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Love Is Love
Overweight and unhappy at home, Emmy gets sexually involved with a popular classmate so that people will think that she is worth liking. When she realizes that he is just using her, she decides to leave her home in Winnipeg to stay with her uncle's family in Vancouver. Emmy has always been intimidated by her perfect cousin Paige and Paige's cool friends, so she is surprised to find that the coolest of them is transgender. Emmy is instantly attracted to Jude (who used to be Judy), and starts hanging out at the coffee shop where he works. She even performs at the poetry slam Jude hosts there.
Emmy is never sure where she stands with Jude, and can't believe that such a confident, charismatic guy might actually be interested in her. Both her mother back in Winnipeg and Paige warn her away from Jude, saying that he will just use her and she will get hurt. But it's not until she almost falls again into the trap of casual sex to boost her self-esteem that Emmy realizes it's worth it to put your true self out there for real love.
Emmy is never sure where she stands with Jude, and can't believe that such a confident, charismatic guy might actually be interested in her. Both her mother back in Winnipeg and Paige warn her away from Jude, saying that he will just use her and she will get hurt. But it's not until she almost falls again into the trap of casual sex to boost her self-esteem that Emmy realizes it's worth it to put your true self out there for real love.
118 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 2017
153 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
July 11, 2017
I was provided an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Emmy, 17, is not doing great ever since her dad died. Her mom, remarried, is tired of dealing with her moods and sends her from Winnipeg to Vancouver where Emmy can live at her uncle’s. Emmy is not really getting along with her cousin, Paige, but when she meets Jude, a trans guy who’s a friend of Paige, she’s instantly smitten.
I liked Jude. But... I didn’t like Emmy, Paige, Emmy’s mother or anyone else… Except maybe Emmy’s uncle?
The book was very short and felt more like a novella than a full novel, but it was still filled with drama, too much drama.
Emmy annoyed me most of the time and the connection between her and Jude didn’t seem genuine…
Basically, the synopsis seemed really interesting but the execution disappointed me...
Emmy, 17, is not doing great ever since her dad died. Her mom, remarried, is tired of dealing with her moods and sends her from Winnipeg to Vancouver where Emmy can live at her uncle’s. Emmy is not really getting along with her cousin, Paige, but when she meets Jude, a trans guy who’s a friend of Paige, she’s instantly smitten.
I liked Jude. But... I didn’t like Emmy, Paige, Emmy’s mother or anyone else… Except maybe Emmy’s uncle?
The book was very short and felt more like a novella than a full novel, but it was still filled with drama, too much drama.
Emmy annoyed me most of the time and the connection between her and Jude didn’t seem genuine…
Basically, the synopsis seemed really interesting but the execution disappointed me...
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November 23, 2019NOTE: I received an advance reader copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinions or the way I talk about the book.
Content Warnings: Unnamed eating disorder, unnamed mood disorder, deadnaming, misgendering, alcohol/drug glorification, attempted rape, emotional abuse
The summary of this book sets it up to be such a good story, but it would be an understatement to say it fell flat for me. I wanted a story about a fat girl with anxiety loving a trans boy unconditionally, but instead I got a typical YA romance with two characters that have marginalized identities on the side. Emmy's mental health and abusive home life could have been explored so much more deeply, but it was only mentioned once in a while. The same thing happened with Jude's transness. I understand this part could have been because the author may not have wanted to overstep her bounds, but if that were the case she could have either hired sensitivity readers or picked a different subject to write about.
So, the story starts out with Emmy being pressured into sexual acts with the most popular boy in school. When she gets home, her mother is furious because somehow she knows exactly what happened. This is where the reader is introduced to Emmy's unstable home life, from which she abruptly moves away after agreeing to live with her aunt, uncle, and cousin Paige in Vancouver.
So the main plot of this story is Emmy's growing relationship with Jude. Unfortunately this is typical Instalove™. The quote above is in reference to Emmy looking through Jude's public Instagram account and feeling like she's stalking this boy she's known for like a week. There are similar quotes throughout the book that show Emmy feels so strongly about this person she's barely talked to and doesn't actually know very well. Somehow vice versa happens as well, because, while Jude is a flirty person, he's totally into Emmy back. I also have to add that Emmy first swoons over Jude because he's wearing a RuPaul pin and wonders if it's fate because he's got to be the only other person in the world that idolizes RuPaul. Because RuPaul not a popular LGBT+ icon or anything.
As I said, this felt like a really cliche YA romance where both lovers are from marginalized groups. Yet we only touch on their marginalizations. Emmy is a high school poet who wants to be noticed for her talent and to experience more of the world. It's just shown in a small scene that she has an eating disorder and her abusive background is merely hinted at. I'd like to talk about this quote as well:
I'm not the most educated on fat rep, but if she can suck in her stomach and look skinny, then she's no different than I am, and I'm not at a weight that's unaccepted by society. Of course, the best part of this repsarcasm is when Emmy goes to buy some makeup before her first date with Jude and is given a total makeover. I wish this harmful trope would stop.
Speaking of Jude, he's truly the typical YA love interest. Jude hosts a super popular poetry slam show at the coffee shop where he works, and is liked by everyone he comes across. Also he has hidden talents like juggling that captivates everyone at the park, and is so respected that a group of drunk men quit harassing him and leave as soon as Jude tells him to. He just happens to be a boy with a vagina. Normally, that casual transness would be a good thing, but it doesn't affect his life at all until the end when he tells Emmy that he was denied a loan for top surgery. The reader's not given any other details about his transition either. Is he on testosterone? Is he treated like a cis man because he passes? These aren't details to focus on, of course, but they would have been nice to mention, especially since this is a book where his being trans is part of the major plot.
Later in the story Emmy acts out and steals a small bottle of wine from a liquor store, and this scene could have been so much more intense! The whole thing happens in a paragraph and I'm disappointed. On top of that, she gets drunk in the park that night and these guys come up to her and act real creepy, as guys do. I think this is supposed to read as an attempted rape, but Emmy just up and walks away and they don't pursue her so I don't know how to feel about that scene either. Up until her walking away, I was really scared something was going to happen to her. Then it just ended so... underwhelmingly, like the burglary.
Final thought: This book had so much potential! If only Emmy and Jude's stories had gone into more depth, maybe they would have felt more human than book characters. It also would have been nice to hear the motivations of other characters like Paige and Emmy's family back in Winnipeg. There are so many social statements that could have been with this book, but it just didn't meet my expectations.
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Content Warnings: Unnamed eating disorder, unnamed mood disorder, deadnaming, misgendering, alcohol/drug glorification, attempted rape, emotional abuse
The summary of this book sets it up to be such a good story, but it would be an understatement to say it fell flat for me. I wanted a story about a fat girl with anxiety loving a trans boy unconditionally, but instead I got a typical YA romance with two characters that have marginalized identities on the side. Emmy's mental health and abusive home life could have been explored so much more deeply, but it was only mentioned once in a while. The same thing happened with Jude's transness. I understand this part could have been because the author may not have wanted to overstep her bounds, but if that were the case she could have either hired sensitivity readers or picked a different subject to write about.
So, the story starts out with Emmy being pressured into sexual acts with the most popular boy in school. When she gets home, her mother is furious because somehow she knows exactly what happened. This is where the reader is introduced to Emmy's unstable home life, from which she abruptly moves away after agreeing to live with her aunt, uncle, and cousin Paige in Vancouver.
"Emmy was a pervert with an obsession that wouldn't go away no matter how hard she tried"
So the main plot of this story is Emmy's growing relationship with Jude. Unfortunately this is typical Instalove™. The quote above is in reference to Emmy looking through Jude's public Instagram account and feeling like she's stalking this boy she's known for like a week. There are similar quotes throughout the book that show Emmy feels so strongly about this person she's barely talked to and doesn't actually know very well. Somehow vice versa happens as well, because, while Jude is a flirty person, he's totally into Emmy back. I also have to add that Emmy first swoons over Jude because he's wearing a RuPaul pin and wonders if it's fate because he's got to be the only other person in the world that idolizes RuPaul. Because RuPaul not a popular LGBT+ icon or anything.
As I said, this felt like a really cliche YA romance where both lovers are from marginalized groups. Yet we only touch on their marginalizations. Emmy is a high school poet who wants to be noticed for her talent and to experience more of the world. It's just shown in a small scene that she has an eating disorder and her abusive background is merely hinted at. I'd like to talk about this quote as well:
"This dress would look so much better, she thought, if I could just get down to the size I was when I sucked in in front of the mirror."
I'm not the most educated on fat rep, but if she can suck in her stomach and look skinny, then she's no different than I am, and I'm not at a weight that's unaccepted by society. Of course, the best part of this rep
Speaking of Jude, he's truly the typical YA love interest. Jude hosts a super popular poetry slam show at the coffee shop where he works, and is liked by everyone he comes across. Also he has hidden talents like juggling that captivates everyone at the park, and is so respected that a group of drunk men quit harassing him and leave as soon as Jude tells him to. He just happens to be a boy with a vagina. Normally, that casual transness would be a good thing, but it doesn't affect his life at all until the end when he tells Emmy that he was denied a loan for top surgery. The reader's not given any other details about his transition either. Is he on testosterone? Is he treated like a cis man because he passes? These aren't details to focus on, of course, but they would have been nice to mention, especially since this is a book where his being trans is part of the major plot.
Later in the story Emmy acts out and steals a small bottle of wine from a liquor store, and this scene could have been so much more intense! The whole thing happens in a paragraph and I'm disappointed. On top of that, she gets drunk in the park that night and these guys come up to her and act real creepy, as guys do. I think this is supposed to read as an attempted rape, but Emmy just up and walks away and they don't pursue her so I don't know how to feel about that scene either. Up until her walking away, I was really scared something was going to happen to her. Then it just ended so... underwhelmingly, like the burglary.
Final thought: This book had so much potential! If only Emmy and Jude's stories had gone into more depth, maybe they would have felt more human than book characters. It also would have been nice to hear the motivations of other characters like Paige and Emmy's family back in Winnipeg. There are so many social statements that could have been with this book, but it just didn't meet my expectations.
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July 3, 2017
See more of my reviews on my blog the Book Deviant
I would like to thank James Lorimer & Company for allowing me to have a copy of this book via NetGalley.
I have a bit to say about this book, so please be patient while I figure this out.
In truth, I was expecting this book to be much more harmful than what it was, based off the publisher provided summary on NetGalley and Goodreads. I knew this was going to be stuffed full of problems the moment I saw the cover and read the summary, and here's why: Jude, the trans love interest, is deadnamed in the summary, a common ploy that publishers do to try and draw people in with ~diversity~. Jude is also described as a "bad person" but it is never explained why he's a bad person. Besides him being trans and being "bad", that's all we learn about him from the summary. I was also concerned with the body type rep in this book, as the way Emmy being overweight was described was really iffy.
And while this book wasn't as volatile as I was preparing myself for, there was still plenty of problems within. The best way to describe Love is Love is basically saying that it was well-intended, but ignorantly executed.
Throughout the book, I was waiting for poisonous comments to come for Jude, by Jude, or any number of other things. I just knew it was going to hurt. Specifically, they came from one character, Emmy's cousin, where she misgenders Jude constantly and calls him by his deadname. The cousin even introduced him to Emmy by his deadname, and she would always do it behind his back. Paige, the cousin, was one of the worst people ever, and she is constantly spouting transphobic remarks all throughout the novel, even going as far as saying being trans was a "phase" and that Jude wasn't right in the head. She's extremely disrespectful, full of herself, and--well, basically think of the mean, popular girl stereotype. That's basically her in a nutshell.
