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Why Can't Relationships Be Like Pizza?

(The Pizza Chronicles #3)

Andy V. Roamer

3.91 · Rating details · 11 ratings · 8 reviews

As RV enters sophomore year, his friendships and relationships create more questions than answers. RV still cares for Bobby, but Bobby seems a different, more distant person. RV’s best friend Carole is distracted by the ups and downs in her relationships with her French boyfriends, while RV’s new friend Mark is more focused on his family’s troubles. School is a mixed bag. ...more

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ebook, 415 pages

Published March 15th 2021 by NineStar Press

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Mar 02, 2021 Reading_ Tam_ Ishly rated it liked it

Thanks to the author and the publisher for the advance reading copy.

I find the writing quite easy to follow and the characters convincing.

However, there's lack of development in both the characters, especially the main character from which the narration is being told with.

I wish the voice of the character was more stronger and there was a little bit of humour now and then.

I feel the plot didn't progress my much.

But nevertheless, a good, simple story dealing with sexuality, coming out and handli ...more

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Mar 11, 2021 luc rated it really liked it

Shelves: kindle, netgalley, in-english

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ebook.

"What better place to work out life's problems than Joe's Pizza, right?"

It's known that I'm dumb, so when I requested this on Netgalley not even knowing it was the third book in a series I finally knew why.
All in all, this was a feel-good comfort short read.
A cute story about friendship with a queer immigrant main character who's dealing with a lot of things like heritage, the american lifestyle, boys, girls, gorgeous teachers, finan ...more

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Mar 22, 2021 Veronica of V's Reads rated it really liked it

This is the third book in a series and I’m going to sum up a bit of stuff that many be spoiler-y if you haven’t read the first two books.

Arvydas “RV” …… (sorry I don’t have the tenacity to write his last name) is the eldest son of Lithuanian ex-pats newly naturalized and living a middle class life in Boston. RV’s parents have worked hard for their modest American existence; it’s not exactly the American Dream they had envisioned upon emigration. RV has a younger brother Ray who is more outgoing This is the third book in a series and I’m going to sum up a bit of stuff that many be spoiler-y if you haven’t read the first two books.

Arvydas “RV” …… (sorry I don’t have the tenacity to write his last name) is the eldest son of Lithuanian ex-pats newly naturalized and living a middle class life in Boston. RV’s parents have worked hard for their modest American existence; it’s not exactly the American Dream they had envisioned upon emigration. RV has a younger brother Ray who is more outgoing and popular. They have struggles because Ray is willing to stand up for himself and his ideas, while RV is very non-confrontational, and hides pretty much all of his feelings, all of the time. This is especially true about his sexuality, which RV is pretty sure that he’s gay, but maybe he could be bisexual.

It’s sophomore year and RV has new challenges. His boyfriend Bobby is a fellow student at the prestigious Boston Latin School, but they don’t see each other much because Bobby just made the varsity football team, and is spending all his time at practice or hanging with teammates. RV and Bobby had issues before, because RV didn’t understand why Bobby, who is an only child and a studious young black boy, is so driven to succeed. And to keep his sexuality a secret. RV isn’t sure he wants to come out, but Bobby is over-the-top terrified of anyone knowing. RV’s also a bit irritated that Carole, his previous girlfriend and still good friend, is preoccupied, hoping her summer boyfriend from France will visit at Christmas. With Bobby and Carole so busy, RV continues to cultivate friendships.

Mark is a boy in his Spanish class who seems friendly. It turns out he’s a Pentacostal Christian, and his devout family is in crisis now that his older brother came out as gay. Mark has so many questions about sexuality, and attraction; both boys are attracted to their Spanish teacher, but again, so much fear over potential gay-ness. It’s upsetting for RV who doesn’t even have the answers about his own feelings. The story, like the previous one, is mostly told through RV’s personal journal where he explores the conflicts of his life with scrutiny and vocabulary. He’s not sure how to approach his parents about his sexuality questions, but he’s developing a stronger relationship with Ray, which he’s happy about. We get a clear-eyed view of RV’s internal and external struggles as a 15 year old boy, with identities in the LGBTQ spectrum as well as the immigrant experience. He’s a polyglot, speaking Lithuanian and English fluently while also studying Latin and Spanish; words are his absolutely his jam.

