All the Invisible Things by Orlagh Collins

Jan 26, 2019 Stephanie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: ya-fiction

Ohhhh this book! This is the book I desperately needed as a teenager. I'm so glad for all the teen girls who can read it now - especially (but not only) the bi girls who feel so confused because they don't know how to fit into the labels they see all around them. There were so many pages I dog-eared as I read (something I almost never do!) because lines on them resonated SO deeply in ways I'd never seen represented in fiction before, and they meant so much to me.

This is a book about all of our Ohhhh this book! This is the book I desperately needed as a teenager. I'm so glad for all the teen girls who can read it now - especially (but not only) the bi girls who feel so confused because they don't know how to fit into the labels they see all around them. There were so many pages I dog-eared as I read (something I almost never do!) because lines on them resonated SO deeply in ways I'd never seen represented in fiction before, and they meant so much to me.

This is a book about all of our invisible truths and the courage it takes to share them - not just Vetty's path toward understanding herself and coming out to the world as bi, but also figuring out who she IS as a person outside of any labels, and how to have a friendship that doesn't hide from the painful, hurting bits. She and Pez, the boy who lived opposite her on her street, were best friends through their childhood, but when her mother died, her dad swept her and her sister away for several years and she and Pez lost touch. She spent those years trying to blend in for safety, keeping her true self hidden; when her family comes back to London, and to Pez, she's ecstatic about getting the chance to finally relax and be herself again with him.

But Pez has his own secrets and fears and pain, and it's going to take a lot of courage on both of their parts to open up to each other, in the midst of all the confusion of first romances (with other people) and the conflicting messages that teenagers of every gender are battered with every day about sex, what it takes to be a "real" girl or boy, and how they're supposed to treat each other.

This is such a deeply kind and compassionate book, even as Vetty and Pez face some intense adult issues (in a totally realistic way for older teenagers). It reminded me a bit of my favorite Sarah Dessen novels in its immersiveness and warmth, but Orlagh Collins's gorgeous writing style is very much her own.

The last line almost made me cry, it was so lovely and right. And as soon as I post this review, I'm going to reserve her first book (No Filter) from my local bookshop so I can devour that one, too! ...more

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May 05, 2019 Tucker marked it as publisher-copies-to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: lgbtqiap, arc-physical, owned-physical, young-adult, reviewed, contemporary

Many thanks to Bloomsbury YA for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review

aww, my ARC doesn't have the pretty cover

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Mar 31, 2019 Chris C rated it really liked it · review of another edition

A fantastic coming-of-age story set in Britain dealing with sexuality, mental health, death and the grieving process and generally finding your identity in a world full of labels.

Great to read not only a female-led LGBT book but specifically one with a bi character. For me, it was a really refreshing take on what has come before. I really connected with Vetty and her struggles. She was flawed in so many ways that made her feel all the more real.

I was sure at around 80% through that I knew how ...more

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Jul 02, 2019 Kelly (Diva Booknerd) rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: bloomsbury

Helvetica has never quite felt herself since her mother passed away after her cancer diagnosis and her father relocated his young family from London to Somerset, exchanging the vibrant city for a cottage retreat. Living in Somerset, the family are now returning to London to resume their lives, including seeing Peregrine once more. Helvetica and Peregrine were childhood friends, neighbours and adventurers but have since lost contact.

Since the loss of her mother, Helvetica has adapted into a Helvetica has never quite felt herself since her mother passed away after her cancer diagnosis and her father relocated his young family from London to Somerset, exchanging the vibrant city for a cottage retreat. Living in Somerset, the family are now returning to London to resume their lives, including seeing Peregrine once more. Helvetica and Peregrine were childhood friends, neighbours and adventurers but have since lost contact.

Since the loss of her mother, Helvetica has adapted into a mothering role for younger sister Arial, both sibling names a tribute to their mother's love of fonts. Their father now widowed, moving his young family to the country with his sister and her partner while he continued to work from their small cottage on the family property. Grieving and overwhelmed, Helvetica begun to reinvent herself to assimilate and suppress her sexuality.

