A massive thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!! I really enjoyed this book; definitely something I will tell my friends about!

This was a cute high school romance. There's not much of a plot, just following the general course of the school year, which is pretty typical for high school, and makes it a fairly character driven book. The entire book is told from Jackson's point of view and written entirely in his inner voice, like a journal, with some thoughts crossed out and replaced, and some rather embarrassing or inappropriate thoughts that maybe don't make it into most novels. It made for a pretty fun read and I loved Jackson's voice throughout.

Another thing I really enjoyed was the representation in the book - both with MCs and side characters across the board. Jackson is gay, hard of hearing, and Iranian-America, a trifecta of identities that make him feel pretty isolated at school and even in his own family, none of whom ever learned how to sign (an infuriating but all too common experience for Deaf children in hearing families). Since the story is told from his POV, we as the reader get to experience every moment of conversation he misses, whenever people mumble or give up on trying to communicate with him entirely, and that was quite well done. We also get to meet a whole cast of queer, non-binary, Black, Middle Eastern, Deaf characters, without any of them feeling tokenized. I especially loved Bowie, Jackson's BFF, who is non-binary and totally fabulous, as well as being CODA (Child of Deaf Adults) and one of the only people who signs with Jackson.

Liam, the love interest, is one of Bowie's friends, and takes a pretty early interest in Jackson - including learning how to sign, and joining the school play (where Jackson is stage manager). I loved the early interactions between Liam and Jackson. The pining is intense, as is the cluelessness on Jackson's part, it was pretty adorable.

Unfortunately the book goes in pretty frustrating directions from there. Both Liam and Jackson make pretty questionable choices which hurt the people around them, especially Jackson's sister. I think this all ultimately resolves and contributes to their character growth, but pretty much all of the characters (excluding Bowie who is a darling) come out looking pretty morally gray in ways that turned me off of the characters a bit, and made for a pretty frustrating read through the middle of the book. I also didn't enjoy the typical third act break up, especially when it took most of the book for the characters to actually start dating.

Ultimately this book started off really great, but went in directions that really didn't work for me and hindered my enjoyment of it. (It also didn't vibe at all with my experience as a Techie in theater, but that's rather beside the point.)

This book was absolutely adorable! I wish that there had been books like this, when I was a teenage bisexual, who was terrified of coming out. Now that I am in my 40s and just came out a few years ago, I’m so grateful that they exist! It shows how wonderful and normal queer people can be. We were you about all the same things and miss communicate and stress interactions just like straight people. it’s so nice to see so much representation in this book, it had a Technicolor cast, and I loved that! Amazing work, can’t wait to see more from this author!

I had a very love hate relationship with this one. It started out really fun but it was sort of alluding to this possible problem that seemed so obvious and awful that I was like no way that happens. It happens. And then something really wonderful happens in the plot after that but it turns into this second(second!) hand embarrassment scene that was just so ridiculous it was the only thing that could possibly work. I loved the rep in this book, especially bowie's character. Absolutely hated the sister though sorry.

Thank you to to netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group, Dial Books for allowing me to read this book. I loved that this book was surrounded around theater kids especially those in the LGBTQIA+ community. I loved all the elements of this book.

This had to be one of my favorite books that I read during 2023. Every time Liam tucked Jackson’s shirt tag in for him and every smoothie Jackson made had me absolutely squealing in delight. Even when I thought I knew what was going to happen throughout the story (I was still kinda right with my guess), I was thrown something new and unexpected. And, this book did a good job with representation too!

I think the only thing I didn’t like in the book was Jasmine. Don’t get me wrong, she was a great character, I just didn’t like her. Which actually kinda makes it better?

It was a cute teen romance. My only objection were Jackson's whole family that never learned sign language. Jackson needed and deserved better treatment. Another meh moment was Jasmine. She was very annoying the whole time. I loved Jackson and Liam. I thought they were adorable together. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my ARC in exchange for my review.

This book was a wonderful queer YA book that centered queer experiences outside of coming out; a trend I hope continues (coming out stories are great, but so are queer stories about all the other aspects of queerness!).

The cast of characters is diverse in every way—genders, orientations, race, ability, and even likeability (looking at you, Cameron). Jackson isn’t a perfect person, but he’s a reliable narrator and his growth from start to finish is admirable.

The third act break-up was predictable and I would’ve LOVED to see it subverted, with Jackson coming clean to Liam about the list, even if Jasmine still found out about their relationship by accident.

I can tell this is a case of the Teen book not working for me since I am not the target audience. I think teenagers will like this book, as the writing seemed good enough that I read. I will try and find a reasonably priced copy of this for my library after it is released.

