794 books
—
2,173 voters
Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
Start by marking “Birthday” as Want to Read:
Birthday
by
Boyhood meets The Sun Is Also a Star in this unconventional love story about two teens bonded for life when they are born on the same day at the same time by award-winning author Meredith Russo!
Two kids, Morgan and Eric, are bonded for life after being born on the same day at the same time. We meet them once a year on their shared birthday as they grow and change: as Eric ...more
Two kids, Morgan and Eric, are bonded for life after being born on the same day at the same time. We meet them once a year on their shared birthday as they grow and change: as Eric ...more
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Reader Q&A
To ask other readers questions about
Birthday,
please sign up.
Be the first to ask a question about Birthday
Community Reviews
Showing 1-30
Meredith Russo, this book absolutely blew me away.
Eric and Morgan have known each other since birth. That's not hyperbole—they were born on the same day in the same hospital, and there was a snowstorm, so both families were snowed in. Their families were close, at least until Morgan's mother died of cancer. But the boys have been best friends their entire lives.
As their 13th birthday approaches, Morgan knows things are changing. What Morgan knows more than anything is that he isn't whom he's sup ...more
Eric and Morgan have known each other since birth. That's not hyperbole—they were born on the same day in the same hospital, and there was a snowstorm, so both families were snowed in. Their families were close, at least until Morgan's mother died of cancer. But the boys have been best friends their entire lives.
As their 13th birthday approaches, Morgan knows things are changing. What Morgan knows more than anything is that he isn't whom he's sup ...more
well that synopsis is vague af... #mustbuy
Three years ago, I read Meredith Russo’s debut – If I Was Your Girl – and I enjoyed it, but I could not have predicted it becoming a bestseller and award-winning novel, because although I found it sweet and meaningful, it was not a page-turner for me. Birthday is very different from her debut, so different that I feel a switch was made in the author’s mind or she wanted to tell a heart-breaking story instead of a mainly heart-blossoming one.
There is a lot of love in this coming-of-age story—it i ...more
There is a lot of love in this coming-of-age story—it i ...more
Apr 08, 2019
Gabby
rated it
it was amazing
Shelves:
5-star-books,
love-the-concept,
contemporary,
favorites,
liked-it,
own,
romance,
young-adult,
lgbt-romance,
all-time-favorites
Huge thanks to Flat Iron Books for the ARC!
Holy crap, I loved this book. I loved it so much more than I thought it would. I finished it one one day and it’s been a while since I’ve done that. I just absolutely adored Morgan and Eric.
The premise of this book is super vague so I’m going to try to keep this review as vague as possible - but wow. My fucking heart hurts and this book is so powerful and so important. I love the way this story is told, we get to follow these two characters every year ...more
Holy crap, I loved this book. I loved it so much more than I thought it would. I finished it one one day and it’s been a while since I’ve done that. I just absolutely adored Morgan and Eric.
The premise of this book is super vague so I’m going to try to keep this review as vague as possible - but wow. My fucking heart hurts and this book is so powerful and so important. I love the way this story is told, we get to follow these two characters every year ...more
I feel like crying. I couldn’t put this down because I fell in love with both Eric and Morgan. This broke my heart and twisted it and made me tear up. But it was also so triumphant. This is going to save lives.
BIRTHDAY blew me away.
"I don't think we have much choice in who we turn out to be, as much as we might want to."
I honestly don't even know what to say. But my god. I was choking back the sobs by page thirty and that more or less was what I did throughout the rest of the book, too. And just thinking about the journey makes me want to cry.
What do you do when you can't swim up, you can't swim down, and staying put will suffocate you?
As always I went in with only a very very vague idea as to what t ...more
"I don't think we have much choice in who we turn out to be, as much as we might want to."
I honestly don't even know what to say. But my god. I was choking back the sobs by page thirty and that more or less was what I did throughout the rest of the book, too. And just thinking about the journey makes me want to cry.
What do you do when you can't swim up, you can't swim down, and staying put will suffocate you?
As always I went in with only a very very vague idea as to what t ...more
I’m just sitting here crying??? This was so wonderful, and I think Morgan’s story (and Eric’s) will resonate with so many people. The format— Birthday is told through snapshots of the two main characters’ birthdays from age 13-18– was executed to perfection. The Southern small-town setting was all-too realistic. Birthday is a great reminder that coming out stories are still important and that there are so many coming out narratives that still need to be told.
Content warnings: death of a parent ...more
Content warnings: death of a parent ...more
I started reading Birthday on 5/10/2019 and finished it on 5/11/2019. This book is a fantastic read! As soon as I read Morgan’s view I felt heartbroken for him because of his mom. Gosh, I cried so much reading this book! I also really like Eric too. Eric’s such a good person and a caring friend despite having those jerks for brothers and dad. Their struggles felt so real and the secrets they live with makes me ache for them. Both of the main characters are well liked. I love Morgan’s birthday le
...more
Buddy read with Jane & Madalyn!
I must confess I was a little concerned to begin with that the format of Birthday (told in yearly snapshots on the date of the main character’s birthday) wouldn’t allow me enough time to truly feel for these characters and what they were going through. But dang, was I proven wrong. I still felt incredibly emotionally connected to Morgan and Eric’s stories, and this book is so difficult to read at times but will certainly be important and relatable for so many.