Throughout the narrative, Helvetica identifies with an attraction towards males and females, realising she's bisexual and feeling a sense of ownership and belonging. It's a defining moment of her sexual identity and within young adult literature. Our adolescent years is when we are exploring our sense of identity which often includes our sexuality and experiencing Helvetica's feelings of confusion is palpable. Another aspect of Helvetica's sexuality is when she discusses her feelings with her Aunt who identifies as lesbian. When describing her attraction towards females on the eve of their same gender wedding, her Aunt assumes Helvetica is also a lesbian in which she later apologises. It would have been wonderful to have experienced her unconditional support for Helvetica during their conversation, rather than have an adult place labels upon her sexual identity. Although it's presumed to be a moment of compassion and understanding, even camaraderie could be interpreted as bisexual or pansexual erasure which some may find distressing.

Peregrine is an interesting character but incredibly abrasive and narcissistic. After Helvetica moved to Somerset, the phone calls became less frequent, messages left unanswered. A young girl grieving, navigating life without her mother and caring for a younger sibling, when returning to London and her small apartment across from the lavish home he shares with his parents, Peregrine was irritable, resentful and seemingly refusing to accept responsibility for his behaviour. Including his addiction to pornography. Peregrine describes his compulsion as an inadequacy and that he's unable to have a sexual relationship because he feels desensitised, impotent and defective. It's important to emphasise that relationships exist beyond a physical relationship, potentially insensitive to those who identify as asexual.

It was wonderful that female masturbation is explored and as a positive experience. Younger sister Arial is also approaching adolescence and is curious about her body and sexuality and with her father emotionally absent, Helvetica helps Arial to understand about body changes, her period and sexuality. It was a gentle and genuine moment between siblings. The friendship Helvetica and March share is beautiful. March is Peregrine's girlfriend, although he also treats her with an incredible amount of disdain. March confides in Helvetica about her relationship with Peregrine and it was lovely to see their friendship existing independently of Peregrine.

I thoroughly enjoyed Helvetica's journey but felt the narrative was sacrificed for Peregrine's issues that seemingly took precedence, I'm incredibly frustrated in male characters doing the bare minimum. All The Invisible Things is an entertaining and arresting contemporary novel and wonderful coming of age. ...more

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Feb 27, 2019 Lauren rated it really liked it · review of another edition

All the invisible things. I would give this book a 3.5/4 star rating. I was so glad to see a bisexual character in the book, most books seem to miss out the B in LGBTQ+. I found the book quite hard to get into and nothing kind of happened til the middle but once it got to the middle I was hooked and finished the book as quickly as possible. I absolutely adore the author of this book and proudly own No Filter. I did enjoy this book and look forward to more books from Orlagh in the future. Thanks ...more

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Apr 15, 2019 c, (½ of readsrainbow) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: favourites, favourite-characters, im-dead-and-dying, let-s-talk-diversity, lgbt, i-put-the-b-in-lgbt, ya-or-mg-lit, non-white-characters, ya-or-mg-contemporary, 4-stars

hello im crying i love this a whole lot

Rep: bi mc, black biracial side characters, Indian side character

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Feb 16, 2019 Lexi // libraryoflexi rated it really liked it · review of another edition

High 3.5 - 4 stars!
Massive thank you to Bloomsbury for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Okay this book definitely did not take the road I was expecting it to but I enjoyed it. This story will resonate with a lot of younger (and older) YA readers that are still trying to find their way in this world, or those who have been there, done that. Either way it will definitely hit you right in the feels.

I enjoyed Vetty as the MC. She felt real and down to earth. Trying to mend old ...more

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Mar 14, 2019 Jenna rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: 2019

This book had a great premise, and the representation is definitely important, but overall I felt as though it was kind of a mess.

None of the characters felt particularly likeable, the friendship between Vetty and Pez was unbelievable at times and I felt like the majority of the secondary characters were stereotypes who weren’t given much life.

There was simultaneously so much going on and nothing happening at all, to the point where I was bored for almost the entire book... and that includes the ...more

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Aug 04, 2019 Chiara rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, physical-review-copies, lgbtqia, lgbtqia-bisexual

A copy of this novel was provided by Bloomsbury Australia for review.

The first thing you need to know about All the Invisible Things is that the main character, Vetty, is bisexual! And the word is used on the page, bless. The discussion around bisexuality in the book is pretty cisnormative but I did read an early review copy so I’m not sure if that was changed later on. Even so, I was so glad to have a young bi girl main character that is sure of her sexuality because even though I recognise the A copy of this novel was provided by Bloomsbury Australia for review.

The first thing you need to know about All the Invisible Things is that the main character, Vetty, is bisexual! And the word is used on the page, bless. The discussion around bisexuality in the book is pretty cisnormative but I did read an early review copy so I’m not sure if that was changed later on. Even so, I was so glad to have a young bi girl main character that is sure of her sexuality because even though I recognise the need for stories about characters discovering their sexuality it’s nice to have stories about characters who already know and are comfortable with their sexuality, as well.

