Couldn't even finish the first chapter. I found the narration too erratic, chaotic, and left me feeling equally lost and overwhelmed. I was eager to know more about the story, but the writing style took me out of the reading constantly.

This was definetly a read I was not expecting to like so much. Early on, I was thinking I was reading 2 different stories with how different Nick & Michael's personalities are like. But with how much trauma they both have, and what they were as kids, and now teenagers/young adults, everything started to piece together properly.

It was so interesting to see Nick own up to his past and try and accept how much hurt he has caused, while also changing as a person and proving to everyone that he is not the same person he was just a few months back. And I like how it was not just like one big goal that takes the entire book, It was more like a lot of smaller goals that lead you on in Nick's self-discovery journey.

And for Michael, I felt like he was going the opposite direction. He is a very nice and has a great personality, but hates Nick, and for good reason too. Holding a grudge from the past is hurting Michael more than helping him. Especially since there is always more to a person's inside that they do not show on the outside, and pushing them away instead of letting them in, is only gonna cause more harm in the end.

This book highlights a lot on eternalized homophobia, toxic masculinity, self-discovery, and accepting your sexuality.

Before you read this, I definitely would proceed with caution because of some topics like some of the ones above, as well as parental abandoment, homophobic slurs, parental abuse, and child abandoment.

I do think this is something people should check out when it gets released. You will love the characters, the plot, and how sometimes, the people you need are the ones who have been with you for a long time.

It is a beautifully written story, and each character has their take on the narrative. It deals with issues faced by the community and with a satisfying end. I highly recommend it.

Depending on the expectation this is either a 3 or 4 star read, therefore I will settle on 3,5.

This is not anew story. It is about 2 boys falling in love, where one of them is easily accepted by his family and the other is not. This i a story about bullying and having to stand up for your fails. This is a story about music, friendship and love.

And I liked that about it.

Of course, the clichees were all there. Secret admirer, falling for them, theatre kids, all queer, homophobic dad changing his worldview after his son comes out. And...the love story.

I still liked it. I liked that they were super-nerd. I liked the nicknames and how Michael tries not to fall von Nick.

This is a fun and cute read.

I can’t give this one a real rating as I DNF’d only 14% in. The homophobic remarks being used to explore a traumatic past was too overwhelming for me. In particular knowing this was meant to be redemption arc story I just couldn’t see how I would be able to get past it. I will not be writing a review elsewhere.

I truly wanted to love this more, but over all this was a good second chances book. Thank you Netgalley, the publisher, and author for my advanced copy in return for an honest review.

The firs thing that I think readers should know is that this book is heavy with derogatory language and slurs. I wasn't prepared for the amount of them that were present. I guess for me it made it hard to continue reading because the fact that someone used those things without thought seemed hard to me. I know there are people out there very much like Donick Walsh, but I feel like it's few and not many. That was really hard to over look and get into the story.

The second part that had me on the fence was how "open" Michael was to everyone yet he was not willing to be open with Donick. It seemed like Michael was a constant set of double standards. Everyone else should do what I'm saying but I won't do what I say.

Overall, I did enjoy the theme of this novel and they slow lead up to becoming a better person. However this was one that I picked up and sat down a lot because of how heavy it was on a regular basis while reading.

Habe ich ein Buch wegen einer schlechten Rezension gelesen? NEIN... ICH HAB ES VERSCHLUNGEN. Wirklich und ich fühle mich fast ein wenig schlecht weil ich es geliebt habe. Allen voran Hauptakteur Nick (ja wieder ein Nick). Oder Donny, sein früheres Ich. Richtig mieser Schul-Bully darf wegen einer Verletzung kein Football mehr spielen, landet im Theaterteam wo er auch seinen früheren besten Freund Michael wieder trifft. Der ihn mittlerweile hasst. Und Donny, jetzt Nick, möchte in seinem Leben den Reset-Knopf drücken. Wir sollten Donny genauso hassen oder fürchten wie es die ganze Schule macht. Ich möchte hier klar kein Bullying gut heißen, damit kann man Menschen zerstören. Der Plot ist natürlich auch nicht neu ... aber anders. Wir erfahren nicht im Laufe des Buches wie aus Donny dieses A**loch wurde. Wir bekommen das gleich am Anfang erzählt. Die Gründe entschuldigen nichts, aber man kann es verstehen. So sehe ich diese Story auch nicht als Redemption Arc wo aus einem Idioten der Goldenretriever BF wird. Nein es ist die Geschichte eines lieben Jungen der dabei war etwas über sich herauszufinden, dann aus Angst eine andere Person werden musste und zum Zeitpunkt der Geschichte kein neues, sondern sein verlorenes ICH findet. Nicht jeder verzeiht Donny, das finde ich gut. Weil realistisch. Ein Songzitat aus dem Buch "I never knew that fear and hate could be so strong". Können beide. Und auch ein Täter kann einmal ein Opfer gewesen sein. Eine zweite Chance hat mancher vielleicht verdient.