C ...more
I must confess I was a little concerned to begin with that the format of Birthday (told in yearly snapshots on the date of the main character’s birthday) wouldn’t allow me enough time to truly feel for these characters and what they were going through. But dang, was I proven wrong. I still felt incredibly emotionally connected to Morgan and Eric’s stories, and this book is so difficult to read at times but will certainly be important and relatable for so many.
C ...more
![destiny ♡⚔♡ [howling libraries]](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1557144778p2/15335689.jpg)
I might (read: most likely will) pick this up again someday, but not any time soon, because ffs, if I have to read the f-slur one more time I'm going to cry. It's so immensely triggering for me and I don't know why, I just know that I can handle a million other triggers but I can't handle this one right now.
This description tells me all of nothing, but it's going to mine all the same!
May 12, 2019
Lea (drumsofautumn)
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
no-physical-copy-liked,
arcs-done
♦ Video Review ♦
Birthday is one of the most heartbreaking and simultaneously hopeful novels I have read in a long time. Meredith Russo had a perfect balance between creating a realistic novel with all the hard hitting, devastating truths of life while giving us an ending that is so full of hope and light that it still leaves you with a wonderful, warm feeling.
While this nove ...more
Birthday is one of the most heartbreaking and simultaneously hopeful novels I have read in a long time. Meredith Russo had a perfect balance between creating a realistic novel with all the hard hitting, devastating truths of life while giving us an ending that is so full of hope and light that it still leaves you with a wonderful, warm feeling.
“Maybe that's what life is about: suriving what you can't control and clinging to the good things the winds whip up.”
While this nove ...more
tw: transphobia, homophobia, attempted suicide
This is a lovely, important #ownvoices story. 3 1/2 stars
A love story centering around Eric and Morgan throughout their birthdays on multiple years, I thought the exploration of sexuality and gender identity was on point. I loved Morgan's journey to coming out as trans, learning to love herself and see herself as deserving of love.
The story unfortunately did fall a bit flat for me in terms of the characterization and story structure, and the writing ...more
This is a lovely, important #ownvoices story. 3 1/2 stars
A love story centering around Eric and Morgan throughout their birthdays on multiple years, I thought the exploration of sexuality and gender identity was on point. I loved Morgan's journey to coming out as trans, learning to love herself and see herself as deserving of love.
The story unfortunately did fall a bit flat for me in terms of the characterization and story structure, and the writing ...more
This is a difficult book for me to review. Not because I have mixed feelings, but because there is so much I loved that I only hope I can do it justice. Birthday is the story of two best friends, born on the same day, in the same hospital. On the night they were born a freak snowstorm struck the area and stranded their families together. From then their fates were sealed: friends for life. Their story is told in snippets, starting on their 13th birthday and continuing until they turn 18.
By 13, M ...more
By 13, M ...more
I only have a few words to say on this book. This is not an own voices review, so I don’t feel like I should say anything about the aspects of the book that I don’t understand. What I want to talk about is the friend. Eric.
Eric is the exact definition of a bad friend. This entire book would have been so different had he communicated. Had he reached out. When your friend is clearly struggling, you reach out. It’s what friends do.
That’s honestly the only thing that irked me. Otherwise, I thought ...more
Eric is the exact definition of a bad friend. This entire book would have been so different had he communicated. Had he reached out. When your friend is clearly struggling, you reach out. It’s what friends do.
That’s honestly the only thing that irked me. Otherwise, I thought ...more
Wow. I wasn’t prepared for this book. I’d read Meredith Russo’s first book If I Was Your Girl and thought it was pretty good, but I wasn’t blown away by it or anything. But damn, Birthday exceeded all expectations I had for it.
Eric and Morgan have been best friends since they were born on the same day. The book takes place on their birthday each year from 13 to 18 as they grow, change, and struggle with things in their lives. Over the years Morgan struggles with her gender identity, she knows t ...more
Eric and Morgan have been best friends since they were born on the same day. The book takes place on their birthday each year from 13 to 18 as they grow, change, and struggle with things in their lives. Over the years Morgan struggles with her gender identity, she knows t ...more
This was such a fantastic book. I'm honestly trying to figure out how Meredith Russo took this unusual format that seems like it shouldn't work but made it work so flawlessly. TEACH ME YOUR SECRETS RUSSO!!!
For real though, this book follows Eric and Morgan from their thirteenth birthday all the way to their eighteenth birthday. We get a glimpse into their lives only once every year, but this honestly works amazingly. It's established pretty early on that their shared birthday is a very important ...more
For real though, this book follows Eric and Morgan from their thirteenth birthday all the way to their eighteenth birthday. We get a glimpse into their lives only once every year, but this honestly works amazingly. It's established pretty early on that their shared birthday is a very important ...more
As with If I Was Your Girl, Meredith Russo has created a beautiful story of transgender representation. I appreciate how acceptance is always a focus of Russo’s stories and while her characters struggle there is always hope and there is always love.