While most of the transphobia came from her, it was still spouted left and right, but thankfully not from Emmy. She actually defended Jude once, when Paige called him "she" behind his back, and I really appreciated that--until Emmy started becoming obsessed with Jude because he was so different and interesting. There was one scene in which Emmy was speaking with her mom, and her mom was going off on how being transgender wasn't normal, and that Emmy needed to be in a normal relationship. This conversation cued the second fucking time Emmy called her mother a wh*re. Jude called her out on using that as an insult, but the way he did it was so infuriating that I didn't even care that he did it--it came out as ridiculous and like he was oblivious!
Here's the catch--while the transphobia wasn't running as rampant as I was expecting, harmful stereotypes and beliefs were being subtly woven into the storyline. Jude's deadname was "Judy", which is a type of naming convention for trans people that has frankly gotten annoying. It's like Robert/Roberta or some shit. Then there was Emmy's basic stalking of Jude, and insisting that he was different and special because "he wasn't like other guys" because he was trans. It was almost like she was saying that she was in love with him only because he was transgender. Bach's handling of a transgender character was commendable for her first try, but Jude's character was so stereotyped that I was nearly screaming.
And this isn't even getting on how fatphobic this book is!!
I knew from the start that Emmy would have low positivity. Okay, I'm fine with that, maybe I'll relate to her on that level. But Emmy was so poisonous towards herself and other people, it was horrible. And, while most of it was her being self-deprecating, she was often mentally attacking other heavy people, and skinny people. She was just so negative I took a long break from this book, if only to prepare myself for the last half. There were even scenes in which Emmy was basically working out to impress Jude.
Emmy was described as a dog quite a few times, as well as a troll another. And this book isn't even written in first person--It's third person limited!! It was so toxic and I can only imagine young teens reading this and seeing themselves described as a troll.
Not as main, but Emmy was also mentioned to have anxiety, and take anti-anxiety medication . . . and I just have to say that nowhere in this book did it obviously come into play. Bach was trying to subtly include Emmy's anxiety with never directly stating it was her anxiety doing this to her. Bach kept skirting around subjects, as if they were too big to tackle and this behavior just belittled them.
one star - Overall?
When this book wasn't being insulting, it was just plain infuriating. Emmy was such an uncomfortable character to read about, because not only did she body shame to the extreme, but she was obsessed with Jude. Literally obsessed. And Jude just felt like any standard caricature of a random guy. There was nothing special about the characters, nothing interesting--just confusing or hurtful.
Would I Recommend?
I wouldn't waste my time on it. Especially trans readers, I found it hurtful with the stereotypes at the least, and the misgendering at the most. Bach didn't end up writing transphobic lines as I was expecting, but Love is Love could still very well be seen as harmful with how subtle the other problems are.
I would like to thank James Lorimer & Company for allowing me to have a copy of this book via NetGalley.
I have a bit to say about this book, so please be patient while I figure this out.
In truth, I was expecting this book to be much more harmful than what it was, based off the publisher provided summary on NetGalley and Goodreads. I knew this was going to be stuffed full of problems the moment I saw the cover and read the summary, and here's why: Jude, the trans love interest, is deadnamed in the summary, a common ploy that publishers do to try and draw people in with ~diversity~. Jude is also described as a "bad person" but it is never explained why he's a bad person. Besides him being trans and being "bad", that's all we learn about him from the summary. I was also concerned with the body type rep in this book, as the way Emmy being overweight was described was really iffy.
And while this book wasn't as volatile as I was preparing myself for, there was still plenty of problems within. The best way to describe Love is Love is basically saying that it was well-intended, but ignorantly executed.
Throughout the book, I was waiting for poisonous comments to come for Jude, by Jude, or any number of other things. I just knew it was going to hurt. Specifically, they came from one character, Emmy's cousin, where she misgenders Jude constantly and calls him by his deadname. The cousin even introduced him to Emmy by his deadname, and she would always do it behind his back. Paige, the cousin, was one of the worst people ever, and she is constantly spouting transphobic remarks all throughout the novel, even going as far as saying being trans was a "phase" and that Jude wasn't right in the head. She's extremely disrespectful, full of herself, and--well, basically think of the mean, popular girl stereotype. That's basically her in a nutshell.
While most of the transphobia came from her, it was still spouted left and right, but thankfully not from Emmy. She actually defended Jude once, when Paige called him "she" behind his back, and I really appreciated that--until Emmy started becoming obsessed with Jude because he was so different and interesting. There was one scene in which Emmy was speaking with her mom, and her mom was going off on how being transgender wasn't normal, and that Emmy needed to be in a normal relationship. This conversation cued the second fucking time Emmy called her mother a wh*re. Jude called her out on using that as an insult, but the way he did it was so infuriating that I didn't even care that he did it--it came out as ridiculous and like he was oblivious!
Here's the catch--while the transphobia wasn't running as rampant as I was expecting, harmful stereotypes and beliefs were being subtly woven into the storyline. Jude's deadname was "Judy", which is a type of naming convention for trans people that has frankly gotten annoying. It's like Robert/Roberta or some shit. Then there was Emmy's basic stalking of Jude, and insisting that he was different and special because "he wasn't like other guys" because he was trans. It was almost like she was saying that she was in love with him only because he was transgender. Bach's handling of a transgender character was commendable for her first try, but Jude's character was so stereotyped that I was nearly screaming.
And this isn't even getting on how fatphobic this book is!!
I knew from the start that Emmy would have low positivity. Okay, I'm fine with that, maybe I'll relate to her on that level. But Emmy was so poisonous towards herself and other people, it was horrible. And, while most of it was her being self-deprecating, she was often mentally attacking other heavy people, and skinny people. She was just so negative I took a long break from this book, if only to prepare myself for the last half. There were even scenes in which Emmy was basically working out to impress Jude.
Emmy was described as a dog quite a few times, as well as a troll another. And this book isn't even written in first person--It's third person limited!! It was so toxic and I can only imagine young teens reading this and seeing themselves described as a troll.
Not as main, but Emmy was also mentioned to have anxiety, and take anti-anxiety medication . . . and I just have to say that nowhere in this book did it obviously come into play. Bach was trying to subtly include Emmy's anxiety with never directly stating it was her anxiety doing this to her. Bach kept skirting around subjects, as if they were too big to tackle and this behavior just belittled them.
one star - Overall?
When this book wasn't being insulting, it was just plain infuriating. Emmy was such an uncomfortable character to read about, because not only did she body shame to the extreme, but she was obsessed with Jude. Literally obsessed. And Jude just felt like any standard caricature of a random guy. There was nothing special about the characters, nothing interesting--just confusing or hurtful.
Would I Recommend?
I wouldn't waste my time on it. Especially trans readers, I found it hurtful with the stereotypes at the least, and the misgendering at the most. Bach didn't end up writing transphobic lines as I was expecting, but Love is Love could still very well be seen as harmful with how subtle the other problems are.
June 26, 2017
There should be many more books like this one.
I fell for this book on NetGalley from the title alone. It is something I believe in my soul. The blurb gave me more information as to what direction that love might be heading.
There are some who might not get it. But not only does this book cover an unusal love interest, it addresses all of our insecurities. I was surprised at how I still have many of the self-doubts that the main character has.
This is a book designed for the teen but works well for all the young at heart.
What I think I liked best about the book is how the author explains how one chooses to go through the procedures to become the opposite sex than of their birth. How one should restrain judgement when looking at another is a great theme here.
The book ended to soon. I would have loved to see what happens next. Maybe there will be a book two?
I highly recommend this book to everyone.
I fell for this book on NetGalley from the title alone. It is something I believe in my soul. The blurb gave me more information as to what direction that love might be heading.
There are some who might not get it. But not only does this book cover an unusal love interest, it addresses all of our insecurities. I was surprised at how I still have many of the self-doubts that the main character has.
This is a book designed for the teen but works well for all the young at heart.
What I think I liked best about the book is how the author explains how one chooses to go through the procedures to become the opposite sex than of their birth. How one should restrain judgement when looking at another is a great theme here.
The book ended to soon. I would have loved to see what happens next. Maybe there will be a book two?
I highly recommend this book to everyone.
June 13, 2017
Love is Love by Mette Bach is my first (LGBT) novel I have ever read and I'm glad I stepped out of my comfort zone. Love is Love, no matter your race, religion or sex. No one should be judged with who your heart lies with.
This story begins with a young girl named Emmy, who is dating a boy that is bad news. Tired of being criticized she decides to move in with her aunt in Vancouver. Thus meeting Jude, a transgender man who Emmy met years ago but he was Judy.
Jude and Emmy fall for another, hard and fast. But insecurities about themselves push these two to the brink. But their love for another conquers all.
This story begins with a young girl named Emmy, who is dating a boy that is bad news. Tired of being criticized she decides to move in with her aunt in Vancouver. Thus meeting Jude, a transgender man who Emmy met years ago but he was Judy.
Jude and Emmy fall for another, hard and fast. But insecurities about themselves push these two to the brink. But their love for another conquers all.
May 15, 2019
For the most part, I really did enjoy this book. We follow Emmy as she is being sent off to her aunt and uncle's house to get away from her mom and her step-father in Winnipeg. Once with her aunt and uncle, she struggles to get along with her pretty, popular, and unnecessarily mean cousin, and meets a cute barista named Jude who is transgender. This book is extremely short, but it didn't feel rushed and there seemed to be plenty of time for development and a cohesive story arc. However, I did have some issues with it.
1. I really hated the way Emmy was characterized. I love fat characters and would like more fat characters to be portrayed in YA and books in general, but her attitude towards her fatness (as a fat person myself) felt harmful and negative for the most part it felt like she was being negative just to be negative. I've dealt with my own negative feelings towards my body as well, but even then during my lowest moments I wasn't negative about it 100% of the time. That feels really 1-dimensional to me and unrealistic. Everyone, even people with negative body image and disordered eating (which I have also suffered from) feel good about themselves at least sometimes. I'm really tired of fat characters always being characterized as self-loathing, sad, pathetic, and over-eaters.
1.a. I really didn't appreciate that Emmy lacked a character arc and character development. Nothing about her personality changed. And when there was slight change in the way she viewed herself, it was all because of Jude loving her. She hadn't actively worked through any of her issues and it seems like her happiness is solely dependent on Jude and whether he loves her or not. That's really unhealthy, especially for someone with anxiety and self-esteem issues.
2. The writing was a bit too simple for my taste. I don't want to go too into this because writing is fairly subjective, but I just felt like it was too stilted and the dialogue wasn't realistic enough. However, it didn't take away too much from my enjoyment of the book. (Which I did enjoy!)
3. Emmy's cousin seemed unnecessarily mean. It's a trope in YA that's seen way too much: there's a sad, outsider MC and someone close to them is pretty, popular, and really mean for no reason. But without even having to dig much deeper, you realize that the pretty popular girl is only mean because she's pretty and popular. There's no other reason. We don't ever get a source for Emmy's cousin's attitude and actions (she's so poorly developed I can't even remember her name right now). Pretty=/=mean. Popular=/=mean. I went to school with a lot of pretty and popular people, and the overwhelming majority of them were very nice both to me and everyone else. It's unrealistic to think that people are mean solely because they're pretty and popular.
