I’m not a huge fan of novels in verse, but if there is an author who I trust and love, then yeah I will try it. And this one is of course, Dean Atta. In this one, it’s a really cute story of two kids finding each other as kids and falling in love. But with that being said, it really seemed like that was it.

Ok I thought this book was going to 1000% be for me. It’s one of my favorite tropes, it’s one of my favorite poets/authors, and it was about Black and Brown people. I thought it was going to be amazing. But in all honesty, it was pretty basic. There was no deviation from the synopsis. And the story was really just here’s the most surface like details and that’s all. It was disappointing. I didn’t feel like there was much of a story there if that makes sense.

The romance was cute, but I was a little mad at the main characters, both for different, but kind of the same reason. I was mad at one of them because it seemed like he was forcing him out. But I was also mad at the other because he didn’t want to come out, but he was throwing his friend under the bus every time the heat came up on him. And I didn’t like that he still liked him even after that. Sometimes it’s time to move on. But at the end, I was glad they got it together and really understood what the other wanted and finally came together to fall for each other.

The writing style was what was tricky for me tho. It’s no surprise that I thought there was a bunch missing from this story. It’s a novel in verse after all. It’s always that way. I hate that we don’t get that much detail because it’s in a certain style. And in this one it frustrated me because it left me feeling like there was nothing that we didn’t know from the synopsis. However, I did like the little sneak of The Black Flamingo in there. I actually loved that and now I wonder if I missed something from your other book. I hadn’t read it yet and now I’m kicking myself.

Along with the writing style, I was amazed with the messaging that Atta put into this. The religious part from one of them was spot on. I can’t say more without spoilers, but I truly thought that felt authentic. And the way he was so scared to admit to anything because of it. I have seen this same interaction first hand with some of my library kids, so I really felt for these kids. And then of course, there was the lying when they didn’t get what they wanted, and so on and so forth.

This was ok, but not really what I was expecting. I hope to see more from Atta in the future, but more in depth and more detail oriented. This was a lot of fun, and touched on some important topics, but I do wish there was more.

Another moving, coming of age, queer YA novel in verse about a gay British teen boy who doesn't want to stay in the closet like his best friend and the way he navigates coming out, dealing with homophobia, new love and staying close to his friend. It was great on audio read by the author and had a great cast of nonbinary and gay side characters. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review!