers trope but makes it ohh so very gay, and we love that! Our protagonist, Isaac has a lot going on, but at the center of a crazy summer is his best friend Diego, always there to keep him company and share all the aspects of his life with. Or so he thought, but with Isaac heading off to college at the end of the summer and Diego taking a gap-year to focus on his passion project, the dynamic duo will be miles apart. So one last summer to end all summers is on the books, until the cherry on top falls through. The fallout leads to some good and some bad, and Isaac must learn to navigate it all by stepping out of his comfort zone.

With an extremely queer and or supportive cast, Winters dives into the complexities of friendship, family, love, and ambition with gusto. A wonderful parallel follows Isaac through the story and seems to shout out loud for the inevitable ending: queer black boy joy!

If you like comics, totally platonic best friends (wink), and teen angst & drama: read this book!
3.5 rounded up!

RIGHT WHERE I LEFT YOU was the perfect homage to youth and summer and that incredibly special space that is fandom. Fluffy and so, so wonderful.

super cute read with loveable characters and interesting plot, definitely worth the read if you're into this genre.

This book is so sweet, and nerdy, and everything you could want to validate the hopeless romantic buried inside! It was truly a love letter to the community of readers, cosplays, gamers, etc. I adored all of the wonderful Easter egg references to other queer YA authors and novels.

I was destined to love "Right Where I Left You" from the start with one of my favorite tropes, I’m a sucker for friends to lovers! Friendship also beautifully takes center stage, which was heartwarming. For those of us who aren’t extroverted, it can be a challenge, and the idea of being alone can be equally as scary as approaching others. This book navigates all that perfectly.

If you haven’t read it yet, I do recommend!

If you’re looking for the most heartwarming, sweet YA romance look no further. Right Where I Left You was sooooo good! You know that feeling after you finish a good book and your heart just feels so full like it’s going to burst - that good heaviness. This will give that to you. The way the author discussed queerness, social anxiety, and friendships just hit me right in my feels. I related a lot with our main character Isaac. This book just feels like a safe space.

I loved this book with all my heart. It’s a beautiful coming-of-age story with the side of angst-filled friends-to-lovers romance. It takes place during one of my favorite times - the summer after senior year. It’s always the perfect time for characters to experience big changes. And that’s just the case for our main character Isaac and his best friend Diego.

Queerness
When it comes to the topic of queer identity, this book felt like a safe space, like being enveloped in a warm, protective hug. The statements about queerness, identity, and community were so affirming. This book isn't about revelations and coming out. Isaac is gay. Diego is bisexual. And both have been out for years. Rather, this book focuses on being able to celebrate your identity and being surrounded by love from your queer and ally community. Digeo's friends are also wonderfully diverse in their sexual, gender, and racial/cultural identities, but it didn't feel like the author was ticking off a diversity checklist. It felt right because the side characters felt like real characters too.

Social Anxiety
I probably related to Isaac the most when it came to his social anxiety. The author captured my type of social anxiety so well that it made me both seen and frustrated too. The way Isaac clings to his one best friend and refuses to let people in. He's not hostile, but he's just so uncomfortable with hanging out with people he doesn't know well. There is this scene where he goes to visit Diego's house, a place that feels like a second home to him, but when he gets there he sees that Diego's gamer friends are there. And that makes him freak out inside. This place that has always been home suddenly feels like a foreign place because of the people there. It takes a while for Isaac to open his heart to Diego's friends but when we see it, it's really a moment of such growth for Isaac. I hope to have that for myself one day too.

Romance
Isaac is obsessed with a fictional pair, Charm & Reverb, from a comic book (I can't remember if it's a comic book or show) called Disaster Academy. He ships these two male leads and loves to read fanfiction about them. There's a lot of speculation about whether the DA writers will turn the characters' relationship romantic. And in this book, there are chapter openers about Charm & Reverb that parallels a bit of what Isaac and Diego are going through in their own relationship. For the most part though, Isaac's obsession with Charm & Reverb seems to just serve as a way to bring some fandom culture into the story, but it does play an important part towards the end of the book. And I thought that was a fun twist.

Diego and Isaac's relationship was written so well. These two are so incredibly close to one another. They are really sweet and loving to each other, but as tensions start to simmer between them the author brought out the all the built-up emotions, jealousies, and insecurities to make their fight feel authentic. The way the author writes about the deep love and comfort they feel towards the other is made me feel so soft and mushy inside. Sometimes friends-to-lovers romances is just really unrequited love that drags on and on. But this isn't the case, perhaps because we are in Isaac's head. This was just a great friends-to-lovers romance that seemed to unfold naturally. Finishing high school is a big change to their friendship and it's the catalyst to bring things to the surface.

Overall, I loved this a whole lot and highly recommend.

This was a really sweet story about best friends who don't realize that the love they have for each other is more than just for friendship. Obviously there is a lot of teenage angst in this book, and as per usual the drama could have been avoided if they'd just had a few really deep and open conversations with each other, but I did enjoy the story. There were a lot of really interesting characters and I wish I got to learn even more about each of them and what made them different and special. Overall I enjoyed this book but I'd say it's a 3.5 rounded up to 4.