I don't mean to slam this book as hard as it seems like I am. Actually, I really did enjoy it and would recommend it to people. There just seems to be a few things I would change or improve if given the chance. This story had the potential to be better than it already was, but I didn't feel like it was pushed far enough to do so.
* I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
1. I really hated the way Emmy was characterized. I love fat characters and would like more fat characters to be portrayed in YA and books in general, but her attitude towards her fatness (as a fat person myself) felt harmful and negative for the most part it felt like she was being negative just to be negative. I've dealt with my own negative feelings towards my body as well, but even then during my lowest moments I wasn't negative about it 100% of the time. That feels really 1-dimensional to me and unrealistic. Everyone, even people with negative body image and disordered eating (which I have also suffered from) feel good about themselves at least sometimes. I'm really tired of fat characters always being characterized as self-loathing, sad, pathetic, and over-eaters.
1.a. I really didn't appreciate that Emmy lacked a character arc and character development. Nothing about her personality changed. And when there was slight change in the way she viewed herself, it was all because of Jude loving her. She hadn't actively worked through any of her issues and it seems like her happiness is solely dependent on Jude and whether he loves her or not. That's really unhealthy, especially for someone with anxiety and self-esteem issues.
2. The writing was a bit too simple for my taste. I don't want to go too into this because writing is fairly subjective, but I just felt like it was too stilted and the dialogue wasn't realistic enough. However, it didn't take away too much from my enjoyment of the book. (Which I did enjoy!)
3. Emmy's cousin seemed unnecessarily mean. It's a trope in YA that's seen way too much: there's a sad, outsider MC and someone close to them is pretty, popular, and really mean for no reason. But without even having to dig much deeper, you realize that the pretty popular girl is only mean because she's pretty and popular. There's no other reason. We don't ever get a source for Emmy's cousin's attitude and actions (she's so poorly developed I can't even remember her name right now). Pretty=/=mean. Popular=/=mean. I went to school with a lot of pretty and popular people, and the overwhelming majority of them were very nice both to me and everyone else. It's unrealistic to think that people are mean solely because they're pretty and popular.
I don't mean to slam this book as hard as it seems like I am. Actually, I really did enjoy it and would recommend it to people. There just seems to be a few things I would change or improve if given the chance. This story had the potential to be better than it already was, but I didn't feel like it was pushed far enough to do so.
* I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
June 7, 2020
Emmy is a 17 year old (MC) whose sad story is told in Love Is Love. I know that being a teenager has its very difficult times, but sadly Emmy tried to get love in all the wrong ways and I think that too many (one is too many) girls try to do the same. Emmy has an unusual love interest, although perhaps not that atypical. Emmy ends up moving in with her aunt and while there in Vancouver she meets Jude, a transgender man who Emmy had met years ago as Judy.
Both Jude and Emmy have self-esteem issues and insecurities that they are dealing with, and that naturally makes for a more difficult relationship to develop healthily.
While I liked both characters, I really liked Jude a lot. He's genuine, kind, and nurturing. And he's also candid with who he is. He is what I like to call an open book. I love how Emmy and Jude are so open with each other.
The thing I hated about this book is Emmy's mother. Why are so many mother's portrayed like she is in books? Is it due to the way mothers are viewed by today's society? Are more mothers so dismissive and renouncing of their children who are "different"? I have what I've always called "a mother's heart" and while my five children do not always make the choices and decisions in life that I might want them to, I could/would never reject nor disown them.
Both Jude and Emmy have self-esteem issues and insecurities that they are dealing with, and that naturally makes for a more difficult relationship to develop healthily.
While I liked both characters, I really liked Jude a lot. He's genuine, kind, and nurturing. And he's also candid with who he is. He is what I like to call an open book. I love how Emmy and Jude are so open with each other.
The thing I hated about this book is Emmy's mother. Why are so many mother's portrayed like she is in books? Is it due to the way mothers are viewed by today's society? Are more mothers so dismissive and renouncing of their children who are "different"? I have what I've always called "a mother's heart" and while my five children do not always make the choices and decisions in life that I might want them to, I could/would never reject nor disown them.
June 16, 2017
3.5 stars
I wasn't entirely sure what to expect with this story and am glad I took a chance on it. It's told completely from 17-year-old Emmy's point of view, so the reader gets an inside to why she is down on herself. I felt for her, being a teenager sucks, lol.
Jude/Judy comes across as rather one-dimensional which was a little disappointing, I would've liked to know more about the struggles a transitioning teenager has to go through. With that said, I enjoyed the story nonetheless.
NOTE - I feel it only fair to mention the cover does not resemble the main character, something I wrongly assumed. Emmy is an overweight awkward teenager.
Copy received via NetGalley
I wasn't entirely sure what to expect with this story and am glad I took a chance on it. It's told completely from 17-year-old Emmy's point of view, so the reader gets an inside to why she is down on herself. I felt for her, being a teenager sucks, lol.
Jude/Judy comes across as rather one-dimensional which was a little disappointing, I would've liked to know more about the struggles a transitioning teenager has to go through. With that said, I enjoyed the story nonetheless.
NOTE - I feel it only fair to mention the cover does not resemble the main character, something I wrongly assumed. Emmy is an overweight awkward teenager.
Copy received via NetGalley
June 21, 2017
Actual rating: 3,5 stars.
I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. This doesn’t affect my thoughts in any way.
Warning:
I found that this book inluded a lot of body negativity and it made me sometimes really uncomfortable. It does end on a positive message, but if it is something that triggers you, you may want to stay away from it.
There are also some passages where Jude is misgendered, so again, if it’s something that triggers you, you might want to stay away. It also made me uncomfortable. I get that there are (in real life) some rude people who refuse to gender trans people correctly. But is it necessary to include something harmful like this in a book which is supposed to have a positive message? (By the way, this is an open question, if you have an answer for that, I’m interested.)
My opinion:
First of all, I picked up this book because I absolutely loved the concept. It is unique, and unlike anything I have read before. An overweight protagonist and a trans love interest are sadly not common in literature, though they have so much potential. And I do feel, however, that this could have been exploited a bit (a lot?) further. The book is roughly 180 pages, but it could have been so much more. It was still great though, and had many passages I greatly enjoyed. I also really enjoyed Emmy’s character development through the book, and could really relate to her anxiety and lack of self-confidence, however I did find that it sometimes became a little bit unhealthy and harmful to read. She had lots of issues with her bodies which I can understand, but she was also very self-deprecating. And yes, it felt very realistic. But some body positivity would have been nice.
Another thing I wanted to mention is that I find the cover actually quite inaccurate, so don’t be fooled by it. For some reason it doesn’t seem to mach any of the protagonists?
I also appreciated the fact that the book was set in Canada. When it is not Fantasy or Dystopia, most of the YA (and fiction in general) I read is set in the US, or sometimes in the UK (which usually comes off as a nice surprise) so it was definitely interesting to see something playing somewhere else, even if the location didn’t play such a big part in the story.
The relationship of both characters to art and poetry was a great surprise, and I really enjoyed watching Emmy learning more about her dad. Her relationship with her mom was quite messed up, but seeing this bond with her dad – even if he has passed away already at the time of the story – was beautiful to read. And through writing of all things, of course I loved it.
I really like the fact that Jude and Emmy found each other through poetry, and got to realise they had a lot in common, and really understood each other more than everyone else did. But it felt that it all happened to fast. And I couldn’t help but think in the back of my mind that yes, it’s great to find love, but love doesn’t solve everything. Maybe I’m misreading it, but it seemed all too easy sometimes.
That being said, this book has overall a very positive message of accepting others as they are, and I couldn’t help but swoon at the end. I just wish it had been longer, and more deeply explored.
Full review https://clemisbookishworld.wordpress....
I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. This doesn’t affect my thoughts in any way.
Warning:
I found that this book inluded a lot of body negativity and it made me sometimes really uncomfortable. It does end on a positive message, but if it is something that triggers you, you may want to stay away from it.
There are also some passages where Jude is misgendered, so again, if it’s something that triggers you, you might want to stay away. It also made me uncomfortable. I get that there are (in real life) some rude people who refuse to gender trans people correctly. But is it necessary to include something harmful like this in a book which is supposed to have a positive message? (By the way, this is an open question, if you have an answer for that, I’m interested.)
My opinion:
First of all, I picked up this book because I absolutely loved the concept. It is unique, and unlike anything I have read before. An overweight protagonist and a trans love interest are sadly not common in literature, though they have so much potential. And I do feel, however, that this could have been exploited a bit (a lot?) further. The book is roughly 180 pages, but it could have been so much more. It was still great though, and had many passages I greatly enjoyed. I also really enjoyed Emmy’s character development through the book, and could really relate to her anxiety and lack of self-confidence, however I did find that it sometimes became a little bit unhealthy and harmful to read. She had lots of issues with her bodies which I can understand, but she was also very self-deprecating. And yes, it felt very realistic. But some body positivity would have been nice.
Another thing I wanted to mention is that I find the cover actually quite inaccurate, so don’t be fooled by it. For some reason it doesn’t seem to mach any of the protagonists?
I also appreciated the fact that the book was set in Canada. When it is not Fantasy or Dystopia, most of the YA (and fiction in general) I read is set in the US, or sometimes in the UK (which usually comes off as a nice surprise) so it was definitely interesting to see something playing somewhere else, even if the location didn’t play such a big part in the story.
The relationship of both characters to art and poetry was a great surprise, and I really enjoyed watching Emmy learning more about her dad. Her relationship with her mom was quite messed up, but seeing this bond with her dad – even if he has passed away already at the time of the story – was beautiful to read. And through writing of all things, of course I loved it.
I really like the fact that Jude and Emmy found each other through poetry, and got to realise they had a lot in common, and really understood each other more than everyone else did. But it felt that it all happened to fast. And I couldn’t help but think in the back of my mind that yes, it’s great to find love, but love doesn’t solve everything. Maybe I’m misreading it, but it seemed all too easy sometimes.
That being said, this book has overall a very positive message of accepting others as they are, and I couldn’t help but swoon at the end. I just wish it had been longer, and more deeply explored.
Full review https://clemisbookishworld.wordpress....
January 4, 2022
To see more reviews check out MI Book Reviews.
I got an ARC in return for an honest review on NetGalley.
I requested this book because there are still very few YA books where a trans man is one of the leads. It is especially rare when the book is from the perspective of the straight girl that is interested in him. So I was beyond stoked to read this book, but as always I had really low expectations as I am used to books about trans men or having a trans male character being pretty terrible.
This book blew my expectations out of the water. I am really particular when it comes to the grammar around transgender (Note: “transgender” is correct, “transgendered” is not). This book was amazing at getting that right. That alone made this book stand out for me. There was even a passage where the flippant cousin was shown to be pretty self-absorbed and uncaring that hit so close to home. The cousin had introduced the two main characters to each other, but then kept referring to Jude as “she”. Emmy was confused by that action. It was not confusing to me, that is the reality for trans teens. People you think are friends will actively misgender you. It made the book so much more realistic for me. Props to the author for either knowing that was shitty or doing her research on it.
There were scenes that made me physically uncomfortable. I am a trans man and I remember the issues I had/have with my body. I hate being touched, even to this day because of the breasts I used to have. Jude explains that he has body issues and he actively talks about his boundaries when it comes to touch. Emmy as a straight and cis woman doesn’t know basic trans manners, but is open to learning and she fumbles a lot. The fact that she is trying is so endearing. There is a scene where she actively describes feeling Jude’s breasts through his binder when they hug. It hit so close to home and my fears that people could tell what I was hiding. That Emmy thought it was appropriate to muse about Jude’s breasts was so painful, but so realistic.