Review can be found on my blog here: https://booksonthebookshelf.wordpress...
....
Thank you to the publisher for gifting me an ARC of this book.
….
I absolutely loved this book and the story that evolved. I enjoyed reading about the two main characters, Morgan and Eric. Born on the same day at the same hospital, and their lives crossed paths that one fateful day due to a snow storm that left their families trapped in the hospital until the storm passed. They were destined to meet and become the bes ...more
....
Thank you to the publisher for gifting me an ARC of this book.
….
I absolutely loved this book and the story that evolved. I enjoyed reading about the two main characters, Morgan and Eric. Born on the same day at the same hospital, and their lives crossed paths that one fateful day due to a snow storm that left their families trapped in the hospital until the storm passed. They were destined to meet and become the bes ...more
Omg. This book totally crushed me and took me by surprise actually. The description was pretty vague, so I wasn't sure if it would be a good fit or not. But I ended up loving it more than I thought I would!
I'm gonna tell him I'm supposed to be a girl, that I can't stand being a boy anymore, that I feel like I'm dying a little bit more everyday.
Morgan's rollercoaster of emotions was so raw and real! I really enjoyed the alternating POV'S between Eric & Morgan. I thought it was genius that ...more
I'm gonna tell him I'm supposed to be a girl, that I can't stand being a boy anymore, that I feel like I'm dying a little bit more everyday.
Morgan's rollercoaster of emotions was so raw and real! I really enjoyed the alternating POV'S between Eric & Morgan. I thought it was genius that ...more
May 15, 2019
Forever Young Adult
added it
Graded By: Mandy W.
Cover Story: Meaningful Big Faces
BFF Charm: Let Me Love You x 2
Swoonworthy Scale: 11
Talky Talk: She Says, He Says On Their Birthday
Bonus Factors: The Tami Taylor Award for Amazing Motherhood, Unglamorous Depiction of a Small Town
Factors: Football, Unintentional Misgendering
Relationship Status: TAKE MY WHOLE HEART
Read the full book report here.
Cover Story: Meaningful Big Faces
BFF Charm: Let Me Love You x 2
Swoonworthy Scale: 11
Talky Talk: She Says, He Says On Their Birthday
Bonus Factors: The Tami Taylor Award for Amazing Motherhood, Unglamorous Depiction of a Small Town
Factors: Football, Unintentional Misgendering
Relationship Status: TAKE MY WHOLE HEART
Read the full book report here.
All my reviews can be found at: http://jessicasreadingroom.com
~~~~
This review will post on my site on May 16, 2019.
~~~~
Morgan and Eric are born on the same day in the same hospital during a freak September snowstorm, thus beginning their bond for life. Birthday is told from both Morgan and Eric’s point of view every year on their birthday from ages 13-18. Neither boy has had an easy life for various reasons, and Birthday shows both Morgan and Eric coming into who they will become, with Morgan co ...more
~~~~
This review will post on my site on May 16, 2019.
~~~~
Morgan and Eric are born on the same day in the same hospital during a freak September snowstorm, thus beginning their bond for life. Birthday is told from both Morgan and Eric’s point of view every year on their birthday from ages 13-18. Neither boy has had an easy life for various reasons, and Birthday shows both Morgan and Eric coming into who they will become, with Morgan co ...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This review and many others can also be found at Musings of a (Book) Girl.
As soon as I saw that Meredith Russo had a new book coming out I knew I had to read it. I will admit that when I saw the format was telling the story in snapshots from the two character’s birthdays I was incredibly nervous. I’ve tried to read books before that are set on only one day a year and it hasn’t worked for me. It’s a great concept but I never feel that I’m able to get to know the characters enough and that there’s ...more
As soon as I saw that Meredith Russo had a new book coming out I knew I had to read it. I will admit that when I saw the format was telling the story in snapshots from the two character’s birthdays I was incredibly nervous. I’ve tried to read books before that are set on only one day a year and it hasn’t worked for me. It’s a great concept but I never feel that I’m able to get to know the characters enough and that there’s ...more
Heartbreakingly good.
I read this in one sitting, crying over the pain and the beauty. I can’t recommend this book enough. Thank you, Baker & Taylor for the ARC and for keeping me up past midnight on a Thursday.
Where do I even begin? I saw mention of this book somewhere (GoodReads? Buzzfeed Books?) and was intrigued by the cover and blurb, so I knew I had to read it- ASAP. Naturally impatient, I found that Flatiron Books was providing ARCs to some readers and was lucky enough to get my greedy hands on one. From there, I tumbled in head-first.
Prior to this book, I was in a bit of a reading slump. By the fourth chapter of sorts (it goes back and forth between the two main characters), I was hooked and ab ...more
Prior to this book, I was in a bit of a reading slump. By the fourth chapter of sorts (it goes back and forth between the two main characters), I was hooked and ab ...more
Finished this YA contemporary from Meredith Russo last night as a buddy read with my friend, Grey. It was told in six sections on the 13 - 18 birthdays of Eric and Morgan. It's about love, friendship, family, change, grief and becoming your true self; and the often painful process to get there. It was a beautiful, heartbreaking and important read.
This is a solid 6/5 stars
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
