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And They Were Roommates
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite Young Adult Fiction (2025)*An Instant
New York Times
, USA Today, and #1 Indie Bestseller*
“A vibrant story that’s perfect for fans of Casey McQuiston”—People
"[A]n achingly cute romance that’s hard to put down." —Rolling Stone
You can't resist this hilarious, unputdownable second-chance-romance about the most unlikely, gay roommate mishap.
Romance is the last thing on Charlie’s mind.
On his first day at Valentine Academy for Boys, Charlie’s carefully crafted plan to hide his identity as the school’s only trans student is set in motion. Only to be immediately destroyed. Charlie has been assigned the worst roommate in the world (possibly the universe): Jasper Grimes, the boy who broke Charlie’s heart the year before he transitioned.
Except, Jasper doesn’t recognize Charlie.
Who knows how long until Jasper realizes the truth? Charlie has one shot at freedom—and a dorm room all to himself—but only if he helps Jasper write love letters on behalf of their fellow students. No problem. Charlie can help Jasper with some silly letters.
Long nights spent discussing deep romantic feelings with Jasper? Surely, no unintended consequences will arise…
“A vibrant story that’s perfect for fans of Casey McQuiston”—People
"[A]n achingly cute romance that’s hard to put down." —Rolling Stone
You can't resist this hilarious, unputdownable second-chance-romance about the most unlikely, gay roommate mishap.
Romance is the last thing on Charlie’s mind.
On his first day at Valentine Academy for Boys, Charlie’s carefully crafted plan to hide his identity as the school’s only trans student is set in motion. Only to be immediately destroyed. Charlie has been assigned the worst roommate in the world (possibly the universe): Jasper Grimes, the boy who broke Charlie’s heart the year before he transitioned.
Except, Jasper doesn’t recognize Charlie.
Who knows how long until Jasper realizes the truth? Charlie has one shot at freedom—and a dorm room all to himself—but only if he helps Jasper write love letters on behalf of their fellow students. No problem. Charlie can help Jasper with some silly letters.
Long nights spent discussing deep romantic feelings with Jasper? Surely, no unintended consequences will arise…
320 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 27, 2025
656 people are currently reading
38000 people want to read
About the author
Page Powars
6 books806 followersPage Powars is the New York Times, USA Today, and #1 Indie bestselling author of And They Were Roommates, The Borrow a Boyfriend Club, and more coming down the line. He was raised by video game lore that requires stringboard analyses to understand. Now, he writes books for teenagers and adults. He lives in Brooklyn with his partner.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,289 reviews
February 6, 2025
Oof. I have been highly anticipating this book for a couple years now, so it really hurt to end up not liking it. To start off with the positives, I really loved the academia vibes of this book. It reminded me at times of a classic movie with all the all-boys boarding school vibes. The plot had a lot of fun elements, but perhaps too much fun to the point that the entire plot felt preposterous and too many things happened to get proper closure on all of the subplots by the end.
This story is, at the crux, a romance, and I really struggled with that. I did see some romantic tension between Charlie and Jasper on page, but I needed more of an explanation of what drew Charlie to Jasper in the first place when they first met because, to me, Jasper just seemed like an annoying prick. I also just really detest this trend of second-chance romance in YA. Why did your summer camp fling when you were 13 ruin all romantic love for you? Are you okay? To see these two seemingly reconnecting to their "long lost love" when they're like, at most 16, just felt so unserious. Likewise, you cannot tell me this 16 year old is a best-selling poet when his book is the most basic tumblr poetry out there. Further, why is this 16 year old voted sexiest poet of the year lmao?? I loved the fun & silly vibes, but the entirety of Jasper and Charlie's relationship and Jasper's "career" made absolutely zero sense to me.
I really appreciated the trans representation and Charlie's struggles to see himself as enough. However, once again I was so confused/mind boggled by how this boy realized he was trans and within two years, at age 15-16, has already gotten top surgery (despite the mom being poor af?) and decided to go to this school that maybe is anti-trans because his mom went there and also his one (1) friend attend the sister campus, whom he'll have no contact with for the entirety of the term. And speaking of Delilah, I struggled to understand how she and Charlie were best friends when they only met two years ago, and she attends a school that doesn't allow cell phones during the year. Like how are y'all keeping in touch??
Finally, I do have to touch on the plot that brings out characters together; writing love letters for their classmates. With all of the angst and set backs that happened along the way, I thought this plot would end one of two ways, but instead neither thing happened and it just left me wondering, what was the point of it all??
With those issues in mind, I don't know exactly how this book would have worked for me. Perhaps Jasper being less of a prick. Perhaps a better conclusion to the issues between communication on the two campuses. Perhaps side characters (especially the mom and Delilah) that feel more like real people instead of props. It's not that this was a /bad/ book, and I hope it finds its audience. I fully realize I am not the target audience and am highly analytical, so the issues I have with reasons behind character actions may not bother others. I hate to give this a "bad" rating, especially to a trans author and book I was so anticipating, but I do have to be honest about my thoughts. Thanks so much to Macmillan Children's for the chance to read this book early.
This story is, at the crux, a romance, and I really struggled with that. I did see some romantic tension between Charlie and Jasper on page, but I needed more of an explanation of what drew Charlie to Jasper in the first place when they first met because, to me, Jasper just seemed like an annoying prick. I also just really detest this trend of second-chance romance in YA. Why did your summer camp fling when you were 13 ruin all romantic love for you? Are you okay? To see these two seemingly reconnecting to their "long lost love" when they're like, at most 16, just felt so unserious. Likewise, you cannot tell me this 16 year old is a best-selling poet when his book is the most basic tumblr poetry out there. Further, why is this 16 year old voted sexiest poet of the year lmao?? I loved the fun & silly vibes, but the entirety of Jasper and Charlie's relationship and Jasper's "career" made absolutely zero sense to me.
I really appreciated the trans representation and Charlie's struggles to see himself as enough. However, once again I was so confused/mind boggled by how this boy realized he was trans and within two years, at age 15-16, has already gotten top surgery (despite the mom being poor af?) and decided to go to this school that maybe is anti-trans because his mom went there and also his one (1) friend attend the sister campus, whom he'll have no contact with for the entirety of the term. And speaking of Delilah, I struggled to understand how she and Charlie were best friends when they only met two years ago, and she attends a school that doesn't allow cell phones during the year. Like how are y'all keeping in touch??
Finally, I do have to touch on the plot that brings out characters together; writing love letters for their classmates. With all of the angst and set backs that happened along the way, I thought this plot would end one of two ways, but instead neither thing happened and it just left me wondering, what was the point of it all??
With those issues in mind, I don't know exactly how this book would have worked for me. Perhaps Jasper being less of a prick. Perhaps a better conclusion to the issues between communication on the two campuses. Perhaps side characters (especially the mom and Delilah) that feel more like real people instead of props. It's not that this was a /bad/ book, and I hope it finds its audience. I fully realize I am not the target audience and am highly analytical, so the issues I have with reasons behind character actions may not bother others. I hate to give this a "bad" rating, especially to a trans author and book I was so anticipating, but I do have to be honest about my thoughts. Thanks so much to Macmillan Children's for the chance to read this book early.
February 19, 2026
(3.5, but rounding it up to 4) Despite its many flaws, I had so much fun with this book! There are certainly a few plot holes and things that just don't add up, but the book was entertaining enough that I was able to overlook them.
July 1, 2025
I wish I loved it more.