I LOVE this book because it was so realistic and it didn’t beat me over the head with trans 101. I already know this and a lot of teens who will be reading the book are trans or know people that are. They don’t need the basics. I appreciate this book meeting me as an equal. Instead of “what is trans?” the author addresses “what is the appropriate way to interact with a trans person?”. There is even a whole section on asking about pronouns.
I got an ARC in return for an honest review on NetGalley.
I requested this book because there are still very few YA books where a trans man is one of the leads. It is especially rare when the book is from the perspective of the straight girl that is interested in him. So I was beyond stoked to read this book, but as always I had really low expectations as I am used to books about trans men or having a trans male character being pretty terrible.
This book blew my expectations out of the water. I am really particular when it comes to the grammar around transgender (Note: “transgender” is correct, “transgendered” is not). This book was amazing at getting that right. That alone made this book stand out for me. There was even a passage where the flippant cousin was shown to be pretty self-absorbed and uncaring that hit so close to home. The cousin had introduced the two main characters to each other, but then kept referring to Jude as “she”. Emmy was confused by that action. It was not confusing to me, that is the reality for trans teens. People you think are friends will actively misgender you. It made the book so much more realistic for me. Props to the author for either knowing that was shitty or doing her research on it.
There were scenes that made me physically uncomfortable. I am a trans man and I remember the issues I had/have with my body. I hate being touched, even to this day because of the breasts I used to have. Jude explains that he has body issues and he actively talks about his boundaries when it comes to touch. Emmy as a straight and cis woman doesn’t know basic trans manners, but is open to learning and she fumbles a lot. The fact that she is trying is so endearing. There is a scene where she actively describes feeling Jude’s breasts through his binder when they hug. It hit so close to home and my fears that people could tell what I was hiding. That Emmy thought it was appropriate to muse about Jude’s breasts was so painful, but so realistic.
I LOVE this book because it was so realistic and it didn’t beat me over the head with trans 101. I already know this and a lot of teens who will be reading the book are trans or know people that are. They don’t need the basics. I appreciate this book meeting me as an equal. Instead of “what is trans?” the author addresses “what is the appropriate way to interact with a trans person?”. There is even a whole section on asking about pronouns.
June 15, 2017
Thanks(!) NetGalley for giving me a chance to read and review this book!
Short Blurb:
Overweight and unhappy at home, Emmy gets sexually involved with a popular classmate so that people will think that she is worth liking. When she realizes that he is just using her, she decides to leave her home in Winnipeg to stay with her uncle's family in Vancouver. Emmy has always been intimidated by her perfect cousin Paige and Paige's cool friends, so she is surprised to find that the coolest of them is transgender. Emmy is instantly attracted to Jude (who used to be Judy), and starts hanging out at the coffee shop where he works. She even performs at the poetry slam Jude hosts there.
Emmy is never sure where she stands with Jude, and can't believe that such a confident, charismatic guy might actually be interested in her. Both her mother back in Winnipeg and Paige warn her away from Jude, saying that he will just use her and she will get hurt. But it's not until she almost falls again into the trap of casual sex to boost her self-esteem that Emmy realizes it's worth it to put your true self out there for real love.
Cover Review:
The cover is simple, yet alluring and I'd have definitely picked up the book and read more about it!
Review:
Love is Love is a heart touching story, one of the best I've ever read. The only thing I didn't like about it was its length. I wish it hadn't been such a short read! I wish there was more to it.
My favorite character was without doubt Jude. He's just the kind of guy that a girl deserves. He's fun, kind, caring and oh so understanding. At the same time, he's also not invincible as most guys are pictured in most novels/movies. He's not the kinda guy who hides his pain, atleast not from someone he trusts.
My least favorite character on the other hand was Emmy's mom. Sure there were others who weren't so good but what Emmy's mom did hurt me the most. How could she have so easily sent off her daughter? And then again, how could she ever think that she can dictate who Emmy should fall in love with? I hate that woman for being so blind to her daughter's pain.
My favorite parts were all of the Emmy and Jude parts, every single one of them.
The writing was capturing, compelling, while the story was something that'll stay in my heart forever.
If only it hadn't ended so quickly...
Love is Love gets 5 stars for its brilliance and for being so beautiful.
Short Blurb:
Overweight and unhappy at home, Emmy gets sexually involved with a popular classmate so that people will think that she is worth liking. When she realizes that he is just using her, she decides to leave her home in Winnipeg to stay with her uncle's family in Vancouver. Emmy has always been intimidated by her perfect cousin Paige and Paige's cool friends, so she is surprised to find that the coolest of them is transgender. Emmy is instantly attracted to Jude (who used to be Judy), and starts hanging out at the coffee shop where he works. She even performs at the poetry slam Jude hosts there.
Emmy is never sure where she stands with Jude, and can't believe that such a confident, charismatic guy might actually be interested in her. Both her mother back in Winnipeg and Paige warn her away from Jude, saying that he will just use her and she will get hurt. But it's not until she almost falls again into the trap of casual sex to boost her self-esteem that Emmy realizes it's worth it to put your true self out there for real love.
Cover Review:
The cover is simple, yet alluring and I'd have definitely picked up the book and read more about it!
Review:
Love is Love is a heart touching story, one of the best I've ever read. The only thing I didn't like about it was its length. I wish it hadn't been such a short read! I wish there was more to it.
My favorite character was without doubt Jude. He's just the kind of guy that a girl deserves. He's fun, kind, caring and oh so understanding. At the same time, he's also not invincible as most guys are pictured in most novels/movies. He's not the kinda guy who hides his pain, atleast not from someone he trusts.
My least favorite character on the other hand was Emmy's mom. Sure there were others who weren't so good but what Emmy's mom did hurt me the most. How could she have so easily sent off her daughter? And then again, how could she ever think that she can dictate who Emmy should fall in love with? I hate that woman for being so blind to her daughter's pain.
My favorite parts were all of the Emmy and Jude parts, every single one of them.
The writing was capturing, compelling, while the story was something that'll stay in my heart forever.
If only it hadn't ended so quickly...
Love is Love gets 5 stars for its brilliance and for being so beautiful.
July 20, 2017
2.5 stars
The blurb caught my attention and the title Love Is Love appealed. This was an easy read, finished in a couple of hours...more of a novella than a novel and possibly due to it's length the issues experienced by characters Emmy and Jude were not explored as fully as I'd have liked.
17 year old Emmy has a serious lack of confidence, poor self image, and she doesn't feel she belongs anywhere. After feuding with her mother one too many times she threatens to leave. To her surprise her mother decides this is a good idea and sets the wheels in motion for her to go spend some time with her aunt and uncle in Vancouver. Her high fashion, ultra popular cousin Paige takes her to a coffee shop where they catch up with her trans gender friend Jude. Emmy finds herself instantly attracted to him but more than just a physical attraction she likes who he is and how he makes her feel. Jude and Emmy fill a need in each other which for these two is a unique and special feeling. As author Mette Bach wrote in her Acknowledgements girls like Emmy should get the guy and guys like Jude should get to be the romantic love interest. Like the concept of this book but hoped for slightly more from this story.
Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC.
The blurb caught my attention and the title Love Is Love appealed. This was an easy read, finished in a couple of hours...more of a novella than a novel and possibly due to it's length the issues experienced by characters Emmy and Jude were not explored as fully as I'd have liked.
17 year old Emmy has a serious lack of confidence, poor self image, and she doesn't feel she belongs anywhere. After feuding with her mother one too many times she threatens to leave. To her surprise her mother decides this is a good idea and sets the wheels in motion for her to go spend some time with her aunt and uncle in Vancouver. Her high fashion, ultra popular cousin Paige takes her to a coffee shop where they catch up with her trans gender friend Jude. Emmy finds herself instantly attracted to him but more than just a physical attraction she likes who he is and how he makes her feel. Jude and Emmy fill a need in each other which for these two is a unique and special feeling. As author Mette Bach wrote in her Acknowledgements girls like Emmy should get the guy and guys like Jude should get to be the romantic love interest. Like the concept of this book but hoped for slightly more from this story.
Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC.
June 13, 2017
I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is a romance novella about the relationship between an overweight insecure girl and a female-to-male trans*boy. While this sort of representation is always welcome and was well-done, the story failed to knock my socks of. 3,5/5 stars.
Again, the representation - both of the anxious, comfort-eating overweight Emmy with glasses, as well as the trans*boy Jude - was done well. There was understanding and healthy conversations. Characters misgendering Jude are called out on their unacceptable behavior by both the narrator and other characters. However, a lot of the plot was based on stereotypes and the plot was a bit thin. That is fine for a book around 170 pages thin, but I wish things could have been more fleshed out. It was really nothing more than a cutesy summer-reading romance story, so do not expect any deep discussion about trans*-issues, or much character development. It was enjoyable, though, especially for a middle-grade book!
Just one thing, dear publishers - WTF is that cover?? Is that supposed to be Emmy? Because that girl is not overweight at all, and neither does she wear glasses. Or is it supposed to be Jude? In which case: still shame on you for taking an ambiguous image of Shutterstock of a person who looks much more feminine than someone passing as a boy after transition.
This is a romance novella about the relationship between an overweight insecure girl and a female-to-male trans*boy. While this sort of representation is always welcome and was well-done, the story failed to knock my socks of. 3,5/5 stars.
Again, the representation - both of the anxious, comfort-eating overweight Emmy with glasses, as well as the trans*boy Jude - was done well. There was understanding and healthy conversations. Characters misgendering Jude are called out on their unacceptable behavior by both the narrator and other characters. However, a lot of the plot was based on stereotypes and the plot was a bit thin. That is fine for a book around 170 pages thin, but I wish things could have been more fleshed out. It was really nothing more than a cutesy summer-reading romance story, so do not expect any deep discussion about trans*-issues, or much character development. It was enjoyable, though, especially for a middle-grade book!
Just one thing, dear publishers - WTF is that cover?? Is that supposed to be Emmy? Because that girl is not overweight at all, and neither does she wear glasses. Or is it supposed to be Jude? In which case: still shame on you for taking an ambiguous image of Shutterstock of a person who looks much more feminine than someone passing as a boy after transition.
October 2, 2017
I received a copy of Love is Love by Mette Bach, from James Lorimer & Company via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
This review may contain spoilers.
I was doubtful about my reading Love is Love. I honestly thought that I wouldn’t end up liking the book at all. However, I gave it a chance and the one thing that surprised me the most about this book was its length; Love is Love is only about 176 ebook pages.
The beginning of Love is Love wasn’t so hot. I actually found it to be quite gross, but that is probably just me. I would say that I didn’t enjoy reading the first 40% of Love is Love. What I didn’t like about the book was the relationship that Emmy has with her mother. I’m glad that Emmy had the chance to leave where she lived before moving. The rest of the book was definitely enjoyable though!
What I liked about this book is that 1., it takes place for the most part, in Vancouver! Another book that takes place in Canada! Amazing. 2., I love the representation this book has.
Love is Love is not a perfect book, but if it were to be perfect book, I truly believe that this story wouldn’t get a hold of anyone. Love is Love is absolutely not perfect. Which makes the book really well done. In that retrospect, I can honestly say that Love is Love is a real book. With a character who has real life problems, real life reactions to things.