The story of All the Invisible Things turned out to be quite different from what I had expected it to be. Firstly, I thought that this would definitely feature a romance between Pez (Vetty’s childhood best friend) and Vetty but to my surprise they stayed friends the entire time. And there were quite a few occasions where Vetty clearly explained that she loved Pez as a friend and nothing more. Though there was a slightly confusing scene towards the end involving a kiss but I guess that was just them sharing their love in an intimate way even though they’re not romantically interested in each other. To be honest I would have preferred that not to be in there as I think it did confuse the friendship for me and possibly the two of them, as well.

When I realised that All the Invisible Things was not going to be about long lost best friends falling in love with each other I didn’t really mind because it let me focus on the other things this book was shining a light on. Like how Vetty had to grow up and become a pseudo-mother to her younger sister after their mum died. Vetty’s feelings towards two people that she does have a romantic interest in. Vetty learning what it means to be a good friend. The way Vetty is sure of her bisexuality but isn’t sure if everyone else will understand it. And last but not least, Vetty’s sexuality in general. There was so much exploration of her discovering her interest in sex and discovering what works for her and what makes her feel good. And tied into that was Vetty recognising her own beauty. These last two aspects of the book were my favourite. I feel like YA tries to shy away from girls’ sexuality and I seriously commend the author for not doing that. Because of this I think this book will be integral to so many bi girls, to see themselves on the page, but also girls in general.

I truly understand why this book is called All the Invisible Things because the things this book explores are all the invisible things in life. The things tangled up in feelings and people and yourself. It was a nice moment to discover where the title fit in, and I think it truly represents what the story is about. I could go on, and tell you about all the other things this book covers but I think this is the kind of book that you should discover mostly on your own. I had hardly an idea of what the book was about, except that it was about a bi girl moving back home, and I think that was a perfect way to be introduced to Vetty’s life. So if you’re keen on a book that is all about the invisible things and tackles topics that aren’t often seen in YA then I think All the Invisible Things will be a good fit.

© 2019, Chiara @ Books for a Delicate Eternity. All rights reserved.

trigger warning: use of ableist language, cisnormativity, death of parent (lymphoma), friend in car accident, bisexual erasure, friend with addiction (pornography), homophobia, romantic cheating (friend's parent) ...more

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Jan 16, 2019 Siobhan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

All The Invisible Things is a powerful and warm YA novel about finding real connections with people and being honest. Helvetica—Vetty—moved from London to Somerset after her mum died, leaving behind her best friend Pez and her ability to feel comfortable as herself. Now she's seventeen and moving back to London with her dad and younger sister, but she's hiding the secret of the fact she likes boys and girls, and she's not spoken to Pez in years. Back in London, Pez seemed different, their ...more

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Apr 04, 2019 Ashleigh | Wild Heart Reads rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: bi-rep, lgbtqia, arc-reviews, young-adult

All The Invisible Things follows Vetty, as she returns to her childhood home and friend, having spent the last four years away. Vetty isn’t the only one who has changed though and everything is different. All The Invisible Things was a great book about grief, change and having to courage to be yourself.

This was different to what I had expected from the blurb on the ARC going in. It’s not different in a bad way, but it tackles some deeper topics, whereas the blurb frames it as more of a ...more

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Aug 27, 2019 harmony rated it it was ok · review of another edition

really considering giving this book 1 star, but I know thats only because it was not what I was expecting at all.

think I should mention this first, I HATE reading about sex, and if I knew how much it was mentioned, I probably wouldn't have read this book. I do think it raised some important discussions, but I just don't enjoy reading about this stuff.

I'm pretty sure this book takes place in like 2017-18 because that's when stranger things 2 was released. and I am so confused about how no one ...more

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Mar 19, 2019 Maddie Browse rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary, 2019, ya, arc, lgbt

I'm not crying, I swear I'm not crying!! This book is absolutely beautiful and I'm a little obsessed!

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Jan 16, 2019 Kathryn Murphy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I fell early for Vetty (and her family) and was with her all the way. This is a contemporary YA addressing big issues, but Collins has a lightness of touch that exudes warmth and Vetty's challenges feel real and relatable. The interaction between her, the elder sibling with too much responsibility, and her little sister, Arial, is particularly well handled. Pez, while a slow-thaw, was a revelation for me. I loved it.