--------
"Two roommates. One secret. A lot of love letters."
A LOT OF LOVE LETTERS???? I'M IN, GIVE IT TO ME
--------
"Two roommates. One secret. A lot of love letters."
A LOT OF LOVE LETTERS???? I'M IN, GIVE IT TO ME
Want to read
October 14, 2024This covers goes CRAZYYY
March 26, 2025
However campy you think this book is, think campier. No, seriously. There's a twelve-year-old who calls himself Blaze Alpha Destroyer (Of Worlds) and speaks with the cadence and vocabulary of a medieval knight in shining armor in this book, and he's not even close to being the protagonist. I had a splendid (and, at some points, bizarre) time reading this book, and I can't wait to see what Page cooks up next.
March 17, 2025
rating — 1.5 out of 5 stars.
no one is more disappointed about this rating than me. i’ve had this book on my tbr for literal years (genuinely since like 2022/2023), but it did not live up to my expectations at all :( i spent so much of the book waiting — waiting to see a speck of chemistry between charlie and jasper, waiting for charlie to show us some of those famous brains of his. seriously, how the fuck did he beat out thousands of people for this scholarship just to have this school beat his ass constantly? i understand the adjustment period makes narrative sense for anyone in a new place, but having him constantly be intimidated by everyone’s brains when HE is supposed to be genius-level felt a little silly.
one of the best ways i can describe reading this is that it felt like the author had a fabulous time brainstorming for this book, but struggled to string everything together. it felt like a lot of energy was spent on coming up with things that were supposed to be funny or ~quirky~ or whatever that didn’t quite land for me (things like robby’s horse trading cards or blaze’s entire deal. which was exhausting, by the way). i really loved the concept of the book, and there was a lot of possibility with STRIP and the whole ranking system (the whole silliness of the valentine homages throughout the school!! the pin thing!! obsessed with that) but the execution fell so flat for me.
don’t even get me started on there being not one, but TWO hugely famous 15 year old poets associated with this academy. lmfao. i don’t care how good of a school it is, how the fuck are P.M. and jasper selling tens of thousands of their rupi kaur knockoff poetry??? how did they get these pub deals?? one of my niche pet peeves in books is when characters randomly have a huge social media presence for no reason. why the hell does jasper have one million followers? ONE MILLION? the school famously does not allow phones during the school year, so how the hell did he get those? what does he even do? sorry if this is nitpicky, but it’s something that always irritates me so i’m hyper aware of it. it’s easier to let things like that go when the book is good otherwise, but there really wasn’t much i liked about it. please don’t text, i’m in mourning about it.
thank you to netgalley & the publisher for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
no one is more disappointed about this rating than me. i’ve had this book on my tbr for literal years (genuinely since like 2022/2023), but it did not live up to my expectations at all :( i spent so much of the book waiting — waiting to see a speck of chemistry between charlie and jasper, waiting for charlie to show us some of those famous brains of his. seriously, how the fuck did he beat out thousands of people for this scholarship just to have this school beat his ass constantly? i understand the adjustment period makes narrative sense for anyone in a new place, but having him constantly be intimidated by everyone’s brains when HE is supposed to be genius-level felt a little silly.
one of the best ways i can describe reading this is that it felt like the author had a fabulous time brainstorming for this book, but struggled to string everything together. it felt like a lot of energy was spent on coming up with things that were supposed to be funny or ~quirky~ or whatever that didn’t quite land for me (things like robby’s horse trading cards or blaze’s entire deal. which was exhausting, by the way). i really loved the concept of the book, and there was a lot of possibility with STRIP and the whole ranking system (the whole silliness of the valentine homages throughout the school!! the pin thing!! obsessed with that) but the execution fell so flat for me.
don’t even get me started on there being not one, but TWO hugely famous 15 year old poets associated with this academy. lmfao. i don’t care how good of a school it is, how the fuck are P.M. and jasper selling tens of thousands of their rupi kaur knockoff poetry??? how did they get these pub deals?? one of my niche pet peeves in books is when characters randomly have a huge social media presence for no reason. why the hell does jasper have one million followers? ONE MILLION? the school famously does not allow phones during the school year, so how the hell did he get those? what does he even do? sorry if this is nitpicky, but it’s something that always irritates me so i’m hyper aware of it. it’s easier to let things like that go when the book is good otherwise, but there really wasn’t much i liked about it. please don’t text, i’m in mourning about it.
thank you to netgalley & the publisher for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Want to read
October 27, 2022The author has said this book is this image, and I'm screaming a little:
June 1, 2025
if Heartstopper is charming, this was just cute. However, I can see the ya audience ignoring the limitations of the genre.
Want to read
March 14, 2026Oh my gosh. I freaking love this title. Fingers crossed that the book lives up to it!!!
June 4, 2025
As a gay trans man, I was very excited by the premise of this book, especially as I have been disappointed by most of the FtM representation I’ve seen in books before. I remain disappointed. I’m starting with the trans representation because many other reviews are commenting that it “seemed authentic” and, coming from a trans man, no, it didn’t. First of all, it created many plot holes. There is just no way Charlie could have come out, started hormones, gotten top surgery, and changed his legal sex and name in just 1-2 years while being under 16. There is also no way that the principal at his school is unaware that he is trans since he went to camp at the institution pre-transition and presumably applied while early in transition if he then deferred for a year. All schools but especially boarding schools require a lot of legal documentation for their students.
Beyond the obvious plot holes (which, coming from a trans male author are really inexcusable), Charlie’s transness is written in such an annoying way. Why is he weaker (and dumber) than almost everyone else? I know not every trans guy is athletic, but come on, why is there so much focus on how weak he is compared to all these pubescent cis guys? And why does he use his transition as an excuse to act so weird? Makes no sense for him to want to “avoid the spotlight” but then proceed to act deranged in every normal social situation. Not eating in the dining hall ever? Surviving off breadsticks (well, maybe that explains the inability to do basic fitness)? As someone who has been stealth as a trans man, it does you no favors to act weird and not like the other guys. He’s giving Amanda Bynes in “She’s the Man” and that is not a good sign for trans representation.
I guess it’s somewhat redeeming that all the side characters were also absurd, because maybe it balances out the weirdness of our trans protagonist, but beyond that, these side characters annoyed me. Many other reviews have gone into their unrealisticness and flatness so I won’t, but be warned.
YA lit has gotten very formulaic nowadays, and it’s very frustrating. People seem to randomly generate 6 quirky characters and 1 quirky setting and then write a main character with absolutely no self awareness or critical thinking skills and pull together a book full of plot holes, clichés, unfunny attempts at humor, clunky attempts at figurative language, and few redeeming qualities. Genuinely, who is greenlighting these books? Where are the editors?
I’m tired of reading trans books where the author wanted to write about a trans person and seemingly had no plan beyond that. I’m tired of badly-written books gaining readership and following just because the trans community is so desperate for anything about us. At this point I only read books like this to motivate me to write something better.
Beyond the obvious plot holes (which, coming from a trans male author are really inexcusable), Charlie’s transness is written in such an annoying way. Why is he weaker (and dumber) than almost everyone else? I know not every trans guy is athletic, but come on, why is there so much focus on how weak he is compared to all these pubescent cis guys? And why does he use his transition as an excuse to act so weird? Makes no sense for him to want to “avoid the spotlight” but then proceed to act deranged in every normal social situation. Not eating in the dining hall ever? Surviving off breadsticks (well, maybe that explains the inability to do basic fitness)? As someone who has been stealth as a trans man, it does you no favors to act weird and not like the other guys. He’s giving Amanda Bynes in “She’s the Man” and that is not a good sign for trans representation.