I ended up enjoying my read through of Love is Love way more than I thought I would.
Thank you again, to James Lorimer & Company and Netgalley for allowing me to read Love is Love.
This review may contain spoilers.
I was doubtful about my reading Love is Love. I honestly thought that I wouldn’t end up liking the book at all. However, I gave it a chance and the one thing that surprised me the most about this book was its length; Love is Love is only about 176 ebook pages.
The beginning of Love is Love wasn’t so hot. I actually found it to be quite gross, but that is probably just me. I would say that I didn’t enjoy reading the first 40% of Love is Love. What I didn’t like about the book was the relationship that Emmy has with her mother. I’m glad that Emmy had the chance to leave where she lived before moving. The rest of the book was definitely enjoyable though!
What I liked about this book is that 1., it takes place for the most part, in Vancouver! Another book that takes place in Canada! Amazing. 2., I love the representation this book has.
Love is Love is not a perfect book, but if it were to be perfect book, I truly believe that this story wouldn’t get a hold of anyone. Love is Love is absolutely not perfect. Which makes the book really well done. In that retrospect, I can honestly say that Love is Love is a real book. With a character who has real life problems, real life reactions to things.
I ended up enjoying my read through of Love is Love way more than I thought I would.
Thank you again, to James Lorimer & Company and Netgalley for allowing me to read Love is Love.
July 29, 2017
I received an e-arc of Love Is Love by Mette Bach from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Review to come.
+_+
(ETA: Review on 07.29.2017)
I've vacillated between giving this two and three stars. I'll settle on three for the moment, just know that my preferred rating is 2.5 stars.
I had a feeling from page one that this book wasn't going to be my cup of tea. Not because of the trans guy love interest (I was and am excited about that), but because Emmy is anything but scintillating as far as protagonists go, and this fact persists for 178 pages. You might want to take a seat, I have a lot to say about this very short book. (Some spoilers ahead.)
I would sum up my experience with this book by saying I don't know that I'm the appropriate target audience. This is surprising since I am queer and fat with mental illness; nevertheless, my opinion stands.
I would not call "Love Is Love" an objectively bad book, but it's a book that feels in-progress. The characters don't feel fully fleshed-out; the story doesn't feel finished. As I read I was constantly confronted with areas where the story could have been improved with revision. I understand that the story was meant to be brief, but there is such a thing as too brief. Characters and character arcs suffer when a story is too short to give them their due. Plot takes a backseat when there isn't room to tell a more intricate story. "Love Is Love" suffered from a lack of complexity.
CHARACTERS
I didn't care for Emmy. I didn't feel that the main character had much of a character arc to speak. She sailed from social disaster to social disaster without changing. She was self-involved and self-loathing from the first page to the last. She obsessed constantly over other people and even when acknowledging how unhealthy this behavior was, she neglected to stop or seek help. She was as guilty of cruelty and snap judgments as any of the secondary and auxiliary characters we're introduced to in the story, with the sole exception being she wasn't transphobic/transmisic. Emmy's fixation on Jude bordered on fetishization because she simply doesn't know Jude well enough to be this fixated on him early on. To my eye, Emmy seemed to like Jude because she perceived him as being different like Emmy was different.
I was very uncomfortable with the constant references to her having broken up with Jude when they weren't really a thing yet. I can't tell if I'm supposed to see this as a manifestation of her mental illness (and if so, which?) because the story doesn't call her out on it at all. There is a scene at Dude Chilling Park where Emmy is having a pity party after being told off by Jude about being whorephobic and is approached by several men with questionable intentions. At one point, she thinks something to the effect of not letting herself get hurt and I was flummoxed because this was clearly not a scenario where Emmy would have had much choice. I don't think this was meant to read as insensitive to people who don't have a choice in being sexually exploited but it read that. A lot of things about Emmy read as insensitive. Which brings me to my next point of contention.
Emmy took "was not like other girls" to the extreme and the story never lets the reader forget this. Every moment she is on the page she is being compared to other girls and found wanting, but it's done in such a way that we're clearly supposed to see the non-Emmy girls as lesser. For being popular, for being pretty, for being thin or having a different (usually differently unhealthy) relationship with food. There isn't ever a point where Emmy gets to be at peace with it, so the reader never gets to be at peace with it either. Emmy is never at peace, with her body or her mental health or her home life and this manifests in some ugly casual prejudice (fat-shaming, ableism, and whorephobia). She, the main character who is meant to undergo the most notable change throughout the narrative, remains static throughout and the reader is left to wonder what the point is if she never changes? She gets a boyfriend? Considering all the mental anguish Emmy endures, that hardly seems worth the trouble.
As for Jude, he's cool. He isn't really much of a character, however. He's more of an archetype, the cool, sensitive musician with foiled dreams. I sympathize with Jude because I care about his struggle to pay for top surgery and to find his place in the world, but I never got the sense Jude existed as anything more than a prize for Emmy to attain. I would have preferred to see Jude as the main character of this book, because I feel like the story would have been better for it. It also would have given the reader a clearer lens to view Emmy through that wasn't clouded by the relentless self-loathing she has for herself as a result of her weight. I'm not entirely comfortable with the non sequitur Jude made about formerly thinking he was asexual. This is another subject that could have been expanded on in a much longer story, because it's a literal throwaway line here and that does the matter a disservice.
Every other character, aside from Emmy and Jude, was flat and static, only present to serve a purpose and then discarded once that purpose was served. Emmy has no friends besides Jude. Her mother is only brought up to be the wrong-headed authority figure. Her aunt is practically non-existent. Her cousin Paige is, again, just a mirror held up to Emmy's insecurities. Her uncle is there to give some poignancy to Emmy's father's passing--and I have to be honest, I'm not sure the time spent on her father served the story well; it seemed like a digression. These characters are cardboard cutouts meant to emphasize the importance of our two main characters, but I feel like their two-dimensionality only emphasizes how relatively shallow the protagonists are.
PLOT
I recognize that perhaps plot wasn't the point here, given the length of the work. That's generally all right if you're writing a very strong, dense, character-driven piece. This wasn't that. Emmy isn't the kind of character really driven by anything but self-loathing and obsessive tendencies. From page one, she obsesses over a boy to her near ruin and that doesn't change for 178 pages, only which boy it is changes. In fact, there are times when she says she *can't* change her addictive tendencies, which is patently untrue. She doesn't have to be this out of control, she can get help, but for whatever reasons nobody suggests it? She's on medication, she's clearly been under the care of some kind of mental health professional, but for some reason she can't go back to deal with all her unresolved issues with food, body image, addiction, and alcoholism. The book doesn't seem to tell us why and I would really like to know.
Wanting Jude is simply not enough of a plot for a story this long. It's a short story plot with fewer, non-descript cameos or it's a novel with better characterization. The execution of this plot is wanting. Even the neat happy ending feels unearned.
OVERALL
I was initially very intrigued by the synopsis of this story. Trans guys should absolutely be love interests and I'm dying to see this become the norm in YA romance. I'm also eager to see plus-size characters included more, and mental illness tackled more frequently in YA. (And I recognize that some portrayals will be less than rosy; that's life.) That said, despite the best efforts to include a variety of representation in this story, the story falls short of its potential. I largely chalk this up to length, which required the author to condense some truly complex matters into relatively few words. I would probably read a work by this author again, of a similar subject matter, provided it was much longer. I just don't think contemporary YA romance novellas are their strength.
Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the e-ARC. I appreciate being given an opportunity to read this book ahead of publication.
+_+
(ETA: Review on 07.29.2017)
I've vacillated between giving this two and three stars. I'll settle on three for the moment, just know that my preferred rating is 2.5 stars.
I had a feeling from page one that this book wasn't going to be my cup of tea. Not because of the trans guy love interest (I was and am excited about that), but because Emmy is anything but scintillating as far as protagonists go, and this fact persists for 178 pages. You might want to take a seat, I have a lot to say about this very short book. (Some spoilers ahead.)
I would sum up my experience with this book by saying I don't know that I'm the appropriate target audience. This is surprising since I am queer and fat with mental illness; nevertheless, my opinion stands.
I would not call "Love Is Love" an objectively bad book, but it's a book that feels in-progress. The characters don't feel fully fleshed-out; the story doesn't feel finished. As I read I was constantly confronted with areas where the story could have been improved with revision. I understand that the story was meant to be brief, but there is such a thing as too brief. Characters and character arcs suffer when a story is too short to give them their due. Plot takes a backseat when there isn't room to tell a more intricate story. "Love Is Love" suffered from a lack of complexity.
CHARACTERS
I didn't care for Emmy. I didn't feel that the main character had much of a character arc to speak. She sailed from social disaster to social disaster without changing. She was self-involved and self-loathing from the first page to the last. She obsessed constantly over other people and even when acknowledging how unhealthy this behavior was, she neglected to stop or seek help. She was as guilty of cruelty and snap judgments as any of the secondary and auxiliary characters we're introduced to in the story, with the sole exception being she wasn't transphobic/transmisic. Emmy's fixation on Jude bordered on fetishization because she simply doesn't know Jude well enough to be this fixated on him early on. To my eye, Emmy seemed to like Jude because she perceived him as being different like Emmy was different.
I was very uncomfortable with the constant references to her having broken up with Jude when they weren't really a thing yet. I can't tell if I'm supposed to see this as a manifestation of her mental illness (and if so, which?) because the story doesn't call her out on it at all. There is a scene at Dude Chilling Park where Emmy is having a pity party after being told off by Jude about being whorephobic and is approached by several men with questionable intentions. At one point, she thinks something to the effect of not letting herself get hurt and I was flummoxed because this was clearly not a scenario where Emmy would have had much choice. I don't think this was meant to read as insensitive to people who don't have a choice in being sexually exploited but it read that. A lot of things about Emmy read as insensitive. Which brings me to my next point of contention.
Emmy took "was not like other girls" to the extreme and the story never lets the reader forget this. Every moment she is on the page she is being compared to other girls and found wanting, but it's done in such a way that we're clearly supposed to see the non-Emmy girls as lesser. For being popular, for being pretty, for being thin or having a different (usually differently unhealthy) relationship with food. There isn't ever a point where Emmy gets to be at peace with it, so the reader never gets to be at peace with it either. Emmy is never at peace, with her body or her mental health or her home life and this manifests in some ugly casual prejudice (fat-shaming, ableism, and whorephobia). She, the main character who is meant to undergo the most notable change throughout the narrative, remains static throughout and the reader is left to wonder what the point is if she never changes? She gets a boyfriend? Considering all the mental anguish Emmy endures, that hardly seems worth the trouble.
As for Jude, he's cool. He isn't really much of a character, however. He's more of an archetype, the cool, sensitive musician with foiled dreams. I sympathize with Jude because I care about his struggle to pay for top surgery and to find his place in the world, but I never got the sense Jude existed as anything more than a prize for Emmy to attain. I would have preferred to see Jude as the main character of this book, because I feel like the story would have been better for it. It also would have given the reader a clearer lens to view Emmy through that wasn't clouded by the relentless self-loathing she has for herself as a result of her weight. I'm not entirely comfortable with the non sequitur Jude made about formerly thinking he was asexual. This is another subject that could have been expanded on in a much longer story, because it's a literal throwaway line here and that does the matter a disservice.