Außerdem etwas was ich toll finde, ja im Gegensatz zu CAMP. Nathaniel Shea beschreibt für mich 100% meine Gefühle zu Theatergruppen, Proben und Auftritten. Ich habe mich in soooo viel wieder erkannt und seine Songauswahl ... SPOT ON. Gebt Donny eine Chance zu Nick zu werden.

I had high hopes for this book. The premise sounded intriguing - a man gets the chance to live parts of his life over again and change decisions he regrets. Who wouldn't fantasize about that opportunity? Unfortunately, the execution fell flat for me.
Writing style came across as uninspired, even boring at times. The main character was relatively one-dimensional and hard to relate to. I never felt very invested in his journey.
The pacing also felt off to me - the beginning dragged while the ending felt rushed. Some intriguing plot points were left frustratingly unresolved.
Overall, while I didn't hate the book, I can't say I really liked it either. It had an interesting premise but the delivery left much to be desired. I found it hard to connect with the main character and his experiences. The book had flashes of potential that occasionally drew me in, but not often enough to make up for its shortcomings.

I actually really enjoyed this. I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about it considering our main protagonist used to be a bully, but I ended up being really invested in his journey. Once I started the book, I struggled to put it back down, wanting to see where Donicks story was going and enjoying a lot of aspects of this book. My biggest complaint, unfortunately, was the ending. It just felt very rushed and unfinished and we have no answers about certain aspects of the story that I felt should've been resolved before concluding the story. Otherwise, I ended up really enjoying this book and I look forward to what the author releases next (potentially a continuation of this story even? I feel like there's lots of plot points and questions that could he explored further in another book, but I guess we shall see!).

I want to take this moment to sincerely apologize to the publisher for not meeting the ARC Review deadline for this title.

Please accept my heartfelt apologies.

What a cute mm, ya romance about redemption and acceptance. Donick Walsh was a bully. After an injury, he’s no longer allowed to play football so he turns to performing in a school musical. There, he comes face to face with his ex-best friend, Michael. He’s been the butt of Donick’s bullying for years and he’s NOT happy Donick is there.

I just love how this story is told. Donick has a lot to make up for and Michael doesn’t make it easy for him. I think the character growth was handled so well! It wasn’t easy for Donick and that made the whole situation realistic. It also made their love story more impactful and special.

This is a wonderful addition to the mm world! Every once in a while I need a wholesome, emotional, innocent love story and I got that with this one!

I wasn't sure about this book because Nick isn't a great person but I actually really liked it. He genuinely feels bad for what he did and is trying to make amends. I know that people hate the bully of the gay kid becoming the love interest but I liked it here. I think it's because Nick was making actual efforts to be a better person but at the same time he understood why people wouldn't forgive him.

I received an arc through netgalley.

This was a real impulse request for me, but one I’m really glad I did, because this was a real five-star contemporary YA.

Enemies-to-lovers is hard to do in contemporary romance, especially in YA – rival sports teams, maybe? Competing for a prize that they realise doesn’t really matter?

DONICK WALSH AND THE RESET-BUTTON isn’t afraid to really make the trope work. At the start of the book, the protagonist, Donick, is pretty unlikeable and he’s done some really awfully things–both to his classmates in general and to his ex-BFF/ the love interest, Michael, specifically. Donick works hard to right his wrongs over the course of the story–winning some challenges and losing some–creating a convincing and satisfying redemption arc (another thing hard to pull off). DONICK WALSH AND THE RESET-BUTTON also pulls in some other great high-school romance tropes – the gang of queer best friends, a big theatrical or musical production, and a little of a secret admirer storyline.