I guess it’s somewhat redeeming that all the side characters were also absurd, because maybe it balances out the weirdness of our trans protagonist, but beyond that, these side characters annoyed me. Many other reviews have gone into their unrealisticness and flatness so I won’t, but be warned.
YA lit has gotten very formulaic nowadays, and it’s very frustrating. People seem to randomly generate 6 quirky characters and 1 quirky setting and then write a main character with absolutely no self awareness or critical thinking skills and pull together a book full of plot holes, clichés, unfunny attempts at humor, clunky attempts at figurative language, and few redeeming qualities. Genuinely, who is greenlighting these books? Where are the editors?
I’m tired of reading trans books where the author wanted to write about a trans person and seemingly had no plan beyond that. I’m tired of badly-written books gaining readership and following just because the trans community is so desperate for anything about us. At this point I only read books like this to motivate me to write something better.
July 19, 2025
how i decide to read books:
*scrolling through goodreads*
"... And They Were Roommates... cliché fanfic title... no thanks"
*accidentally glimpses at synopsis*
"a TRANS BOY???? take my money 💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰"
-> first impressions am i right, should have stayed with my opinion of “cliché fanfic title, no thanks”. should also stay away from YA romance, i say for the 173739th time. i’ll never learn.
*scrolling through goodreads*
"... And They Were Roommates... cliché fanfic title... no thanks"
*accidentally glimpses at synopsis*
"a TRANS BOY???? take my money 💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰"
-> first impressions am i right, should have stayed with my opinion of “cliché fanfic title, no thanks”. should also stay away from YA romance, i say for the 173739th time. i’ll never learn.
January 18, 2026
I received an ARC from Edelweiss
4.2
Page Powars yet again delivers on slightly goofy, queer joy-filled YA romance!
This book is very cute, and dynamic between the main character and their love interest- their friend turned sorta ex turned roommate who doesn’t know who they are due to them having come out as trans since they last saw each other- is phenomenal. The history between them plus the fact that it’s a secret plus the growing romance even as the main character stays totally reluctant to let this person in- that all equals a hell of a compelling read!
I thought the boarding school vibe was fun too, and brought some fun tension as a setting with its traditions and rankings and the pure tension of being surrounded by cis guys. I felt like the actual group was full of fun dudes, reminiscent of The Borrow a Boyfriend Club.
On a side note, I would really love to be able to read this book from Jasper’s point of view, because that boy was going through it.
I did feel like there were some odd choices, particularly in the dialogue. Cracking down on Blaze’s eccentricities made some of the scenes feel just entirely hard to take seriously, and Jasper’s commitment to formal speech made him feel a bit like a caricature at times.
I also thought the choice to end it so abruptly was surprising.
I mostly wish we had gotten to know a bit more about Jasper’s side of things. I want to know why he was interested in the first place, and why he fell for him all over again. Because he did at times feel like a caricature, it would have been easier to see him as a full person if his actual feelings could have come into play more.
Pre-review comments below
"about a trans teen trying to keep a low profile at his all-boys boarding school, which proves difficult once he starts rooming with the strict principal's charming son, who's also his former summer camp fling from before he transitioned."
*literally vibrating* I am just slightly excited 👀
Update 10/22/24 HELL YEAH ARCS RELEASED GIMMEEEEE
4.2
Page Powars yet again delivers on slightly goofy, queer joy-filled YA romance!
This book is very cute, and dynamic between the main character and their love interest- their friend turned sorta ex turned roommate who doesn’t know who they are due to them having come out as trans since they last saw each other- is phenomenal. The history between them plus the fact that it’s a secret plus the growing romance even as the main character stays totally reluctant to let this person in- that all equals a hell of a compelling read!
I thought the boarding school vibe was fun too, and brought some fun tension as a setting with its traditions and rankings and the pure tension of being surrounded by cis guys. I felt like the actual group was full of fun dudes, reminiscent of The Borrow a Boyfriend Club.
On a side note, I would really love to be able to read this book from Jasper’s point of view, because that boy was going through it.
I did feel like there were some odd choices, particularly in the dialogue. Cracking down on Blaze’s eccentricities made some of the scenes feel just entirely hard to take seriously, and Jasper’s commitment to formal speech made him feel a bit like a caricature at times.
I also thought the choice to end it so abruptly was surprising.
I mostly wish we had gotten to know a bit more about Jasper’s side of things. I want to know why he was interested in the first place, and why he fell for him all over again. Because he did at times feel like a caricature, it would have been easier to see him as a full person if his actual feelings could have come into play more.
Pre-review comments below
"about a trans teen trying to keep a low profile at his all-boys boarding school, which proves difficult once he starts rooming with the strict principal's charming son, who's also his former summer camp fling from before he transitioned."
*literally vibrating* I am just slightly excited 👀
Update 10/22/24 HELL YEAH ARCS RELEASED GIMMEEEEE
June 20, 2025
2.5 Stars ✨
This was a cute and fun read! I just wish there was more chemistry between the two main characters and I would've loved it more if all characters felt more like real people instead of caricature-like characters, their main purpose was to be quirky and funny but they add nothing to the story. And the romance felt a bit boring in the beginning only for it to become rushed by the end of the book.
This book had so much potential! I loved how Charlie was trying to hide his identity while living with his roommate, Jasper, the one who broke his heart before his transition. The whole premise was interesting and fun but I wish I would've enjoyed it more.
This was a cute and fun read! I just wish there was more chemistry between the two main characters and I would've loved it more if all characters felt more like real people instead of caricature-like characters, their main purpose was to be quirky and funny but they add nothing to the story. And the romance felt a bit boring in the beginning only for it to become rushed by the end of the book.
This book had so much potential! I loved how Charlie was trying to hide his identity while living with his roommate, Jasper, the one who broke his heart before his transition. The whole premise was interesting and fun but I wish I would've enjoyed it more.
December 8, 2025
2025 Goodreads Choice Awards (Mai's Version) - Readers' Favorite Young Adult Fiction
🏆 2025 Goodreads Choice Awards | Opening Round Nominees | Readers' Favorite Young Adult Fiction
Pride Month 2025 #2
🍦 🍓 The Ripped Bodice's 9th Annual Summer Romance Bingo 🕶️ 🏄🏼
/ They Were Roommates
I love a pretentious private school boy. I blame Strake Jesuit. IYKYK
Well, well. Like I said in my LOVE IN FOCUS review, guess it's not second chance romance I hate. Just straight second chance romance.
Charlie is a closeted trans boy who is a transfer to Valentine Academy for Boys. Even though he requested a single room, he ends up roommates with Jasper Grimes, the boy who broke him before he transitioned. Chaos ensues.
While I didn't love every second, I did love a lot of it. YA is sometimes tough for me, but I did empathize with the internal struggles. I have different internal struggles, but we're all struggling, yeah?
And, god, Jasper. Blond. Middle part. Soft. Spicy. Poet. He'd 100% live in Silver Lake if he were a LA boy. And I, too, would've fallen so hard. But no. Bad. Don't. At me, not Charlie.
Is this a review? Are any of my reviews reviews? Why are you friends with me? Why do you follow me? Who knows?