This book is centered on relationships, those of friends, family and confidants. As some wax others wane, in the typical teen fashion. Bobby has a big injury that strains their already fraying relationship, so RV needs to lean heavier on his other supports. The story hits a great balance between voice and action, with RV both narrating and living his experiences. I’m glad I’ve read this series through, and would be happy to keep riding along on RV’s emotional and evocative journey. Highly recommend for readers who enjoy YA and tween LGBTQ stories. ...more

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Mar 14, 2021 Annie (Annie's Readingtips) rated it really liked it

Shelves: lgbtqia

This is the third book in The Pizza Chronicles, and my favorite one of them all!

The Pizza Chronicles is a sweet coming of age series written in diary format about a young boy trying to figure out life’s biggest questions such as sexuality, identity, religion, friendship and how to handle his strict immigrant parents.

The story in Why Can’t Relationships Be Like Pizza continues where the second book left off, with RV entering sophomore year. Just as in the previous two books, the story is told via This is the third book in The Pizza Chronicles, and my favorite one of them all!

The Pizza Chronicles is a sweet coming of age series written in diary format about a young boy trying to figure out life’s biggest questions such as sexuality, identity, religion, friendship and how to handle his strict immigrant parents.

The story in Why Can’t Relationships Be Like Pizza continues where the second book left off, with RV entering sophomore year. Just as in the previous two books, the story is told via the diary entries RV makes at the end of each day in his computer journal where he struggles with his sexuality, relationships and questions about life in general. RV is such a geeky, sweet, innocent and awkward character, and has such a great humor, that even though I might have preferred to see some more perspectives to this story, it was always interesting and enjoyable to be inside his head this way.

This third book was my absolute favorite in this series, and had some amazing character growth and a more emotional plot. RV’s journey has finally reached a point where he fully accepts who he is, but relationships are still so complicated and give rise to new questions. RV still cares for Bobby, but Bobby seems a different, more distant person, and RV’s former girlfriend and best friend Carole is distracted by the ups and downs in her relationships with her French boyfriends. But as always, RV’s former teacher and mentor, Mr. Aniso, is there for advice and to help when it’s needed the most.

I really appreciated the way this story didn’t shy away from difficult topics such as homophobia, life-changing tragedies and mental health issues. I also really appreciated learning more about the complexity of life as an immigrant in the USA and how RV’s understanding of his parents, their reasons and their past, began to grow throughout this series.

All in all, this was a really sweet coming-of-age story dealing with teenage confusion and important topics such as sexuality, family expectations and heredity, homophobia, self-discovery and self-acceptance in a cute and unique way.

3.5 adorkable stars rounding up to 4

Thank you to Gay Book Promotions and Nine Star Press for the ARC and blog tour invitation! All opinions are my own and I am leaving my honest review voluntarily. ...more

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Apr 06, 2021 Meghan rated it it was amazing

Shelves: library, netgalley, librarian-contributions

This book was received as an ARC from NineStar Press in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

I can think of so many people that had similar stories and experiences that RV went through in this book. The struggles of adolescence is real and this book even though it is a Fiction representation reflects on all of it. It starts by noticing that something is off from your friends and then finding out some difficult news that changes your ...more

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Feb 24, 2021 Lisa Konet rated it liked it

Shelves: 2021, disappointing, laugh-out-loud-funny, it-was-ok, meh-mediocre, netgalley

This was not as enjoyable as I thought it was going to be and I requested thinking this was going to be more humorous than it was. I thought the main character was a little whiny but some of the observations and retorts were spot on and funny. Not what I thought but just ok. Also did not realize this was part of a series but it was a good stand alone book.

I liked the idea of comparing relationships to pizza but following though on the why was lost because the of whining of the main character. Di ...more

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Mar 24, 2021 Katie Hazel rated it liked it

Thank you for NetGallery for letting me have an ARC of this book - and sorry for the delayed review.
This is the third book of a series, in which I haven’t actually read the first two of. Despite this - the characters are easy to like and the writing is simple, so you can easily read it as a standalone, even though there’s some slight spoilers to the previous two.
The main character seems to be struggling with his identities - which makes this a good book for those who may also be trying to find ...more

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Mar 14, 2021 Nikki rated it really liked it

Shelves: netgalley, 2021

I apparently missed the line that this was book #3 of the series. However, I don't feel like I missed anything in the story itself that wasn't quickly figured out in this one. The title gives away the book's major point where the comparison to pizza and relationships is made. It's a genuinely good point and is helpful for those who might be questioning their own sexuality. The main character? It seems like he is struggling with a lot of questions about his identities, who he is as a person, and ...more

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