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Apr 07, 2019 Anukriti Geekybibliophilictraveller/ kaleidoscopicnerdy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: arc, books-i-own, contemporary, ya

As seen on my blog KALEIDOSCOPIC NERD

"It takes a lot of bravery just to be ourselves."

I feel authors like Becky Albertalli, Adam Silvera, Rainbow Rowell, David Levithan and some others paved the way for queer rep novels. Once upon a time, there was wayy less diversity and no PoC (person of colour) or LGBTQ+ rep in books, but I’m so glad that things are finally changing! *happy dance*

So, we’ve our protagonist, Helvetica (yes, like the font ) a.k.a Vetty who is shifting back to London, a few ...more

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Mar 16, 2019 Lynsey rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I can't stop thinking about this beautiful book. A wonderfully tender and moving story about self-acceptance, bravery, grief and honesty. I also LOVED that it focused on the mundane, ordinary stuff. A coming-of-age and coming out story that I really wish had been around in my teens. It has a piece of my heart!

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Feb 28, 2019 Karen Barber rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley

Vetty is taking time to work out how she feels about all sorts of things. It was easier when she was younger: her mother was alive, her best friend knew her instinctively and she didn’t have to worry about people trying to label her.
For the last few years they’ve lived in Somerset with her aunt, struggling to come to terms with losing mum. Now the family are moving back to London and Vetty is trying to pick up where she left off.
Some of the initial interactions we watched Vetty have were very ...more

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Jun 11, 2019 Tamsin Winter rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Absolutely loved the cinematic writing style and could not put this contemporary YA novel down. Vetty's character was sweet and real, as are all the other characters. The relationships are painfully real and the relationship between Vetty and March was particularly moving and again, really positive in the way March handles Vetty's revelation. Loved the positive messages about sexuality and growing up in this book and I was in tears towards the end. Another brilliantly funny and heartwarming book ...more

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Mar 03, 2019 Katie Hurse rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Ended up being so pleasantly surprised by this book, perhaps most of all because I really, really didn't like No Filter. This book stands up all on its own, though (I think it was at about 30-40% that I started to feel this way though, the start is a little slow). It does some really important stuff and focuses on some taboo topics, namely masturbation (for both genders), porn & addiction. It also does a lot for the discussion of sexuality (particularly, though not exclusively, bisexuality). ...more

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Apr 14, 2019 Iris rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2019, young-adult, queer

I thought this book did a really great job exploring the feelings of teenagers around identity and friendship. It touches on so many subjects and in a sensible and sensitive way. I wish this book had existed when I was a teenager.

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Feb 03, 2019 Ellie Mae Taylor rated it really liked it · review of another edition

A stunning book that manages to perfectly balance the important topics with lighter moments. Brilliantly written with a very realistic feel to everything that takes place.

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Mar 06, 2019 Lily rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: 2019-releases

Trust me, nobody is sadder than me about my rating.

This book is about Vetty who is moving back to London after having moved to Somerset a few years prior after her mum died. She lost touch with her best friend Pez, and wants to reconnect, but isn't sure how to go about it. Ultimately, this is a coming-of-age and coming out story, and whilst there are some really great aspects of this book, it just missed the mark for me.

Let's start with the positives though: I really loved how frank and open Trust me, nobody is sadder than me about my rating.

This book is about Vetty who is moving back to London after having moved to Somerset a few years prior after her mum died. She lost touch with her best friend Pez, and wants to reconnect, but isn't sure how to go about it. Ultimately, this is a coming-of-age and coming out story, and whilst there are some really great aspects of this book, it just missed the mark for me.

Let's start with the positives though: I really loved how frank and open this book was about sex and bodies and puberty, it was so refreshing to see. There's actual discussion in here about female masturbation which was so incredible to see!! I also thought the bi rep was pretty well handled. This really follows Vetty from starting to question to fully realising her sexuality and coming out and it was really interesting to follow her journey on that.

However, I really struggled to connect with this book. Particularly the first 100 pages felt so disjointed, I often couldn't connect how we'd gotten from point A to point B in certain scenes and with certain characters thought processes. It was kind of bewildering and really took me out of the story and kept me from connecting to a lot of the characters.