🎧 Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Young Listeners
🏆 2025 Goodreads Choice Awards | Opening Round Nominees | Readers' Favorite Young Adult Fiction
Pride Month 2025 #2
🍦 🍓 The Ripped Bodice's 9th Annual Summer Romance Bingo 🕶️ 🏄🏼
/ They Were Roommates
I love a pretentious private school boy. I blame Strake Jesuit. IYKYK
Well, well. Like I said in my LOVE IN FOCUS review, guess it's not second chance romance I hate. Just straight second chance romance.
Charlie is a closeted trans boy who is a transfer to Valentine Academy for Boys. Even though he requested a single room, he ends up roommates with Jasper Grimes, the boy who broke him before he transitioned. Chaos ensues.
While I didn't love every second, I did love a lot of it. YA is sometimes tough for me, but I did empathize with the internal struggles. I have different internal struggles, but we're all struggling, yeah?
And, god, Jasper. Blond. Middle part. Soft. Spicy. Poet. He'd 100% live in Silver Lake if he were a LA boy. And I, too, would've fallen so hard. But no. Bad. Don't. At me, not Charlie.
Is this a review? Are any of my reviews reviews? Why are you friends with me? Why do you follow me? Who knows?
🎧 Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Young Listeners
March 9, 2025
I loved this SO MUCH
June 11, 2025
i would kill a man for jasper grimes
March 22, 2025
1 Sentence Summary: On Charlie’s first day of school at Valentine Academy for Boys, his plan to hide his identity as the school’s only trans student comes crumbling down when he is assigned Jasper Grimes as a roommate—the boy who broke Charlie’s heart the summer before he transitioned; at least Jasper doesn’t recognize Charlie, but how long will he be able to pull this off without revealing himself?
My Thoughts: 3.5 stars rounded up! The whole premise of this book was absurd, but in a funny/entertaining way. My main complaint was that I wasn’t very invested in the romance because I found the love interest, Jasper, to be so obnoxious.
Overall, this was a fun read full of secret clubs, boarding school shenanigans, stress & panic, crazy schemes, poetry writing, new friends, trans representation, and teenage romance.
I did like the author’s first book, The Borrow a Boyfriend Club, a lot better, but this one was still pretty good.
Recommend to: Fans of boarding school romance and love letters.
(Warnings: swearing)
***
thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me an eARC in exchange for an honest review
My Thoughts: 3.5 stars rounded up! The whole premise of this book was absurd, but in a funny/entertaining way. My main complaint was that I wasn’t very invested in the romance because I found the love interest, Jasper, to be so obnoxious.
Overall, this was a fun read full of secret clubs, boarding school shenanigans, stress & panic, crazy schemes, poetry writing, new friends, trans representation, and teenage romance.
I did like the author’s first book, The Borrow a Boyfriend Club, a lot better, but this one was still pretty good.
Recommend to: Fans of boarding school romance and love letters.
(Warnings: swearing)
***
thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me an eARC in exchange for an honest review
March 10, 2025
I have found my favorite read of the year so far!!! I read and loved Page Powars' debut novel so I was over the moon to see he was writing another. I said this in my review of his first book the borrow a boyfriend club, but i just think Page Powars and I have the exact same humor. Everything in this book just hit! The humor? HIT. The setting? HIT. The plot? HIT. The characters?? HIT HIT HIT HIT. I was so excited by just the premise alone, and it was executed so well. I loved Charlie and jasper so much it's not even funny. They felt like such real people, especially Charlie. The way Charlie's emotions were portrayed were just really relatable and felt real. Jasper is just iconic, he's so silly and goofy but also true to himself which i loved. More than anything i just found myself constantly thinking about this book whenever i was away from home. It was living r e n t free in the brain mush. Adding Page Powars to the roster of grocery list authors.
Want to read
December 10, 2021
June 7, 2025
god this book is so fucking boring i spaced out on the second half and somehow nothing confuses me because the characters are so bland, the romance is so nothingburger, and the story is so weird but in a way that's just forgettable and not worth paying attention to. such a shame
June 6, 2025
this was just cute and gay. i couldn't ask for better! a perfect pride month read <3
June 25, 2025
⚠ !! SPOILERS THROUGH OUT THE ENTIRE REVIEW !! ⚠
What And They Were Roommates means to me: Don't be scared of confrontation and to respect yourself and others. When you're constantly pushing yourself in an unhealthy way, it doesn't just hurt you, but others as well.
Pros:
- Characters were very fleshed out
- This was FUNNY. I laughed out loud multiple times
- The cover art is SO SO pretty. Like for real does anyone know if the artist posts online?? I LOVE the style
- OH MY GOSH LUIS??? I LOVE HIM. From what I can infer he is religious and queer (I'm guessing Christian or Catholic?? From his cross necklace and The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit motion he did.) AND I NEVER see that representation. It was great, Luis is great, I love him.
- First Person POV!!!!! (I just like books with that POV)
- CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT!!! It is real, and Powars did an amazing job writing it.
Cons:
- I was on a Speech & Debate trip while reading the majority of this, and literally anyone who saw me reading it (NOT JUST MY OWN TEAM?? Like, OTHER COMPETITORS from my district to other states??) asked if it was gay smut. I CANNOT LIVE IN THIS SOCIETY. When I flew home from the trip, I had to take the dust cover off though. I fear my parents WOULD take the book away, because they are #Homophobic <\3
- Eli is the reason why varsity members think novices are weird (I say this as if I wasn't a novice literally a few months ago)
- Charlie PMO sometimes, but that is SUPPOSED to happen, as if a MC has no flaws, that's boring. Just Charlie REALLY PMO because how is this man so dense bru <\3
Anyway I am BEGGING for a sequel, I am INVESTED
What And They Were Roommates means to me: Don't be scared of confrontation and to respect yourself and others. When you're constantly pushing yourself in an unhealthy way, it doesn't just hurt you, but others as well.
Pros:
- Characters were very fleshed out
- This was FUNNY. I laughed out loud multiple times
- The cover art is SO SO pretty. Like for real does anyone know if the artist posts online?? I LOVE the style
- OH MY GOSH LUIS??? I LOVE HIM. From what I can infer he is religious and queer (I'm guessing Christian or Catholic?? From his cross necklace and The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit motion he did.) AND I NEVER see that representation. It was great, Luis is great, I love him.
- First Person POV!!!!! (I just like books with that POV)
- CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT!!! It is real, and Powars did an amazing job writing it.
Cons:
- I was on a Speech & Debate trip while reading the majority of this, and literally anyone who saw me reading it (NOT JUST MY OWN TEAM?? Like, OTHER COMPETITORS from my district to other states??) asked if it was gay smut. I CANNOT LIVE IN THIS SOCIETY. When I flew home from the trip, I had to take the dust cover off though. I fear my parents WOULD take the book away, because they are #Homophobic <\3
- Eli is the reason why varsity members think novices are weird (I say this as if I wasn't a novice literally a few months ago)
- Charlie PMO sometimes, but that is SUPPOSED to happen, as if a MC has no flaws, that's boring. Just Charlie REALLY PMO because how is this man so dense bru <\3
Anyway I am BEGGING for a sequel, I am INVESTED
Read
January 23, 2025I'm sorry. I loved Page Powars fluffy debut and was ready for more of the same. But sadly, I didn't like And They Were Roommates as much as The Borrow a Boyfriend Club, and I decided to DNF at 22%.
I liked the writing, and I liked having two trans characters (especially at times like these). But what I didn't like was that Page Powars's fluffiness and wit were set in tenth gear. This story was just too over the top for me, and I didn't particularly like Jasper.
