Ok I don’t give 5⭐️ very often and I can’t say it’s a gift to writing but boy was it engaging and hysterical. I also listened to the ALC which the author, an actor, narrated. I’m always hesitant when authors narrate their own books as I find it rarely successful except in the case of a memoir. But this was bloody brilliant and why I gave it 5 Stars.
It is also a very quick read at its recorded rate which moves along swiftly.

Being a theatre person that lives in a very LGTBQ positive environment while Patch may seem over the top I can fairly say that I know so quite a few “Patches”, especially having directed High School theatre.

The book is a non stop laugh coupled with endearing situations, coming of age situations and real life troubles of an adolescent. Full honesty, this book sadly won’t be for everyone beyond those who aren’t YA readers. For those that it’s not for, maybe take a minute to understand why or at the very least not take to giving low ratings because of potential personal biases.


I am thankful to have gotten the ALC for free from Macmillan Audio and Wednesday Books through NetGalley to read which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars and I rarely round up.

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again and recommend to others.

This was a funny, bighearted queer coming of age story about a gay English boy, Patch, determined to find a boyfriend this year at school. Full of heart and humor, this was good on audio narrated by the author and perfect for fans of the Heartstopper books and authors like Jason June. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!