Also, I felt like the friendship between Pez and Vetty was ... difficult for me to swallow at times. There is a particular scene where they're confronting why they lost contact with each other, and essentially Vetty gets most of the blame for why they didn't stay in contact, and why Pez has ended up feeling so hurt. This is understandable, but I felt like the author didn't bring about the nuance of the fact that this was around the time that Vetty's mother had died around the time that they lost contact. Losing a parent as a teen is a massive trauma, one I know first hand. I'm not saying it excuses being a bad friend, but there were issues here that I didn't think were raised with regard to Vetty and how she dealt with her mother's death that could've been explored, but weren't. It just left a bad taste in my mouth, with Vetty pretty much taking the blame for everything and Pez didn't seem to be ... super understanding or try to talk to Vetty about her own pain with her mother's death, when she would listen to his. I just wish this whole discussion had been more nuanced.

As for the representation of teenage bereavement, which I have experienced first hand, it just felt a bit inconsistent. There were some great moments where Vetty would discuss anniversaries or memories of her mother, and it did have an effect on her life, which is better than some YA that has main characters with a dead parent. But, for me, if your main character has a dead parent, it needs to be threaded throughout their life. I'm not saying it has to be their one personality trait, but as I said earlier, it is a massive trauma and will affect the way your main character thinks and behaves, which I felt like was missed sometimes in this book.

I know most people who have read this book have really enjoyed it, and I'm still so glad that more queer UKYA is being published and I want so much more to be published! This book just wasn't for me unfortunately, and nobody is sadder about it than myself. ...more

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May 04, 2019 Brooklyn Tayla rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary, ya, my-own-book-collection, 2019-reads

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This was definitely an interesting one, I’m all for all of the bisexual representation in books, it’s obviously important, and it’s a confusing thing sometimes, and I feel like the author portrayed those feelings really well! I absolutely adored Hetty, and definitely felt like I was a part of her journey during this book. I definitely feel like it’s an important read, and people that feel like they’re attracted to both genders, I think, will relate to Hetty’s confusion and almost reluctance to This was definitely an interesting one, I’m all for all of the bisexual representation in books, it’s obviously important, and it’s a confusing thing sometimes, and I feel like the author portrayed those feelings really well! I absolutely adored Hetty, and definitely felt like I was a part of her journey during this book. I definitely feel like it’s an important read, and people that feel like they’re attracted to both genders, I think, will relate to Hetty’s confusion and almost reluctance to explain how she might feel towards her family, when she’s desperately trying to keep it all together, for the sake of her little sister, Arial. I mean, their mother had recently passed away and their father initially struggles with solo parenting, which made me feel for the girl even more!
I enjoyed how much friendship played a part in this book, however, at the same time, I personally found some of Hetty’s friends slightly problematic at times. For example, I found her absolute best friend, Pez, to be a bit of (and I’m sorry to say this, to those that like him), a special snowflake, and definitely not in an encouraging way. I mean, he was upset when Hetty moved away with her family without saying a word, and that’s understandable…however, what I couldn’t fathom was how, on the anniversary of Hetty’s mother’s death, Pez goes on an almost ‘woe is me’ speech, and rather than actually focus on darling Hetty, he starts to tell her about his not so bright addictions, and literally makes her feel bad, I thought, rather than embracing her and letting her mourn. Then he’s hardly supportive of her being a film extra, it’s like come on dude!
Then we have March, a total breath of fresh air, who captures Hetty’s soul and they find they have a total superb connection, which I’m all for, I mean, we all have these people in life who’s connections we value above others. I was honestly shipping these two so hard! I thought and hoped that they would become more than friends, especially when March kissed Hetty! I mean, my heart! But alas, things definitely don’t always turn out how we like, I know, let’s just say I personally thought Hetty had more chemistry with March, and their relationship, to me, would’ve made more sense than he (Pez) who takes slightly more than he gives, in my opinion. Pez’s friend, Rob, was an interesting one, I feel like if both of them actually got to have a heart to heart, such as what was going on in their lives, they would have had a more solid, mutual friendship, rather than Rob throwing around beyond beyond stupid insults regarding Pez’s addictions, not cool.

Definitely a thought provoking read, though, I must say, she who used to read all of the books at once (well not quite, but you know? Sara, I’m looking at you (my wonderful friend who suggested I take it easy and read one at a time), which is just what I did and wouldn’t have done so differently! ...more

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Mar 03, 2019 Finn Longman added it · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley, by-women, canon-queer-characters, unbury-your-queers, books-read-in-2019, ukya

Hmm. To be honest, I'm not really sure what to say in a review of this one. I liked elements of it, particularly the honest discussion of bisexuality and the various ways people invalidate that even while trying to be supportive, as well as the frank and open discussions about teenage concerns to do with body hair, sex, and so on.