But hey, if you like goofy and rather dramatic personalities, then this might be the book for you!
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I liked the writing, and I liked having two trans characters (especially at times like these). But what I didn't like was that Page Powars's fluffiness and wit were set in tenth gear. This story was just too over the top for me, and I didn't particularly like Jasper.
But hey, if you like goofy and rather dramatic personalities, then this might be the book for you!
Follow me on Instagram
September 21, 2025
2.5 stars
I am so sorry. I wanted to love this, I really did. The premise is elite, but I can only suspend my disbelief so much.
I mean, the premise, yeah I can believe that.
The 16-year old love interest, Jasper, is some sort of best-selling poet? Umm. Ok, I guess.
Who was voted "Sexiest Poet of the Year?" Ok first of all wtf why, this is a minor.
Who apparently has a million followers and rabid fans. Ok, well, he's a poet and I don't think poetry is that popular but whatever.
Whose rival is also a best-selling 16-year old poet. Damn, how many people are really looking to buy a 16-year old's poetry?
And most egregious of all, whose debut poetry book was titled Love is a Broken Party Clown!! NO. NO. I can't abide by that. That is my last straw. This is the title of the poetry book that sold thousands and made this guy famous??? This is fake. Take me out.
Pre-read*⁀➷
This looks so fun, I love this premise! A second chance-romance with the guy who broke his heart? And they're roommates? And the heart-breaker doesn't recognize the MC after his transition? Sign me up.
I am so sorry. I wanted to love this, I really did. The premise is elite, but I can only suspend my disbelief so much.
I mean, the premise, yeah I can believe that.
The 16-year old love interest, Jasper, is some sort of best-selling poet? Umm. Ok, I guess.
Who was voted "Sexiest Poet of the Year?" Ok first of all wtf why, this is a minor.
Who apparently has a million followers and rabid fans. Ok, well, he's a poet and I don't think poetry is that popular but whatever.
Whose rival is also a best-selling 16-year old poet. Damn, how many people are really looking to buy a 16-year old's poetry?
And most egregious of all, whose debut poetry book was titled Love is a Broken Party Clown!! NO. NO. I can't abide by that. That is my last straw. This is the title of the poetry book that sold thousands and made this guy famous??? This is fake. Take me out.
Pre-read*⁀➷
This looks so fun, I love this premise! A second chance-romance with the guy who broke his heart? And they're roommates? And the heart-breaker doesn't recognize the MC after his transition? Sign me up.
April 19, 2025
THANK YOU NETGALLEY FOR MAKING ME UNWELL
UGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG THIS BOOK MADE ME LAUGH
AND TORE ME APART
I WAS SCREAMING
I WAS LAUGHING
I AM IN TEARS
ITS BEEN ROUGH OKAY
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
UGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG THIS BOOK MADE ME LAUGH
AND TORE ME APART
I WAS SCREAMING
I WAS LAUGHING
I AM IN TEARS
ITS BEEN ROUGH OKAY
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
July 1, 2025
‧₊˚ 🍂 ᭪ started 29.05.25
˖ finished 31.05.25
❝you love me?❞
❝i never stopped.❞
˖ finished 31.05.25
❝you love me?❞
❝i never stopped.❞
February 14, 2025
Needed a pick-me-up today and I knew this would deliver. While reading, I kept thinking how fun this would be as a movie. It reminded me of She's the Man but with an actually trans main character. Page Powars writes such funny books, verging on ridiculous but with enough heart to still give them enough depth. This has some similarities with his previous book in terms of the secret club only the students know about, but it's also wholly its own thing.
May 22, 2025
firstly, thank you to the publisher for an arc and an alc!
i stumbled upon this book after seeing the author describe it on their insta, and was immediately enamored by the title, which those who spent hours on vine back in 2014-2016 will remember fondly.
i loved this queer YA novel with an academic setting, and am always reminded how grateful i am to no longer have the stress of academics, extra-circulars, and maintaining scholarships looming over my shoulder like our mmc charlie does.
my only disappointment with this book was the miscommunication!! my most hated trope, but overall the rest of the book was such a fun time.
as for the audio, the narrator did a fantastic job!
i stumbled upon this book after seeing the author describe it on their insta, and was immediately enamored by the title, which those who spent hours on vine back in 2014-2016 will remember fondly.
i loved this queer YA novel with an academic setting, and am always reminded how grateful i am to no longer have the stress of academics, extra-circulars, and maintaining scholarships looming over my shoulder like our mmc charlie does.
my only disappointment with this book was the miscommunication!! my most hated trope, but overall the rest of the book was such a fun time.
as for the audio, the narrator did a fantastic job!
March 23, 2025
I’d been looking forward to this book for a long time because it sounded like such an interesting premise. Charlie, a young trans guy, is living stealth at his new all boys boarding school only to be put in a room with Jasper, the boy who broke his heart years ago at summer camp. But Jasper doesn’t recognize Charlie after his transition. What will happen if he figures out Charlie’s secret… and will sparks fly between the two again as they have to work together writing love letters on behalf of the other students at school?
I’m honestly so sad that I didn’t end up enjoying this book more. But I found it hard to concentrate on the parts I was liking, because what annoyed me about the book just overpowered my reading experience. So many of the side characters were ridiculous caricatures instead of actual people. There were too many kooky, quirky characters and situations for me to be able to feel invested in what was going on because nothing felt real. Additionally, I didn’t feel like the chemistry and romance between Charlie and Jasper was developed enough. It was so rushed at the end. The plot about the love letters seemed like it was overtaking the book to the point where there wasn’t enough time for character development or moving the zany caricatures into fleshed out people.
I think if the book sounds interesting to you and you know that you enjoy a sillier tone in books then this might work for you. The story about academic pressures, being closeted in a traditional institution, and healing from old heartbreak does still shine through all the wacky situations in the book at times.
Thank you to the publisher for providing an advance copy via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
I’m honestly so sad that I didn’t end up enjoying this book more. But I found it hard to concentrate on the parts I was liking, because what annoyed me about the book just overpowered my reading experience. So many of the side characters were ridiculous caricatures instead of actual people. There were too many kooky, quirky characters and situations for me to be able to feel invested in what was going on because nothing felt real. Additionally, I didn’t feel like the chemistry and romance between Charlie and Jasper was developed enough. It was so rushed at the end. The plot about the love letters seemed like it was overtaking the book to the point where there wasn’t enough time for character development or moving the zany caricatures into fleshed out people.
I think if the book sounds interesting to you and you know that you enjoy a sillier tone in books then this might work for you. The story about academic pressures, being closeted in a traditional institution, and healing from old heartbreak does still shine through all the wacky situations in the book at times.
Thank you to the publisher for providing an advance copy via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
June 26, 2025
Note: if you liked this book or are the author, please do not read this review. I respect the author, and am glad for the trans rep, however I do express many negative thoughts and frustrations in the following paragraphs.
rlly wanted to like this but the world is extremely flat and the boarding school setting is not nearly interesting enough to carry the setting required by the story. Charlie feels like the 20th photocopy-faded version of a would-be Richard Papen, I couldn’t bring myself to care about him at all, and the love interest? Jasper Grimes? Ridiculous in the worst way, felt like a cliché straight out of a 2000s anime dub. Jasper ruins this book most of all. I really feel like if the author had written a character that WAS NOT the half-assed twink version of Glinda from Wicked, this book would be more bearable. Have Jasper be an asshole! Have him be a spoiled rich douchebag or a neurotic study freak or SOMETHING that allows me to give a shit about him, because what was he in this story? On one hand he’s a fashion model princeling who has to beat his suitors off with a stick, but then he’s a genius with photographic memory, but THEN he’s secretly been in love with Charlie for years? And what’s that, the MEGA FAMOUS poetry collection was actually a love letter to our protagonist this entire time? No way wowwwww I’m dazzled! In no way is this compelling.
