You know what? I simply adored Only Mostly Devastated.
I’m heart-eyes over it, but also in awe, because it tackled so many complex and serious topics AND managed to be an adorkable romcom that squished the air out of my lungs so many times. I genuinely had to put it down and scream at one point. You know a book is absolutely fantastic when it makes you feel absolutely e v e r y t h i n g the characters are feeling.
omg, Ollie, I was with you in that moment at the end. We eXPLODED together!!!!! …is it too early to declare a book a favourite for 2020? No? Good. because here.
(I do confess I haven’t seen Grease! This is a queer Grease retelling but oh well my bad. ๐)
[the cute]
First off, this book is freaking adorable. Ollie is the kind of narrator who is all gangly arms and unfortunate moments and has the softest heart of gold. His family recently totally uprooted themselves to move closer to his dying aunt, and he babysits his little cousins all the time, plus he’s there for his aunt, and basically he lost lost like…his whole life. But he just keeps on keeping on. You can’t keep this kid down, I swear. And he’s totally a social dork (i love him) but he manages to make friends at his new school with three girls who seem close, but also at odds. And lo and behold: his summer fling named Will who ghosted him goes to this school too.
it’s a recipe for disaster, quips, banter, and adorkable catastrophes.
I laughed, I feel in love with the characters, I wanted to cry. I just went through it all.
[the heavy]
Look, this story deals with family grief, of the anxiety of watching someone dying, and it felt really respectful with how it talked about it. I like when books know how to do the cute funny scenes, but also segue into serious moments. And this book is also so massively about being queer and being closeted. Ollie is out. Will is so so deeply closeted the actual thought of anyone knowing he and Ollie “had a thing” terrifies him. I thought Will was so well done, particularly when he was being an absolute jerkface…like I got it. I got why he hurt Ollie, and I got why Ollie got angry. And the book really really unpacked this discussion of: “you don’t owe anyone to come out of the closet, you need to do things in your time, when you are safe. But you can hurt people. And that’s still on you.”ย Will’s behaviour wasn’t excused but I really felt for what he went through and he had to own his toxicity.
There was so much aching and longing and fear here. And it felt real, and well handled, and I will just…I will just cry on you.
Honestly, this one has characters who will fill your whole heart, addictive writing, and themes that resonate so deeply. It’s SUCH a good book omg what can I say but throw a lot of exclamation points at you!!!!!
Goodreads | Hachette AUS | Book Depository
Releases March 10th, 2020.
When Ollie meets Will over the summer break, he thinks he’s found his Happily Ever After. But once summer’s ended, Will stops texting him back, and Ollie finds himself short of his fairy-tale ending.
A family emergency sees Ollie uprooted and enrolled at a new school across the country – Will’s school – and Ollie finds that the sweet, affectionate and comfortably queer guy he knew from summer isn’t the same one attending Collinswood High. This Will is a class clown, a basketball jock and, well, a bit of a jerk.
Ollie isn’t going to pine after a guy who isn’t ready for a relationship. But as school life repeatedly throws them together, from music class to the lunch table, Ollie finds his resolve weakening.
With the noisy drama of their friends as the backdrop – from ambitious Juliette and frosty Lara, to big-hearted Darnell and king-jock Matt – Ollie has a decision to make.
The last time he gave Will his heart, Will handed it back to him trampled and battered. Ollie would have to be an idiot to trust him with it again. Right?
have you seen Grease? is this one on your TBR?! tell me some books that are super cute but also tug at your heart-strings!
Ahhhhhhhh I loved this book so much!! Ollie is the softest snarkiest bean and I adore him! And Will is very much a jerkface sometimes but he’s also so precious and I love him so much. (also look I’m just going to say it: this book is sooooo much better than grease and I won’t be taking criticism on that take)
I am about 50 pages from the end of this one and OMG I AM SQUEALING WITH HOW MUCH I ADORE IT! Ahhhh
Reading your review, now I really want to read this book so thank you, now my TBR is taller T_T
I think it’s an anglophone culture thing cause I’ve never heard of it or if it’s because I don’t have any cinematic culture whatsoever but what is Grease?
I’ve heard nothing but amazing things about this book! I admit the bright cover and the cute romance are what drawn me to the book, but it seem to handle heavy topics really well and it just shoot up my TBR list!
This is one of my anticipated 2020 releases and I can’t wait for my copy to arrive! I love how you both mention The Cute and The Heavy parts of it. I also love it when authors know how to balance both things. It gives you a feeling of happiness and sadness (the kind where you welcome it) and it’s nice when both blend in well together in the story. It’s such an experience when it’s executed right.
This has been on my TBR for a long time now, and reading your review made me want to have it in my hands SO BADLY UGH. ๐ Ollie sounds like a perfect, precious main character and I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Awesome review <3
Ah I love your review so much, I’m so happy you enjoyed this book! I LOVED OLLIE so damn much ahh he’s such a softie and I just want to hug him. <3 <3
Aah, I loved this book!! It was so so so cute! ๐๐ And omgg you have to watch Grease! I’ll admit there are maaany issues with the movie, but it’s a classic ๐ Great review!
I can’t believe I’m going to be the first to say this (and after 2 months because I am so behind on blog-hopping), but, YOU HAVEN’T SEEN GREASE???
I also loved this book, it was too cute for words (which is bad because I had a review copy of it….)
I really don’t like musicals ๐๐ but this was the cutest book!