Henry Hamlet’s Heart is a sweet and heartfelt coming of age story. It made me laugh, it made me cry, and it filled me up with so much joy I simply couldn’t put it down. It surprised me with how captivating it was, how much it pulled me in, and I genuinely cared for all of the characters. I’ll be thinking of Henry and Len for a long time, like they’re old friends. I also appreciated the theme of it’s okay not to know what you want to do in life, yet. It’s okay to just be, to just exist. You don’t have to have your whole life figured out yet, or know what your 5-10 year plan is. It’s one of my favorite things to find in books because so many people think they have to have it figured out, but they don’t. You don’t always have to know, and that’s okay.

This was cute! I love a good gay coming-of-age story, I thrive off of the painful yearning. I found Henry to be a really likable character, but I liked Len a little less. The bi representation with the grandma was a sweet bonus. I’ve read comparisons between this and Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, and while I loved the latter more, I can see lots of similarities, although this one lacks some of the conflict that makes Becky Albertalli’s novel so engaging. I’m not totally sure what sets this apart from other entries in this genre though, and it feels a bit too basic.