The only aspect of this book I initially cared about was the secret love letter delivery club, ‘STRIP’ (an acronym which services a single sex joke in chapter 5). I thought the story would actually criticise the useless antics of rich boys in boarding school, with how seriously they take this ‘tradition’ that their ‘forefathers (from the 20th century) fought for’ like are you serious? Are you. Serious. ‘STRIP’ could hypothetically make sense a way for us to resonate with Charlie, seeing these dumb kids taking themselves wayyy too seriously while Charlie is here in the trenches being our Everyman™️ trying to make it in this crazy rich-kid world. But no. No no nooooooo. ‘STRIP’ is actually so cool bc it gives Charlie friends. And it helps people fall in love. And the stupid love letters are actually the entire plot. Like… am I just a joyless person? Because I’m physically incapable of pretending this is a meaningful plot.
Since, here’s the thing. We had some cool setup. Even with the MC’s unrealistic transition (in one year?) and how he’s pretty much a shapeshifter who looks fully cis and is UNRECOGNISABLE, we have promise. We’re here with a hope and a dream. Except… our boy’s only goal in life is to pass as cis at this school and read books. That’s it. Really, you may be asking? Yeah, I’m not kidding. If he’s at the point where he’s confident in being able to go stealth for YEARS at this boarding school, why is every other sentence just him waiting to be found out? My brother you are here BECAUSE you know you pass as cis! Why is this his only goal? ‘My goal is to pass as a cis dude at this boy’s boarding school, which I only go to BECAUSE I already pass as cis?’ Good for you! You’ve completed your task, now wtf are you here for? Well, to fall in love with blondie from the cover of this book, of course! God. I can’t.
And, sidenote, it’s just thrown around as a given fact that Charlie created this whole non-profit tutoring thing in NYC. So he’s super cool and everything. Right? And this would have happened, what, when he was 15? Sure. In this universe let’s assume teenagers run the government or whatever, the age thing isn’t the issue. Charlie does a whole year of online school since he wants to learn how to pass as cis, this is the explicit reason for his deferral to Valentine Academy. Within the story, he’s got anxiety being around other people as he is worried about not passing. So WHEN and WHY did he develop the social skills to create a non-profit organisation which apparently raised THOUSANDS of dollars for tutoring in NYC? Because he’s not rich. He allegedly helps his mom run her failing bookstore whenever he has free time. He doesn’t have a particularly philanthropic personality, as we see with his communication issues with his ‘best friend’ Delilah. He acts like he hasn’t interacted with a guy his age, ever. (I mean, the guy acts like he’s never shaken someone’s hand before). It’s mentioned that his dad cheated on his mother and ran off, and there’s never any family (except grandparents) mentioned, so… why? Why does this nerdy kid whose sole passion in life is ‘books’ do any of this stuff? Because it’s not making him any money, and he doesn’t seem to care about it once he’s at school… So why? Do you see what I’m saying? Why is this even a thing in the story when it’s at BEST tacked on like an afterthought? We didn’t need this AT ALL but the story craves a Mary-Sue / Gary-Stu to fill the inherent void in its logic.
An aspect of Charlie that I think was supposed to come through more was that he’s good at tutoring, and especially good with kids. Cool. Is this ever relevant? He has a few aimless convos with Blaze, the 12 year old genius who skipped like four grades to be here — by the way, in what world is a 12 year old child sharing an en-suite room with a 16/17 year old? WTF? My suspension of disbelief does not get paid enough for this.
(Blaze is a child who speaks in edgelord YA vocab, and his purpose is to be either endearing — so Charlie can give older brother energy — or so incredibly cringe that Charlie looks better by comparison. I liked Blaze... for the first ten chapters. After that, I found him grating and unecessary to the plot, like every other member of 'STRIP'. If I'm being honest, Xavier was the only likeable character in this entire novel, since his personality traits are so limited that there's less room to mess him up.)
And yeah, the tutoring – Charlie accomplishes the great feat of, wait for it, making friends through tutoring at the Academy, which is treated like he’s the second coming of Gandhi or something. This KID is tutoring other KIDS because the principal TOLD HIM TO. Wow, let’s give him an award! Let’s give him a boyfriend! Let’s give him an unearned sense of accomplishment after doing, what? Studying and pining for 42 chapters? Why would anyone give a single shit about Charlie in this world? In a better novel, where Charlie is hiding all real aspects of himself from his classmates, while still giving the reader a insider look into his mind, at least WE'D care about him, but this version of the character fails to accomplish even that. He's just a guy who creates problems for himself by being sixteen and cringe.
This brings me back the central issue that all these other ones stem from – Valentine Academy. It’s presented to us as this insanely elitist school with its own vocabulary and grossly rich alumni whose kids land on campus and get funnelled into Ivy-league colleges. Yeah, cool. This is great! This would be a fun place to put our struggling scholarship student, since there’s actual conflict to be had. For a good example, see: Adam Parrish from The Raven Cycle (M. Steifvater)
But that’s not what the academy is, because the story wants to be tooth-rotting fluff on AO3. Valentine goes from being a place of potential class conflict to a quirky Wonderland-esque place, without any of the wonder. Kids here are segregated by gender, don’t have their phones, and apparently study 24/7 to be publicly ranked by their grades. So here are the basic tenets of this setting, and why they don't work:
1. Girls can never talk to boys? Weird, but not really, because this is a cop-out for the author to never have to deal with the women, or, sorry, 'womenfolk' (chapter 25) with the excuse of Tradition and Academia and Elitism. Sure, the sister school is a huge plot point, but do we give a shit? Do we know anything about the girls to whom Charlie and Jasper write love letters for? Do we get like, ANY names or faces? Or, given that Charlie's mom was an alumni here and he went to their summer camp, doesn't he know any girls here at all?? Delilah doesn't count, sorry. She's a cardboard cutout that exists for Charlie to lean against and say, 'Oh, Delilah, we're really in it now.' It's ridiculous that we don't get any insight on the girls school — if V.A has 'STRIP', wouldn't there be a similar sister branch? And how do the boys even communicate with the girls enough to be able to pass on the letters? There's no way of communicating at all, so how would they know when to pick it up? Well, we'll never know, since women in this world only exist to talk to Charlie when it's relevant or 'date' background characters. FFS.
And are you telling me that the boys at V.A even care about the girls they're dating? Because here's the issue:
Either they do, in which case, why wouldn't they actually write their own letters? Sure, you can get TEMU Draco Malfoy to do it, but what's the point? To stay together until they can meet? To meet and what, get laid? If they're so horny, why aren't all the letters just sexts in letter form?
The other option is that: no, the boys don't care about their girlfriends and are doing this for shits and giggles, in which case, why don't they pay 'STRIP' for the letter courier, and why do 'STRIP' take it so seriously? This is the dumbest plot contrivance of all time. But wait, it gets worse.