Every other character, aside from Emmy and Jude, was flat and static, only present to serve a purpose and then discarded once that purpose was served. Emmy has no friends besides Jude. Her mother is only brought up to be the wrong-headed authority figure. Her aunt is practically non-existent. Her cousin Paige is, again, just a mirror held up to Emmy's insecurities. Her uncle is there to give some poignancy to Emmy's father's passing--and I have to be honest, I'm not sure the time spent on her father served the story well; it seemed like a digression. These characters are cardboard cutouts meant to emphasize the importance of our two main characters, but I feel like their two-dimensionality only emphasizes how relatively shallow the protagonists are.
PLOT
I recognize that perhaps plot wasn't the point here, given the length of the work. That's generally all right if you're writing a very strong, dense, character-driven piece. This wasn't that. Emmy isn't the kind of character really driven by anything but self-loathing and obsessive tendencies. From page one, she obsesses over a boy to her near ruin and that doesn't change for 178 pages, only which boy it is changes. In fact, there are times when she says she *can't* change her addictive tendencies, which is patently untrue. She doesn't have to be this out of control, she can get help, but for whatever reasons nobody suggests it? She's on medication, she's clearly been under the care of some kind of mental health professional, but for some reason she can't go back to deal with all her unresolved issues with food, body image, addiction, and alcoholism. The book doesn't seem to tell us why and I would really like to know.
Wanting Jude is simply not enough of a plot for a story this long. It's a short story plot with fewer, non-descript cameos or it's a novel with better characterization. The execution of this plot is wanting. Even the neat happy ending feels unearned.
OVERALL
I was initially very intrigued by the synopsis of this story. Trans guys should absolutely be love interests and I'm dying to see this become the norm in YA romance. I'm also eager to see plus-size characters included more, and mental illness tackled more frequently in YA. (And I recognize that some portrayals will be less than rosy; that's life.) That said, despite the best efforts to include a variety of representation in this story, the story falls short of its potential. I largely chalk this up to length, which required the author to condense some truly complex matters into relatively few words. I would probably read a work by this author again, of a similar subject matter, provided it was much longer. I just don't think contemporary YA romance novellas are their strength.
Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the e-ARC. I appreciate being given an opportunity to read this book ahead of publication.
August 9, 2017
Originally Posted @https://nzfnmblog.wordpress.com/2017/...
When I first saw this book on NetGalley I immediately knew I wanted to read it from the title alone. Love is Love is a YA LGBTQ book about an overweight girl who moves to live with her Aunt and Uncle and her relationship with Jude, a transgender male who is friends with her cousin. There are a lot of things I liked about this book, it doesn’t shy away from any potential awkward conversations or situations, instead it tackles issues head on in an easy to follow way. There is also a fair amount of diversity as it shows the struggles of multiple characters going through their own individual struggles. The characters are fairly developed throughout the book and the plot moves at a reasonable pace.
Some of the things I struggled about in the book however was some of the negativity, not the negativity aimed at Jude, although there was definitely some of that, but the negativity towards Emmy, her appearance and to her love in general. This was usually directed from Emmy herself and at times I could see why she felt how she did but after awhile I felt it was detracting from the story itself. Another problem I had was the insta-love between the characters, sure it was pretty obvious it was going to happen from the blurb but no where throughout the book did I feel they had any real connection. Also I feel like it’s worth noting that I have no idea who is on the cover of the book as they don’t match the description of either of the main characters. In the end while I did enjoy the book and if you are looking for a YA LGBTQ read I would definitley recommend you have a look at this, there was enough niggly things to bring it down those few stars.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 3.5/5
Would I read again: No
Would I Recommend: Yes
Would I read another book from this author: Yes
When I first saw this book on NetGalley I immediately knew I wanted to read it from the title alone. Love is Love is a YA LGBTQ book about an overweight girl who moves to live with her Aunt and Uncle and her relationship with Jude, a transgender male who is friends with her cousin. There are a lot of things I liked about this book, it doesn’t shy away from any potential awkward conversations or situations, instead it tackles issues head on in an easy to follow way. There is also a fair amount of diversity as it shows the struggles of multiple characters going through their own individual struggles. The characters are fairly developed throughout the book and the plot moves at a reasonable pace.
Some of the things I struggled about in the book however was some of the negativity, not the negativity aimed at Jude, although there was definitely some of that, but the negativity towards Emmy, her appearance and to her love in general. This was usually directed from Emmy herself and at times I could see why she felt how she did but after awhile I felt it was detracting from the story itself. Another problem I had was the insta-love between the characters, sure it was pretty obvious it was going to happen from the blurb but no where throughout the book did I feel they had any real connection. Also I feel like it’s worth noting that I have no idea who is on the cover of the book as they don’t match the description of either of the main characters. In the end while I did enjoy the book and if you are looking for a YA LGBTQ read I would definitley recommend you have a look at this, there was enough niggly things to bring it down those few stars.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 3.5/5
Would I read again: No
Would I Recommend: Yes
Would I read another book from this author: Yes
July 30, 2017
Novels, particularly short novels like this one, are not logical arguments, but this particular book, whatever one may feel about its "moral," demonstrates the sort of emotional reasoning that is common among the young people to whom this book is aimed. The two romantic leads in this book are immensely appealing and relatable, and many of the other characters are not. This may rightly be the account of stacking the deck. Certainly it does not appear as if this is a fair and balanced characterization, but this novel seems to suggest a great deal of what is going on within the discourse of queer culture among the youth [1]. When heteronormativity is represented by the disgusting Ty, who Emmy (the heroine of the novel) gives a blowjob to at the beginning of the novel, the superficial cousin Paige, and Emmy's mother and her live-in boyfriend, the deck is clearly stacked in favor of normalizing and legitimizing the unconventional but also conventional romance at the center of the novel, which is framed in ways that make it easy for readers to relate to.
This short novel, under 200 pages, is not one that wastes any time in terms of moving from point A to point B. The novel begins with the insecure Emmy thinking that giving a blowjob to popular guy Ty will help her to find the love and affection she desires, but it backfires as others assume she is merely desperate and think rightly that she can do better. A fight with her mother soon thereafter leads her to move from Winnipeg to Vancouver (Canada), where she and her cool but superficial cousin Paige introduces her somewhat unwillingly to her friends and she strikes up an immediate bond with the handsome MTF trans Jude. Complications ensue, somewhat predictably, as they engage in a shy but passionate friendship and then the novel ends with the two of them making out. As the reader spends the entire novel in the head of the insecure Emmy, it comes as quite a surprise that the seemingly calm Jude is full of insecurities as well, at least to her. Once the novel has the two romantic leads enjoying a passionate kiss, the author apparently loses any interest in having them work out the struggles of what their relationship would involve--or perhaps that is the subject of a future novel.
Whatever one thinks about the fairness and balance of the characterization of the novel, and I have some serious objections to how this novel stacks the deck in favor of its protagonists, there are some ways where this is a genuinely useful novel even for those readers who are more critical than its intended audience. For one, this novel is written with an insecure young woman who is overweight and engages in comfort eating, comes from a broken home, and has mood disorders that are dealt with through medication. Her dysfunctionality and burdens are fairly easy to understand for many readers. The fact that she fails to appreciate the sprezzatura shown by her cousin Paige as well as the handsome Jude/Judy suggests that she is not very observant or understanding of the burdens that other people are under. Nonetheless, the portrayal is a good one, and Jude too is shown as being a decent and complicated sort of person struggling with his own image and identity. It's only a shame that the author doesn't focus on making the other people in this novel as rounded and sympathetic as its two leads. One need not demonize average and ordinary people to make the couple at the center of this novel an appealing one, and it seems a shabby trick to do so.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2012...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
June 29, 2017
I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for feedback and review.
I pulled this book from NetGalley kind of on a lark. It was programmatically recommended to me as a YA romance novel and while not a common genre I read in, the synopsis sounded intriguing. I sat down while my kids were drifting off to sleep, expecting to read maybe one or two pages just to get a sense of the book. By the time they were snoring I was well over halfway through.
At first I couldn't figure why the book was so damn readable until I did a little research and discovered the publisher (and the line of books Love is Love falls into) target reluctant readers with easy-to-read formats. On that front the book is fantastic, it's a ridiculously quick read and I can easily imagine even a "but reading is so much work!" teen finding their way through this book in short order.
Of course, this readability comes at a small price in other areas of the writing. The pacing is a little off at times, speeding through several key scenes and interactions (most notably the meet cute between protagonist Emmy and love interest Jude). Also the narrative relies almost exclusively on Emmy's inner life to propel the plot and generate the conflict. Other than her conflict with her mother and the sketchy antagonism between her and her cousin Paige, nearly every point of contention is due to Emmy's insecurity or a misunderstanding. Which means, to me, if not for the simplified language speeding things along, this might feel like kind of a slog.
The most compelling aspect of the story to me was that Jude is trans. This is not a casual detail, it plays centrally into the plot. Thankfully though it doesn't come into play as a part of why Emmy and Jude do the will-they-won't-they thing. All of the hesitation on Emmy's part is centered around her self-esteem. It does however play into the odd relationship between Paige and Jude, including a strangely unresolved sequence where Paige warns Emmy off of Jude with some cryptic critiques of Jude's personality. Yet we never see any of this manifest in Jude and it's (I guess) an exercise for the reader as to what left Paige with that impression or why she decided to lie.
The ending is sweet and satisfying, if a little saccharine. I think for a book aimed at kids who don't really love reading, it's suitable and hard to gripe at too much without veering into curmudgeon territory. I think, in broad terms, that's kind of my final takeaway from the book. It's not a book meant for me. Personally I would love to read a more sophisticated, fleshed-out version of this novel that takes time to slow burn the relationship between Jude and Emmy, that gives more time to Emmy and her uncle, lets Paige and Emmy's mom have arcs of their own, that dives a bit past the surface level the book stays at. But, it needs to be noted that a book that's trying to stay breezy and nimble and romantic to hook a not-yet book lover probably doesn't have time to stay still long enough for any of that.
Still, it is nice to have a good book under my belt to recommend to people who maybe wouldn't otherwise find a story like this by searching a bookshop or library. It's enjoyable, very easy to digest, and it has a welcome diversity angle. I did notice in a few places that some of that diversity comes with a little unpleasantness (intentional misgendering, deadnaming, fat-shaming, etc). I think some of it is done to heighten the tension with a nod to real-life obstacles, but I'm not sure it's handled in the most delicate manner. It's not my place to say whether any of this is problematic, but I did make note of it. In all it's an earnest and ultimately sweet little novel that I'd recommend to certain readers.
I pulled this book from NetGalley kind of on a lark. It was programmatically recommended to me as a YA romance novel and while not a common genre I read in, the synopsis sounded intriguing. I sat down while my kids were drifting off to sleep, expecting to read maybe one or two pages just to get a sense of the book. By the time they were snoring I was well over halfway through.
At first I couldn't figure why the book was so damn readable until I did a little research and discovered the publisher (and the line of books Love is Love falls into) target reluctant readers with easy-to-read formats. On that front the book is fantastic, it's a ridiculously quick read and I can easily imagine even a "but reading is so much work!" teen finding their way through this book in short order.
Of course, this readability comes at a small price in other areas of the writing. The pacing is a little off at times, speeding through several key scenes and interactions (most notably the meet cute between protagonist Emmy and love interest Jude). Also the narrative relies almost exclusively on Emmy's inner life to propel the plot and generate the conflict. Other than her conflict with her mother and the sketchy antagonism between her and her cousin Paige, nearly every point of contention is due to Emmy's insecurity or a misunderstanding. Which means, to me, if not for the simplified language speeding things along, this might feel like kind of a slog.
