Only Mostly Devastated by Sophie Gonzales
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publication Date: March 3rd, 2020
ARC from Edelweiss
SIMON VS. THE HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA meets CLUELESS in this boy-meets-boy spin on Grease
Summer love…gone so fast.
Ollie and Will were meant to be a summer fling—casual, fun, and done. But when Ollie’s aunt’s health takes a turn for the worse and his family decides to stay in North Carolina to take care of her, Ollie lets himself hope this fling can grow to something more. Dreams that are crushed when he sees Will at a school party and finds that the sweet and affectionate (and comfortably queer) guy he knew from summer isn’t the same one attending Collinswood High.
Will is more than a little shocked to see Ollie the evening of that first day of school. While his summer was spent being very much himself, back at school he’s simply known as one of the varsity basketball guys. Now Will is faced with the biggest challenge of his life: follow his heart and risk his friendships, or stay firmly in the closet and lose what he loves most.
| Book Review |
When I read that Only Mostly Devastated was a boy-meets-boy spin on Grease, I was all in. This book was such a fun play off the movie. When Ollie’s family decides to stay in North Carolina to help out his ill aunt and her family, he is shocked to find that his summer fling, Will, is one of his new classmates. And that he is nothing like the boy Ollie remembers. He was gentle and kind over the summer, but as one of the class jocks, he is more flippant and sarcastic. This frustrated me as much as it frustrated Ollie, but also like Ollie, I had all the hope in the world when Will would give him a glimpse of the boy he’d been. I really liked the friend group. The girls were of course as feminist as could be, and while it felt like overkill at times, it still was fun. I do wonder why Ollie would be friends with girls who really weren’t very nice to him at times. I know he was new and wanted a place to fit in, but even after he met new people, he still hung out with them. I did like them in the end, but it’s almost like he hung around them the whole book just to have it all come together at the end, but because Ollie couldn’t see what was coming, I’m not sure I feel like it was worth it. As for Will’s friend group, they weren’t very aware of what was going on around them or the way they talked about people, but I think they were completely ignorant vs. purposefully being jerks, and in the end, I liked them and the fact that they became more aware. For other secondary characters, I really loved Ollie’s family dynamic so much. They were really close and there for each other, and this whole story arc broke my heart even while it left me smiling.
This story really was a lot of fun, albeit with serious issues cropping up. But that’s reminiscent of life – smiling when you can, making the most of every moment, and dealing with the hits as they come. I will say that while the tick tick ticking of social justice boxes wasn’t as prominent in this book as other YAs, there was still an ‘all Republicans are bad’ that left my eyes rolling. I’m as sick of both sides going after each other in books as I am in real life, even with snide comments. At this point, it’s starting to feel tropey, which feels a bit dangerous to me. And while, to me, it reflects the immaturity of a character, it’s starting to feel like a reflection of an author’s immaturity as well.
Having said that, I really enjoyed this book and had a blast reading it. And it’s probably not good form to say this, but I feel like this was everything I wanted What if It’s Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera to be. If you’re looking for a fun way to while away the afternoon, you can’t go wrong with Only Mostly Devastated.
A m/m retelling of Grease? That is fabulous. Good to know about the rah, rah feminists and the political jabbing- I’m over that, too.
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Yeah. The political jabbing gets to me. It’s so divisive. And in YA, it just feels even more disconcerting.
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Wow with MM retelling of Grease this should be so good 😉 I am glad you loved it!
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It was very good! 🙂
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Wow! I see why you wanted to read this one. That MM retelling of Grease thing pulled me in, too! I might have to read this one since you liked it so much (despite the feminists).
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Yeah. The blurb was irresistible. Honestly, the young women in this book weren’t that bad. It’s just – do we have to take offense at everything a man says? Have we even lost the ability to take a joke? The hardest part for me is when it feels like someone purposefully takes something out of context.
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That sounds like a really good book. Glad to hear you liked it.
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I feel like I have watched Grease so many times, I can just see the movie in my head. This sounds like one I should add to my wishlist. It sounds fun even if it has a few issues.
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Politics in books really can be a bit too much these days, so that’s a shame. I’m glad you enjoyed this one overall though. I have a copy to read soon.
-Lauren
http://www.shootingstarsmag.net
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This sounds like it would be such a cute read. Although, I think my eye would be twitching like mad at all the political jabs. I’m glad that you still enjoyed it.
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I love Grease so this book really appeals to me. I’m glad to hear it was a good read for you. 🙂
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