2. V.A has an extremely rich student body with like, one scholarship kid per year, chosen from THOUSANDS. Alright, cool – so then why is everyone else so desperate to rank with high grades? Why would ALL these rich boys care so much about class rankings, when they know they’re going to get into Harvard anyway? They wouldn’t, because this is an elitist school where half of them ‘own’ school buildings (see: Blaze 'Dixon' who's family donated the food hall). It's to the point where ALL the students study ALL the time, the gym is always dead empty, and nobody ever drinks or sneaks off campus, ever. Are you serious? Has the author ever meet a teenager before? Firstly, even in a regular school, this would be dumb. There's always going to be dropouts or troublemakers or athletes, and nowhere on earth is an entire student body as homogenous as this one. Second, these are all trust fund babies who literally OWN this school. Rules and grading would be incredibly flexible for the more influential students, specifically Jasper.
3. No phones allowed on campus, so the place feels separated from modern life. Well, bullshit, because these are high schoolers in 2025, and an elite institute would have at least computers. (You can’t pretend that tech doesn’t exist just to service the cutesy letter-writing schtick that half this book depends on.) These are meant to be rich brats, so of course they’d do what they wanted! Like have phones!! This isn’t a monastery, why would all these students accept the rules so easily? We never head about any non-scholarship kids suffering from stress or mental health shit. This means that there's a lot more leeway for non-scholarship students, ergo, there would be the possibility of sneaking tech onto campus. Which, if the plot was actually going to work, would mean that 'STRIP' would definitely abuse Jasper's privelege to have phones to help in their operations. But no. Awwww no. We can't have that in our Ouran Host Club ripoff novel. Naurrr. Can't deal with this fake logic that sets the foundation for this fake story.
This issues would make sense if the book actually took privilege and class into account, which it attempts but does not manage. For example, if the school had all these insane rules but blatantly ignored them for richer students (Jasper) and enforced them for Charlie, we’d get an actual sense of realism, and also we’d care more about Charlie being on scholarship. We already have the rule about scholarship students only being ALLOWED at Valentine if they stay within the top 5 rankings, which is an insane standard to hold any student to – this could be a way to show that Charlie ‘doesn’t belong’ here, not because he’s trans but because he’s just not a trust fund baby (despite actually being a legacy student). We could have barriers to his social life explicitly caused by being cis passing but still being poor. Having another trans character who can ‘afford’ to be open about it, or even just exist as a passing student, would show the disparity. Any romance you’d write with Jasper would have so many more layers of drama to it, given the intersectionality of Charlie’s transgenderism and class, and potentially race/sexuality as well (given that we’re supposed to assume he’s not white or straight). Any interactions he’d have within Valentine and ‘STRIP’ would have him code-switching with only the reader knowing his inner thoughts. With a novel that’s just 42 chapters of being in Charlie’s head, there has to be depth to the surrounding world and interactions for me to give a shit. But there just isn’t, and while we might get the occasional hint at a plot, it’s built on such shake foundations that it may as well not exist.
I’ll end this review by talking about Jasper Grimes, the perfect partner for Charlie. There are many instances of a book being shit while having a universally adored love interest or deuteragonist, but this is not one of them. Jasper and Charlie are perfect for each other because they are both written paper thin, and their emotional climax may as well have been the author stapling them together. Jasper could have been so much more than this half-assed nothing of a character. The best book that comes to mind is James Acker’s ‘Teenage Dirtbag’ with the character of Cameron. Please go read that book if you want quality character writing. Trust me guys, it is possible to write a borderline evil cheating blonde trust-fund twink in a YA novel, and I really hope the author’s next book achieves something more than this one.
rlly wanted to like this but the world is extremely flat and the boarding school setting is not nearly interesting enough to carry the setting required by the story. Charlie feels like the 20th photocopy-faded version of a would-be Richard Papen, I couldn’t bring myself to care about him at all, and the love interest? Jasper Grimes? Ridiculous in the worst way, felt like a cliché straight out of a 2000s anime dub. Jasper ruins this book most of all. I really feel like if the author had written a character that WAS NOT the half-assed twink version of Glinda from Wicked, this book would be more bearable. Have Jasper be an asshole! Have him be a spoiled rich douchebag or a neurotic study freak or SOMETHING that allows me to give a shit about him, because what was he in this story? On one hand he’s a fashion model princeling who has to beat his suitors off with a stick, but then he’s a genius with photographic memory, but THEN he’s secretly been in love with Charlie for years? And what’s that, the MEGA FAMOUS poetry collection was actually a love letter to our protagonist this entire time? No way wowwwww I’m dazzled! In no way is this compelling.
The only aspect of this book I initially cared about was the secret love letter delivery club, ‘STRIP’ (an acronym which services a single sex joke in chapter 5). I thought the story would actually criticise the useless antics of rich boys in boarding school, with how seriously they take this ‘tradition’ that their ‘forefathers (from the 20th century) fought for’ like are you serious? Are you. Serious. ‘STRIP’ could hypothetically make sense a way for us to resonate with Charlie, seeing these dumb kids taking themselves wayyy too seriously while Charlie is here in the trenches being our Everyman™️ trying to make it in this crazy rich-kid world. But no. No no nooooooo. ‘STRIP’ is actually so cool bc it gives Charlie friends. And it helps people fall in love. And the stupid love letters are actually the entire plot. Like… am I just a joyless person? Because I’m physically incapable of pretending this is a meaningful plot.
Since, here’s the thing. We had some cool setup. Even with the MC’s unrealistic transition (in one year?) and how he’s pretty much a shapeshifter who looks fully cis and is UNRECOGNISABLE, we have promise. We’re here with a hope and a dream. Except… our boy’s only goal in life is to pass as cis at this school and read books. That’s it. Really, you may be asking? Yeah, I’m not kidding. If he’s at the point where he’s confident in being able to go stealth for YEARS at this boarding school, why is every other sentence just him waiting to be found out? My brother you are here BECAUSE you know you pass as cis! Why is this his only goal? ‘My goal is to pass as a cis dude at this boy’s boarding school, which I only go to BECAUSE I already pass as cis?’ Good for you! You’ve completed your task, now wtf are you here for? Well, to fall in love with blondie from the cover of this book, of course! God. I can’t.
And, sidenote, it’s just thrown around as a given fact that Charlie created this whole non-profit tutoring thing in NYC. So he’s super cool and everything. Right? And this would have happened, what, when he was 15? Sure. In this universe let’s assume teenagers run the government or whatever, the age thing isn’t the issue. Charlie does a whole year of online school since he wants to learn how to pass as cis, this is the explicit reason for his deferral to Valentine Academy. Within the story, he’s got anxiety being around other people as he is worried about not passing. So WHEN and WHY did he develop the social skills to create a non-profit organisation which apparently raised THOUSANDS of dollars for tutoring in NYC? Because he’s not rich. He allegedly helps his mom run her failing bookstore whenever he has free time. He doesn’t have a particularly philanthropic personality, as we see with his communication issues with his ‘best friend’ Delilah. He acts like he hasn’t interacted with a guy his age, ever. (I mean, the guy acts like he’s never shaken someone’s hand before). It’s mentioned that his dad cheated on his mother and ran off, and there’s never any family (except grandparents) mentioned, so… why? Why does this nerdy kid whose sole passion in life is ‘books’ do any of this stuff? Because it’s not making him any money, and he doesn’t seem to care about it once he’s at school… So why? Do you see what I’m saying? Why is this even a thing in the story when it’s at BEST tacked on like an afterthought? We didn’t need this AT ALL but the story craves a Mary-Sue / Gary-Stu to fill the inherent void in its logic.