The most compelling aspect of the story to me was that Jude is trans. This is not a casual detail, it plays centrally into the plot. Thankfully though it doesn't come into play as a part of why Emmy and Jude do the will-they-won't-they thing. All of the hesitation on Emmy's part is centered around her self-esteem. It does however play into the odd relationship between Paige and Jude, including a strangely unresolved sequence where Paige warns Emmy off of Jude with some cryptic critiques of Jude's personality. Yet we never see any of this manifest in Jude and it's (I guess) an exercise for the reader as to what left Paige with that impression or why she decided to lie.
The ending is sweet and satisfying, if a little saccharine. I think for a book aimed at kids who don't really love reading, it's suitable and hard to gripe at too much without veering into curmudgeon territory. I think, in broad terms, that's kind of my final takeaway from the book. It's not a book meant for me. Personally I would love to read a more sophisticated, fleshed-out version of this novel that takes time to slow burn the relationship between Jude and Emmy, that gives more time to Emmy and her uncle, lets Paige and Emmy's mom have arcs of their own, that dives a bit past the surface level the book stays at. But, it needs to be noted that a book that's trying to stay breezy and nimble and romantic to hook a not-yet book lover probably doesn't have time to stay still long enough for any of that.
Still, it is nice to have a good book under my belt to recommend to people who maybe wouldn't otherwise find a story like this by searching a bookshop or library. It's enjoyable, very easy to digest, and it has a welcome diversity angle. I did notice in a few places that some of that diversity comes with a little unpleasantness (intentional misgendering, deadnaming, fat-shaming, etc). I think some of it is done to heighten the tension with a nod to real-life obstacles, but I'm not sure it's handled in the most delicate manner. It's not my place to say whether any of this is problematic, but I did make note of it. In all it's an earnest and ultimately sweet little novel that I'd recommend to certain readers.
August 1, 2017
This review contains mild spoilers for the book. Please read with caution.
I received a digital copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This book was very hard to get through for me. While the cover and summary caught my attention, reading the contents proved to be a struggle. For a lot of different reasons, Love is Love just did not work for me.
While reading, I couldn’t help feeling like the version I’d been given was a draft, something that needed to be revised again. There were a few spelling and grammatical errors here and there, and the writing itself just wasn’t incredibly stellar. I found myself highlighting many passages that felt out of place, whether they were statements I didn’t particularly agree with or if I felt the pacing needed some work. There were some passages I absolutely adored, but they were far and few between. Overall, most of my issues with this book sit with the writing itself.
Another major issue lies within its characterization. I couldn’t stand Emmy through half of this book. I couldn’t decide if I wanted her to have the happy ending or not. Really, I don’t think she deserved it. There are plenty of romance scenes in the book, but many of them read as Emmy being a stalker. She obsesses over Jude, makes assumptions based on his interactions with other people, and treats their friendship like a relationship at times. She has one moment of saving grace- when she accepts Jude’s gender identity. In the end, Emmy is a character I didn’t feel anything for.
This book could have potential. It could very easily read as a nice romance with well fleshed out characters, a more refined plot, and better practices at handling LGBT issues. There’s good intention in the pages, it just doesn’t work in this version. Some of the main issues with Jude, a transgender character, aren’t with how he’s written, but how other characters talk about him. Emmy’s cousin Paige is constantly misgendering him, which speaks on her character but reuses a plot point that’s almost present in every story involving transgender characters. Emmy’s mother throws a fit over the idea of Emmy dating someone like Jude. Emmy is good about accepting Jude, but romantic scenes almost always have a side note about his gender identity, which isn’t necessary. One scene that really sticks out is when Jude outs one of his friends as a transgender woman completely at random. Not only is this character not present, but her only use throughout the story is to make Emmy feel jealous. Jude only explains this character’s importance to him once he outs her. Having a reveal about her gender identity is completely pointless, not to mention it shouldn’t even happen the way it did. If anything, it feels entirely convenient.
Overall, while I wanted to like this book and felt it tried to carry good messages, I just could not enjoy it. I don’t even think I could recommend it to anyone in its current state either. I would love to see a revised edition later on correcting the issues I had with the book.
I received a digital copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This book was very hard to get through for me. While the cover and summary caught my attention, reading the contents proved to be a struggle. For a lot of different reasons, Love is Love just did not work for me.
While reading, I couldn’t help feeling like the version I’d been given was a draft, something that needed to be revised again. There were a few spelling and grammatical errors here and there, and the writing itself just wasn’t incredibly stellar. I found myself highlighting many passages that felt out of place, whether they were statements I didn’t particularly agree with or if I felt the pacing needed some work. There were some passages I absolutely adored, but they were far and few between. Overall, most of my issues with this book sit with the writing itself.
Another major issue lies within its characterization. I couldn’t stand Emmy through half of this book. I couldn’t decide if I wanted her to have the happy ending or not. Really, I don’t think she deserved it. There are plenty of romance scenes in the book, but many of them read as Emmy being a stalker. She obsesses over Jude, makes assumptions based on his interactions with other people, and treats their friendship like a relationship at times. She has one moment of saving grace- when she accepts Jude’s gender identity. In the end, Emmy is a character I didn’t feel anything for.
This book could have potential. It could very easily read as a nice romance with well fleshed out characters, a more refined plot, and better practices at handling LGBT issues. There’s good intention in the pages, it just doesn’t work in this version. Some of the main issues with Jude, a transgender character, aren’t with how he’s written, but how other characters talk about him. Emmy’s cousin Paige is constantly misgendering him, which speaks on her character but reuses a plot point that’s almost present in every story involving transgender characters. Emmy’s mother throws a fit over the idea of Emmy dating someone like Jude. Emmy is good about accepting Jude, but romantic scenes almost always have a side note about his gender identity, which isn’t necessary. One scene that really sticks out is when Jude outs one of his friends as a transgender woman completely at random. Not only is this character not present, but her only use throughout the story is to make Emmy feel jealous. Jude only explains this character’s importance to him once he outs her. Having a reveal about her gender identity is completely pointless, not to mention it shouldn’t even happen the way it did. If anything, it feels entirely convenient.
Overall, while I wanted to like this book and felt it tried to carry good messages, I just could not enjoy it. I don’t even think I could recommend it to anyone in its current state either. I would love to see a revised edition later on correcting the issues I had with the book.
August 1, 2017
Love is Love is one of those books that I actually ugly cried too. It is also a book where a character that was so unlikable in the beginning of the book did a miraculous thing and became likable towards the end. I also finished Love is Love within one night. I started it with every intention of putting it down after an hour and going to sleep (I read in bed) and I ended up staying up and finishing the book. This book is that good.
I couldn’t stand Emmy at the beginning of the book. She wants to be popular, so she gives the popular guy at school a blow job (and not a very good one by the description) and she spends the night at his house. When her mother calls her out on it, which she had every right too, she calls her mom a whore. Why a whore? Because her mother moved on from her father’s death and is living with a man who takes care of her. She also says a few other things that were pretty unforgivable. By the end of the first chapter, I really couldn’t stand her.
Then she moved to Vancouver and I slowly started to see her in a different light.
My changing of opinion of her was when Paige told her that Jude was trans and used to be Judy. Emmy was kinda like “Ok” and treated Jude like a normal person when she met him. What impressed me was when she asked Jude what pronoun he would like for her to use (he, she or they)….after doing some research on the Internet. I think that Jude was impressed and touched that Emmy went through that effort.
Emmy was still a mess, though, and I felt bad about it. Living with anxiety and eating to deal with my emotions, I can totally relate to because I do it and have pretty severe anxiety. Add in that she has low self-esteem and feels that she needs to sleep with people in order for them to like her and that she was still dealing with her dad’s death and I felt awful for her. Honestly, I think that her friendship and eventual romance with Jude was the best thing that happened to her. What I didn’t like was that Paige and her mother kept telling her to stay away from him. Paige’s reason: Jude wasn’t a nice guy and she didn’t want Emmy mixed up with him. Then she goes and introduces them which made me go “Huh, why did she introduce them“. Now, Emmy’s mom, I can understand. She didn’t want her to get hurt and she wasn’t exactly thrilled that Jude was transgender.
I absolutely loved Jude and I think that the author captured what it was like for a transgendered man is like in the real world. From the reactions that his parents had (and unfortunately there are parents who do not love unconditionally) to the issues that he was having getting surgery on his top half done to the fact that he really liked Emmy but was scared to act on it, it was perfect.
The romance between Jude and Emmy was very slow and at times I really thought it was in Emmy’s head (because she was a bit obsessive). But when Jude confessed his feelings for Emmy, I felt tears well up and I didn’t stop crying until the end of the book.
The end of the book was kind of happy ending. There was no declarations of love and I didn’t know if Emmy and Jude would actually stay together but it was perfect.
How many stars will I give Love is Love: 4
Why: Memorable characters, a good storyline. This would be a book that I would encourage my children to read
Will I reread: Yes
Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes
Age range: Older Teen
Why: Language, sexual situations
**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**
I couldn’t stand Emmy at the beginning of the book. She wants to be popular, so she gives the popular guy at school a blow job (and not a very good one by the description) and she spends the night at his house. When her mother calls her out on it, which she had every right too, she calls her mom a whore. Why a whore? Because her mother moved on from her father’s death and is living with a man who takes care of her. She also says a few other things that were pretty unforgivable. By the end of the first chapter, I really couldn’t stand her.
Then she moved to Vancouver and I slowly started to see her in a different light.
My changing of opinion of her was when Paige told her that Jude was trans and used to be Judy. Emmy was kinda like “Ok” and treated Jude like a normal person when she met him. What impressed me was when she asked Jude what pronoun he would like for her to use (he, she or they)….after doing some research on the Internet. I think that Jude was impressed and touched that Emmy went through that effort.
Emmy was still a mess, though, and I felt bad about it. Living with anxiety and eating to deal with my emotions, I can totally relate to because I do it and have pretty severe anxiety. Add in that she has low self-esteem and feels that she needs to sleep with people in order for them to like her and that she was still dealing with her dad’s death and I felt awful for her. Honestly, I think that her friendship and eventual romance with Jude was the best thing that happened to her. What I didn’t like was that Paige and her mother kept telling her to stay away from him. Paige’s reason: Jude wasn’t a nice guy and she didn’t want Emmy mixed up with him. Then she goes and introduces them which made me go “Huh, why did she introduce them“. Now, Emmy’s mom, I can understand. She didn’t want her to get hurt and she wasn’t exactly thrilled that Jude was transgender.
I absolutely loved Jude and I think that the author captured what it was like for a transgendered man is like in the real world. From the reactions that his parents had (and unfortunately there are parents who do not love unconditionally) to the issues that he was having getting surgery on his top half done to the fact that he really liked Emmy but was scared to act on it, it was perfect.
The romance between Jude and Emmy was very slow and at times I really thought it was in Emmy’s head (because she was a bit obsessive). But when Jude confessed his feelings for Emmy, I felt tears well up and I didn’t stop crying until the end of the book.
The end of the book was kind of happy ending. There was no declarations of love and I didn’t know if Emmy and Jude would actually stay together but it was perfect.