I really enjoyed the romantic comedy element to this book and that it uses the high school theater in this. The characters felt like they were supposed to and I never felt like they didn’t belong in this universe. Adib Khorram has a great writing style and can’t wait for more.

If you love theatre and gays, this book is for you! The representation in this book is amazing, from BIPOC to LGBTQIA+ to disabled rep, this book had it all and it was all portrayed so well. The characters were so real and funny and authentic, even though they gave me serious anxiety. The plot is funny and hopeful and reflective and really showcases the characters’ growth throughout. I would 100% recommend this book.

4.7

Not a lot of books highlight queer joy, but even less address how messy the gays can be. A genre that I’ve learned to affectionately call “Queer Hot Mess” has begun to find its star on rise, and this book sure did take me for the ride of my life. “The Break Up Lists” by Adib Khorram took me on a wild journey through the cutthroat drama of high school theatre and what it means to be BIPOC and queer in those spaces. Plus, I totally fell in love with Liam who is such a sweet guy and a wonderful character that balances out the main character, Jackson really well. His disability and sexual identity were handled tastefully and I liked how casual ableism was addressed. Many people think they’re being helpful when they do stuff like slow their words down for a HoH person but it really hinders their attempts at niceties and comes off more as patronizing than anything. Ableist actions like these are common in modern society, as deaf and HoH people begin to speak out about how this hurts them deeply. “The Break Up Lists” was the right menagerie of sibling relationships, LGBTQIA+ and HoH representation, and messy interconnected relationships that will certainly keep readers coming back for more!

The Breakup Lists by Adib Khorram is about romance and high school theatre. Good for fans of Becky Albertalli's Kate in Waiting. This book also talks about learning ASL and has a hard of hearing character.

This is a cute book! I enjoyed the characters and the story overall. I think certain things could have been fleshed out a bit more like the conflict with Jasmine and maybe some more about Liam's home life/personal life. Nonetheless, it's a cute story!

This well-written YA novel features a disabled and LGBTQIAP+ main character and I absolutely loved seeing all the representation! I hope this book reaches as many readers as possible!

i FLEW through this book and it was so cute!! first, i don't read synopsis' but this had deaf rep and it was really cool part of that was when our main character couldn't make out what someone said it was written in the dialogue as "somethingsomething". this made his deafness and integral part of his character and it isn't just a one and done mention. the romance was also really sweet. this was just a good book and y'all should read it come april!!!!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an Arc of this novel!

I love Adib Khorram and his writing! It’s so fun and unique and has a great character style! Darius the great is one my favorite books I’ve read and I will absolutely read anything he writes.

For The breakup lists I enjoyed the premise and was very excited to read it. I just was a little disappointed since I loved all Adib's other books. When I was reading I just felt like I was reading the same thing over and over again and that I was reading a lot but nothing was happening. But I LOVED Liam so much. He was an amazing love interest and I thought he was a perfect person for Jackson to have a crush on. I did really enjoy their dynamic and relationship, it felt very natural and real. I wanted to keep reading to find out more and how they were going to end up!

Posted on goodreads

A huge thank you to Dial Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this novel!!
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A novel set in the beautiful chaos of high school theatre with a protagonist that is the stage manager…it’s like a book was written specifically for me. I was a stage manager all through high school who started learning ASL at age ten. I followed that up with continued ASL classes through college, and I still sign at work in my career as a professional Stage Manager. I wish I had written this book, but it’s even better that I know it exists in the world for the next generation.
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The intersectionality of Jackson as gay and hard of hearing was presented authentically. I loved the way the reader also lost words when people would turn away from Jackson and he didn’t catch everything they said. It was so accurate and infuriating; I wanted to shake his family and ask them why they can’t be bothered to learn ASL. The relationship with Liam is adorable and I was rooting for them through every twist and turn. It’s clear that there is some formatting and editing to come from the version I read, and I can’t wait to see how the work evolves in the next few months before release in April.

4.5/5 stars



The Breakup Lists was an adorable novel filled with hope, heartache, growth, and coming into your own. This story hooked me from the first chapter. I was so enthralled in the book I read it in one sitting.

Jackson’s got a lot on his plate, he’s a junior in high school, navigating theater politics, an annoying ex, a heartbroken sister, and parents who love him but don’t really understand him. He’s joined by an amazing best friend Bowie who’s awesome, and ends up in an awkward love triangle with swimmer Liam.

The book navigates how tricky relationships (family, friends, romantic, mentors) can be. It explores communication and humanity in a very sweet way. We get to see Jackson manage so many things and grow.

If you love LQBTQIA+ books with great disability rep I would absolutely recommend picking up this book. You will love it if you liked books like Julian Winters “As You Walk On By” or Becky Albertalli’s “Simon vs. The Homosapien’s Agenda.” Thank you to the publisher for providing an advance copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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.