An aspect of Charlie that I think was supposed to come through more was that he’s good at tutoring, and especially good with kids. Cool. Is this ever relevant? He has a few aimless convos with Blaze, the 12 year old genius who skipped like four grades to be here — by the way, in what world is a 12 year old child sharing an en-suite room with a 16/17 year old? WTF? My suspension of disbelief does not get paid enough for this.
(Blaze is a child who speaks in edgelord YA vocab, and his purpose is to be either endearing — so Charlie can give older brother energy — or so incredibly cringe that Charlie looks better by comparison. I liked Blaze... for the first ten chapters. After that, I found him grating and unecessary to the plot, like every other member of 'STRIP'. If I'm being honest, Xavier was the only likeable character in this entire novel, since his personality traits are so limited that there's less room to mess him up.)
And yeah, the tutoring – Charlie accomplishes the great feat of, wait for it, making friends through tutoring at the Academy, which is treated like he’s the second coming of Gandhi or something. This KID is tutoring other KIDS because the principal TOLD HIM TO. Wow, let’s give him an award! Let’s give him a boyfriend! Let’s give him an unearned sense of accomplishment after doing, what? Studying and pining for 42 chapters? Why would anyone give a single shit about Charlie in this world? In a better novel, where Charlie is hiding all real aspects of himself from his classmates, while still giving the reader a insider look into his mind, at least WE'D care about him, but this version of the character fails to accomplish even that. He's just a guy who creates problems for himself by being sixteen and cringe.
This brings me back the central issue that all these other ones stem from – Valentine Academy. It’s presented to us as this insanely elitist school with its own vocabulary and grossly rich alumni whose kids land on campus and get funnelled into Ivy-league colleges. Yeah, cool. This is great! This would be a fun place to put our struggling scholarship student, since there’s actual conflict to be had. For a good example, see: Adam Parrish from The Raven Cycle (M. Steifvater)
But that’s not what the academy is, because the story wants to be tooth-rotting fluff on AO3. Valentine goes from being a place of potential class conflict to a quirky Wonderland-esque place, without any of the wonder. Kids here are segregated by gender, don’t have their phones, and apparently study 24/7 to be publicly ranked by their grades. So here are the basic tenets of this setting, and why they don't work:
1. Girls can never talk to boys? Weird, but not really, because this is a cop-out for the author to never have to deal with the women, or, sorry, 'womenfolk' (chapter 25) with the excuse of Tradition and Academia and Elitism. Sure, the sister school is a huge plot point, but do we give a shit? Do we know anything about the girls to whom Charlie and Jasper write love letters for? Do we get like, ANY names or faces? Or, given that Charlie's mom was an alumni here and he went to their summer camp, doesn't he know any girls here at all?? Delilah doesn't count, sorry. She's a cardboard cutout that exists for Charlie to lean against and say, 'Oh, Delilah, we're really in it now.' It's ridiculous that we don't get any insight on the girls school — if V.A has 'STRIP', wouldn't there be a similar sister branch? And how do the boys even communicate with the girls enough to be able to pass on the letters? There's no way of communicating at all, so how would they know when to pick it up? Well, we'll never know, since women in this world only exist to talk to Charlie when it's relevant or 'date' background characters. FFS.
And are you telling me that the boys at V.A even care about the girls they're dating? Because here's the issue:
Either they do, in which case, why wouldn't they actually write their own letters? Sure, you can get TEMU Draco Malfoy to do it, but what's the point? To stay together until they can meet? To meet and what, get laid? If they're so horny, why aren't all the letters just sexts in letter form?
The other option is that: no, the boys don't care about their girlfriends and are doing this for shits and giggles, in which case, why don't they pay 'STRIP' for the letter courier, and why do 'STRIP' take it so seriously? This is the dumbest plot contrivance of all time. But wait, it gets worse.
2. V.A has an extremely rich student body with like, one scholarship kid per year, chosen from THOUSANDS. Alright, cool – so then why is everyone else so desperate to rank with high grades? Why would ALL these rich boys care so much about class rankings, when they know they’re going to get into Harvard anyway? They wouldn’t, because this is an elitist school where half of them ‘own’ school buildings (see: Blaze 'Dixon' who's family donated the food hall). It's to the point where ALL the students study ALL the time, the gym is always dead empty, and nobody ever drinks or sneaks off campus, ever. Are you serious? Has the author ever meet a teenager before? Firstly, even in a regular school, this would be dumb. There's always going to be dropouts or troublemakers or athletes, and nowhere on earth is an entire student body as homogenous as this one. Second, these are all trust fund babies who literally OWN this school. Rules and grading would be incredibly flexible for the more influential students, specifically Jasper.
3. No phones allowed on campus, so the place feels separated from modern life. Well, bullshit, because these are high schoolers in 2025, and an elite institute would have at least computers. (You can’t pretend that tech doesn’t exist just to service the cutesy letter-writing schtick that half this book depends on.) These are meant to be rich brats, so of course they’d do what they wanted! Like have phones!! This isn’t a monastery, why would all these students accept the rules so easily? We never head about any non-scholarship kids suffering from stress or mental health shit. This means that there's a lot more leeway for non-scholarship students, ergo, there would be the possibility of sneaking tech onto campus. Which, if the plot was actually going to work, would mean that 'STRIP' would definitely abuse Jasper's privelege to have phones to help in their operations. But no. Awwww no. We can't have that in our Ouran Host Club ripoff novel. Naurrr. Can't deal with this fake logic that sets the foundation for this fake story.
This issues would make sense if the book actually took privilege and class into account, which it attempts but does not manage. For example, if the school had all these insane rules but blatantly ignored them for richer students (Jasper) and enforced them for Charlie, we’d get an actual sense of realism, and also we’d care more about Charlie being on scholarship. We already have the rule about scholarship students only being ALLOWED at Valentine if they stay within the top 5 rankings, which is an insane standard to hold any student to – this could be a way to show that Charlie ‘doesn’t belong’ here, not because he’s trans but because he’s just not a trust fund baby (despite actually being a legacy student). We could have barriers to his social life explicitly caused by being cis passing but still being poor. Having another trans character who can ‘afford’ to be open about it, or even just exist as a passing student, would show the disparity. Any romance you’d write with Jasper would have so many more layers of drama to it, given the intersectionality of Charlie’s transgenderism and class, and potentially race/sexuality as well (given that we’re supposed to assume he’s not white or straight). Any interactions he’d have within Valentine and ‘STRIP’ would have him code-switching with only the reader knowing his inner thoughts. With a novel that’s just 42 chapters of being in Charlie’s head, there has to be depth to the surrounding world and interactions for me to give a shit. But there just isn’t, and while we might get the occasional hint at a plot, it’s built on such shake foundations that it may as well not exist.
I’ll end this review by talking about Jasper Grimes, the perfect partner for Charlie. There are many instances of a book being shit while having a universally adored love interest or deuteragonist, but this is not one of them. Jasper and Charlie are perfect for each other because they are both written paper thin, and their emotional climax may as well have been the author stapling them together. Jasper could have been so much more than this half-assed nothing of a character. The best book that comes to mind is James Acker’s ‘Teenage Dirtbag’ with the character of Cameron. Please go read that book if you want quality character writing. Trust me guys, it is possible to write a borderline evil cheating blonde trust-fund twink in a YA novel, and I really hope the author’s next book achieves something more than this one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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