I was totally hooked while reading this book and, although it’s on the longer side for what it is (450 pages) I could have stood for it to be a little longer still, or at least given us an epilogue. I would have pegged it as much shorter, as it really flew in. A real 5-star read!

DONICK WALSH AND THE RESET-BUTTON was a really compelling story, with just enough depth and dark moments to balance out all the sweet romance. This would be a great read from anyone looking for a less cozy version of Heartstopper or Simon vs. I’ll be looking out for a physical copy to buy for myself.

This….wasn’t really my jam. To me, it seemed like the ages were wrong. The inner monologues and dialogue sometimes gave off the impression that this was a 14-year old going through the first year of high school, when in reality these are seniors in high school about to graduate. I think that's the main reason I didn't click with this book.

The premise was cool. Take a high school bully wanting to atone for his years of harassment on his fellow high schoolers, but did there have to be so many slurs? That was kinda jarring for a young adult book. That aside, I did enjoy Nick and Michael's journey by the end.

I’m not sure what exactly it was about this book, but I just constantly found myself starting it and then stopping. Maybe I just wasn’t the audience? I eventually sat myself down and just read it to about 15 percent. I don’t have any particular feelings about it. I didn’t feel it was amazing, but I also didn’t feel like it was horrendous. It just was a book that wasn’t for me.

Thank you Nathaniel Shea, NetGalley, and the publisher for allowing me to read this eARC for my honest opinion!

This book is interesing and the writing style definitely kept me pulled for a time. The romance two boys is cute and honestly, I think it might be fine for an LGBT teen audience.

The problem is:

1. Nick's POV was a bit annoying to read. We constantly read his thoughts which is usually about how mean he was to Michael in the past. And when he speaks to him he constantly says the same annoying apology.
2. The dialogue felt 50/50 unnatural. No real person would talk the way the people in this book talk. It felt a little like a movie script.
3. I don't like the cliché that football players are bullies.

Well, anyway I I recommend to anyone who enjoys a redemption story with queer characters and their families. I did like were the supportive parents of Michael and Liam as a character and the change of Donick's father. In the end, I believe this is the authors first book and I definitely see a lot of potential.

Thanks for the opportunity to read!!!!

[2.75⭐️]

Thank-you to NetGalley, Scribbles Press, and Nathaniel Shae (AKA Shea Taylor) for the eARC.

Folks I'm very much conflicted on this one. By all intents and purposes this should be right up my alley. A queer YA novel that heavily features musical theatre songs and an overall love for theatre production? Say less. And, while there WERE several things I really liked, there we some some aspects of this book that just didn't really sit well with me.

Let's start with the things I liked:
* I really love the cover.
* The overall premise was one I quite enjoyed. I liked that the MC realized what a terrible person he was and truly worked towards rectifying that.
* In conjunction with my previous point, I appreciated the fact that not every person Donick apologized to accepted said apology. Some of the things he did in the past were horrendous, and I'm glad that those he affected had the opportunity to absolutely go off on him as well as him expecting and understanding those reactions.
* As mentioned, I loved the theatre components in the novel. I will forever and always be an annoying theatre kid at heart.
* Liam Hidalgo spin-off WHEN. My favourite character. Wish there'd been more of him.
* Listen at the end of the day I'll always be a a sucker for a happy ending LMAO I'm glad Donick and Michael got a nice HFN.
* I actually found Mr. Walsh's reaction and subsequent actions to be quite realistic and am glad to see a parent who reacted absolutely terrible at first and then work to accept and understand their child as well as do some learning and unlearning of the way they've been due to the way they grew up.
* The music choices are all certified bangers LMAO I made a playlist of every song mentioned in the book (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4ynLuTj0xEzto7qHt4DGkV?si=SBlzr_dwQxCuJg9aT1yqzQ) as well as the senior showcase revue set list as described by the author (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2EJtfRKIYgAtCwWLx1wd4F?si=GtanQ-elSW25bQPcj2V85A).