On the other hand, it wasn't really what I was expecting from the blurb I remember reading on NetGalley; I thought it would have a bigger focus on friendship (which, ...more

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May 17, 2019 Hope Worth rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Okay can we all just take a second and appreciate the cover
...
Okay now that’s done
I am OBSESSED with this book

I pounded through it in a day between chores, work, and sleep.. I literally couldn’t put it down.

Characters are a funny things. They speak to you from different angles, like Hermione from her intelligence and Luna from her uniqueness and Ron from his humour. But Vetty and Pez...they hit me from every corner. A bisexual girl, a friend, daughter, sister, teenager...a vulnerable boy, ...more

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Nov 12, 2019 Bea rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Mar 22, 2019 Megan (YABookers) added it · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed, ukya, 2019-releases, netgalley, lgbtqia, own, read-in-2019, contemporary, bisexual-mc

Disclaimer: I received this free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Vetty and her family are moving back to London, back to her old place opposite her childhood friend Pez. It has been years since she’s seen him, and everyone is telling her it will be different now they are older because, god forbid, a boy and a girl are friends. But when Pez tells her she’s ‘not like other girls’, she begins to think about what a girl should be.

I went into this with high hopes because UKYA Disclaimer: I received this free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Vetty and her family are moving back to London, back to her old place opposite her childhood friend Pez. It has been years since she’s seen him, and everyone is telling her it will be different now they are older because, god forbid, a boy and a girl are friends. But when Pez tells her she’s ‘not like other girls’, she begins to think about what a girl should be.

I went into this with high hopes because UKYA needs more Queer YA so I was really excited to read a book with a bisexual protagonist. Throughout the book, Vetty is questioning her sexuality because she likes girls but she also likes boys too, she’s not a lesbian but she isn’t straight, so where does that leave her? It was good to see her figuring this out for herself and figuring out that you can like both girls and boys.

I really enjoyed the friendships in this book too and the complexity of it. I also really enjoyed the relationship between Vetty and March and I think it explored the unrequited crush thing really well.

There were also some really good discussions on body image, female masturbation, and puberty. There was also some good talk about sex and female pleasure BUT it definitely needed some more sensitivity regarding sex. So, the next bit is going to have some spoilers but I feel the need to mention it since I haven’t seen anyone else say anything. So, it is revealed that Pez has a porn addiction and some of his discussions of how this has affected him came across as a little acephobic. He struggles to feel aroused and he described himself as being ‘broken’ and that his ‘body doesn’t work any more’ and that ‘a plug has been pulled’ and while yes, this was discussed in the context of his porn addiction, erectile dysfunction, and the ramifications of that in regard to his anxiety and depression, and I know it wasn’t the intention of the author but I believe this is kind of a harmful narrative, especially as he then feels incapable of being in a relationship with his girlfriend because he can’t have sex with her, so he breaks up with her. A relationship isn’t all about sex and while the scene and comments weren’t about a lack of physical attraction or sex drive, I do believe a lot more sensitivity AND nuance AND discussion could have been given, especially for ace readers. I feel like the whole book and narrative sort of portrays sex as being vital & ‘normal’ & ‘natural’ to a relationship and that just… isn’t the case for everyone. Perhaps it’s not a big deal, but it just didn’t sit right with me?

Overall, it wasn’t a horrible book and I did enjoy some of it, but it did sort of leave a bad taste in my mouth. ...more

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Jan 22, 2019 Vivienne.Griffingmail.Com rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I got straight into this and I fell in love with the characters. Somehow I saw a little of myself in each one. I wish I had had this book when I was coming of age, it actually would have helped to come to terms with who I was but more importantly accept who I was. I was such an anxious teenager so I really identified with Vetti. Highly recommend it to anyone with young teens. It deals with some heavy topics but with love and tenderness. I really loved it, it brought me back to my youth which ...more

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Nov 12, 2019 Gerrianne rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

4.5 stars.

I teared up quite a few times as this book hit me right in the feels. It said some really powerful things and I think I’ll definitely read it again in the future.

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Aug 05, 2019 Debbie Hiscock rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult

I absolutely loved this book; from the minute I picked it up until the time I closed the book. The journey that the main character went through feels like it was me, and I wish that I had this book to read when I was that age. I know that this won't be the last time I read this book, and I am so glad that I bought it. I can't recommend it enough.

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