Now on to the things I did not like:
* For a book that was so unnecessarily long (I looked it up and the paperback is set to be FIVE HUNDRED pages?!?!?!) there sure were a lot of things left unfinished. What's happening with Liam and Gil? That felt really unfinished and unsatisfying to me because my sweet boy deserves so much better and I wanted to see him go off LMAO. Additionally, we're just not gonna come up with a plan for Michael since he didn't get into ANY schools he auditioned for??? We spent so much time on how insanely talented he is and just left it at that??? Girl at least give us a little epilogue a few months down the road and wrap up some of these things for me PLEASE.
* I found a lot of the characters quite static, one-dimensional, and very negatively stereotypical. Most of the gay boys were portrayed as promiscuous and it was all very……… genital-based. IDK like being gay was very much centred around liking dick as opposed to liking men and it was very uncomfy for me. ADDITIONALLY, the single lesbian character straight-up saying she's not interested in dating until college so she can swoop up all the "straight girls wanting to experiment"? gross.
* Michael's sister accusing Michael of "turning" Donick gay was……… icky. It was brief and not meant in a malicious manner (just a pre-teen girl moping over having a slight crush on someone who turned out to be gay), but still. Didn't sit well.
* This was very briefly mentioned and not really relevant to the book or important to the plot but a character was described as having Asperger's and, for a book coming out in the year of our Lord 2023, that just felt really out of place and, once again, icky.

I think that, if this book had come out 10 - 15 years ago, when I was in junior high/high school, I would've been able to overlook a lot of the things I didn't like because we didn't have as much queer rep as we do now, and a lot of it WAS kind of superficial and stereotypical. But, since that was all we had, we ate it up. However, things have definitely improved since then and, as mentioned, for a book being published in 2023, a lot of these aspects are just wholly unnecessary. There are plenty of other queer YA books with much better representation than this one.

When I read Donick Walsh and the Re-Set Button by Nathaniel Shea, I found the story and the characters transformative and sweet. One of the best elements of the novel is that it is authentic and real, the emotions portrayed and the type of behavior from Donick before he realizes he needs to change is believable. This is a story of redemption and love. The path to both can be rocky and difficult and the author does the perfect job of portraying those emotions. 

The story is told with a stream of consciousness from both the main characters, Donick and Michael, but in some ways that allows readers to build a tighter emotional connection. You feel what each of the characters feels, both good and bad. I love how the story delves into topical themes, like bullying, homophobia, and abuse, both emotional and verbal. It also deals well with generational beliefs. As characters, Donick’s past behavior is difficult to relate to for those who’ve been bullied but for those, it will be easy to connect to Michael. But I found I loved the transformation and growth in Donick. I also loved how Michael’s feelings evolved and how he began to understand why Donick behaved badly in the past. 

Ultimately this is a sweet and beautiful story with the highs and lows of real life. If you love stories of redemption and love, a story that is transformative and sweet, I highly recommend this beautiful story. I love Donick and Michael and truthfully, I would love more from this author about these characters. I feel like there are a few questions left to answer and I’d love to see what happens next.

Drama Kids and Fans of High School Musical will love “Donick Walsh and the Reset- Button.” Donick’s redemption arc was well flushed out, and the audience could feel his fear and insecurities as he attempted to face the difficult facets of his life. This shows the importance of finding yourself and opening yourself up to new experiences, as Donick moves on to the next phase of his life after high school. Donick let’s himself learn from those around him, even those he may have written off in the past, which is true evidence of his growth as a character. As a reader, I wished we got more of his happy ending that he worked so hard to achieve.

Thank you NetGalley for the free copy in exchange for my review.

This book gave me so many emotions. Being diferent in this society still isn't easy but there are people who will be there for us. Nick for some time wasn't a very good person but he understood that and tried to make ammends. Most of his "victims" forgave him but there were some that didn't and I totally understand, he apologized yes but that doesn't erase what he did. I liked this redemption story, you could see Nick wasn't a bad person, it really was the circunstances and the people he called friends that influenced him, his dad too was horrible to him. I liked Nick and I loved when people saw him beyond that fake person to the person underneath. Michael was the hardest one to convice seeing as he was the one that was most hurt with Nick's attitudes. It took some time but he finally saw that Nick was really a good person and genuinely remorseful about the things he did and said. They as a couple was just perfect