How many stars will I give Love is Love: 4
Why: Memorable characters, a good storyline. This would be a book that I would encourage my children to read
Will I reread: Yes
Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes
Age range: Older Teen
Why: Language, sexual situations
**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**
June 3, 2017
Emmy is dating Ty, a guy her friends Tiana and Michelle along with her mum and subsequently her stepfather, don't approve of because of him being bad news. Emmy can't take their criticism anymore and decides to stay with her aunt, cousin and uncle, back in Vancouver where her dad was previously before he passed away.
Whilst out there, she unexpectedly finds herself falling for Jude a transgender man whom she met briefly years before by her cousin Paige when he was still Judy.
The two's relationship develops through shared interests of creative subjects from music to poetry and acceptance of each other showing they are creative and open minded individuals.
Through the book we see Emmy struggle and compares herself to Paige and other women around Jude, feeling inadequate because of being the bigger girl and comfort eating away her emotions instead of helping herself feel better in other ways as she learns to bike around as she can't drive around for example and use that as a stress reliever.
Emmy also had a complicated background with her dad and her uncle gives her old notebooks of his along with telling her about his love of Kurt Cobain of Nirvana hinting that maybe her dad's drinking was to do with depression possibly.
The book dealt with complex issues surrounding Emmy and her friend's lives. It was a great read and appreciative of all people and a celebration of acceptance.
Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!
Whilst out there, she unexpectedly finds herself falling for Jude a transgender man whom she met briefly years before by her cousin Paige when he was still Judy.
The two's relationship develops through shared interests of creative subjects from music to poetry and acceptance of each other showing they are creative and open minded individuals.
Through the book we see Emmy struggle and compares herself to Paige and other women around Jude, feeling inadequate because of being the bigger girl and comfort eating away her emotions instead of helping herself feel better in other ways as she learns to bike around as she can't drive around for example and use that as a stress reliever.
Emmy also had a complicated background with her dad and her uncle gives her old notebooks of his along with telling her about his love of Kurt Cobain of Nirvana hinting that maybe her dad's drinking was to do with depression possibly.
The book dealt with complex issues surrounding Emmy and her friend's lives. It was a great read and appreciative of all people and a celebration of acceptance.
Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!
June 28, 2017
I'm not sure if I'll end up changing the rating to a 2 but I'm still thinking about it.
There are things that are really interesting about the story. The first thing that is worth mentioning is that the main character is fat and has an eating disorder. This is important to see in young adult literature because fat people are rarely represented in books in a positive light. The second thing that should be mentioned is that the romantic interest is a trans boy, who is misgendered a couple of times but the people misgendering him are immediately called out and seen in a negative light throughout the story. Those are the two most positive aspects to this. Well, there's also the fact that when the main character says something problematic she is called out.
On the negative side, I have to say that it tries to work with too many topics: alcoholism, addiction, self-esteem, eating disorders, acceptance, sex work, family issues among other things. If it had been longer, it would have probably been better because those are too many issues to fit in such a short book. Near the end there's also a weird comment about someone thinking they were asexual. It wasn't exactly negative but it definitely rubbed me the wrong way. I'm sad because this could have been a really good story with relevant topics but it fell really flat.
I received a copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
There are things that are really interesting about the story. The first thing that is worth mentioning is that the main character is fat and has an eating disorder. This is important to see in young adult literature because fat people are rarely represented in books in a positive light. The second thing that should be mentioned is that the romantic interest is a trans boy, who is misgendered a couple of times but the people misgendering him are immediately called out and seen in a negative light throughout the story. Those are the two most positive aspects to this. Well, there's also the fact that when the main character says something problematic she is called out.
On the negative side, I have to say that it tries to work with too many topics: alcoholism, addiction, self-esteem, eating disorders, acceptance, sex work, family issues among other things. If it had been longer, it would have probably been better because those are too many issues to fit in such a short book. Near the end there's also a weird comment about someone thinking they were asexual. It wasn't exactly negative but it definitely rubbed me the wrong way. I'm sad because this could have been a really good story with relevant topics but it fell really flat.
I received a copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
July 19, 2017
Note: I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!
I liked this book, quite a lot actually. It was just very short, and I feel like it could have been really great if the content was expanded upon. It's nice just to see a well represented trans character in a YA book though, who has themselves at least somewhat together and knows the person they want to be and are striving for that.
Emmy was an interesting MC, but I wanted to know more about her past. We're thrown into her story in the middle of things, when she's being sexualized by a pretty skeezy seeming guy, and when her family life is already in a pretty big upheaval. I'd like to know more about Ron and Brendan, and why she ultimately dislikes the some so much. I'd like more too about her relationship with her mother, and why it's so rocky. I mean the obvious answer is that it all goes back to the death of her father, but it would be nice to see more.
I'd like to see more of Jude too, and how his own live evolved from his days as Judy to being who he truly is, inside and out. It would be wonderful to build on their relationship, and more about the trials that come with all of the emotional and physical changes.
All-in-all it was good, and the author dealt very well with the material. I just wish it was longer!
I liked this book, quite a lot actually. It was just very short, and I feel like it could have been really great if the content was expanded upon. It's nice just to see a well represented trans character in a YA book though, who has themselves at least somewhat together and knows the person they want to be and are striving for that.
Emmy was an interesting MC, but I wanted to know more about her past. We're thrown into her story in the middle of things, when she's being sexualized by a pretty skeezy seeming guy, and when her family life is already in a pretty big upheaval. I'd like to know more about Ron and Brendan, and why she ultimately dislikes the some so much. I'd like more too about her relationship with her mother, and why it's so rocky. I mean the obvious answer is that it all goes back to the death of her father, but it would be nice to see more.
I'd like to see more of Jude too, and how his own live evolved from his days as Judy to being who he truly is, inside and out. It would be wonderful to build on their relationship, and more about the trials that come with all of the emotional and physical changes.
All-in-all it was good, and the author dealt very well with the material. I just wish it was longer!
August 10, 2017
This book couldn't work.
Its 176 pages long and we've got a character who needs to learn to accept herself, needs to learn to trust her love interest, falls in love with said love interest and then have a lot of drama and resolve everything? How should that be possible? But I wanted to give it a chance. Maybe it could have worked out?
I've re read the description... I can't remember the trap of casual sex? And again? Was there anything in it about casual sex? But let's start at the beginning.
There is no drama in this book. I was promised drama. I wanted drama. To be honest it is very boring to read and there is not much happening. The things that are happening are way too easy. You will not be surprised that there is insta love in Love is Love.
I'm really sad about this because this book could have been great. There is a trans* male love interest and a fat girl MC. You don't read about characters like this very often.
But then they get rushed through everything and it's without any emotion or... anything really. It's not been that long that I've read this but I feel like I can't remember a thing about it. If it weren't for my notebook...
Disclaimer: I received a free copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you.
Its 176 pages long and we've got a character who needs to learn to accept herself, needs to learn to trust her love interest, falls in love with said love interest and then have a lot of drama and resolve everything? How should that be possible? But I wanted to give it a chance. Maybe it could have worked out?
I've re read the description... I can't remember the trap of casual sex? And again? Was there anything in it about casual sex? But let's start at the beginning.
There is no drama in this book. I was promised drama. I wanted drama. To be honest it is very boring to read and there is not much happening. The things that are happening are way too easy. You will not be surprised that there is insta love in Love is Love.
I'm really sad about this because this book could have been great. There is a trans* male love interest and a fat girl MC. You don't read about characters like this very often.
But then they get rushed through everything and it's without any emotion or... anything really. It's not been that long that I've read this but I feel like I can't remember a thing about it. If it weren't for my notebook...
Disclaimer: I received a free copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you.
July 16, 2020
This was an enjoyable book, but too short. There were a lot of aspects of Emmy and of Jude that were not fully explored and there were moments in the book where it seemed a particular conversation would occur later, but never happened. However, I liked how the author portrayed Jude, the transgender character, both in a respectful manner and as a complex person who was defined by more than gender identity. Emmy's fears and vulnerabilities felt genuine. It was a good plot point to have Emmy discover that Jude, who she viewed as hip and cool and out-of-her-league despite her crush on him, had his own insecurities, including whether she would like him. The overall message that we love who we love and that there are people out there who will love us despite our perceived flaws is an important message.
February 14, 2024
The characters in this book, with the exception of Jude, are ridiculous. The book starts off with Emmy hooking up with a classmate because she thinks it'll make her popular (it doesn't) and arguing with her mom, who sends her to live with family in Vancouver. Emmy lives in a closet at their house and her snotty cousin, Paige, introduces her to Jude, who she instantly falls for.
There are a lot of issues in the book and none of them really get resolved. It's mentioned that Emmy's taking anxiety medicine, but she "comfort eats," over-analyzes everything and stalks Jude online. As someone with anxiety, I don't think that's anxiety. Then there's her cousin, the stereotypical mean girl, who keeps misgendering Jude and saying he's bad and crazy. Nobody ever explains what "bad things" he does or has done and it just seems really rude.
I feel like more could've been done with this story. I do like that Emmy was accepting of Jude.
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
There are a lot of issues in the book and none of them really get resolved. It's mentioned that Emmy's taking anxiety medicine, but she "comfort eats," over-analyzes everything and stalks Jude online. As someone with anxiety, I don't think that's anxiety. Then there's her cousin, the stereotypical mean girl, who keeps misgendering Jude and saying he's bad and crazy. Nobody ever explains what "bad things" he does or has done and it just seems really rude.
I feel like more could've been done with this story. I do like that Emmy was accepting of Jude.
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
July 1, 2017
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This story begins with a young girl named Emmy, who is dating a boy that is bad news. Her mother is tired of of dealing with Emmy and ships her off to her uncle and aunt in Vancouver. As a teenager, Emmy has a lot of emotional issues and only views herself in a negative way. Through her cousin, she meets Jude,a transgender man who Emmy met years ago but he was Judy.
Jude and Emmy fall for another, hard and fast. But insecurities about themselves push these two to the brink.
As this is more of a novella, there isn't much touched on the transgender issue but it is a lovely story that shows love knows no boundaries.
This story begins with a young girl named Emmy, who is dating a boy that is bad news. Her mother is tired of of dealing with Emmy and ships her off to her uncle and aunt in Vancouver. As a teenager, Emmy has a lot of emotional issues and only views herself in a negative way. Through her cousin, she meets Jude,a transgender man who Emmy met years ago but he was Judy.
Jude and Emmy fall for another, hard and fast. But insecurities about themselves push these two to the brink.
As this is more of a novella, there isn't much touched on the transgender issue but it is a lovely story that shows love knows no boundaries.
June 14, 2017
E-ARC PROVIDED BY NETGALLEY AND THE PUBLISHER
This book it's probably my favorite read of 2017 so far.
I could relate so much with the way Emmy thinks about being fat, and the melancholy of the characters, and having anxiety, and Jude! Can't talk about representation in this part of the novel, but I loved him so much!
This was fluffy, sweet romance that made me cry as well as smile so much while reading it. I highly recommend it and can't wait for the physical book to be available so I can hug it and love it and reread it a million times.
This book it's probably my favorite read of 2017 so far.
I could relate so much with the way Emmy thinks about being fat, and the melancholy of the characters, and having anxiety, and Jude! Can't talk about representation in this part of the novel, but I loved him so much!
This was fluffy, sweet romance that made me cry as well as smile so much while reading it. I highly recommend it and can't wait for the physical book to be available so I can hug it and love it and reread it a million times.
July 23, 2017
*I received this book for review from NetGalley for my honest review*
I'm going to be bluntly honest here. I didn't like this book. I gave it two stars because it was a quick read and I'm sure there are people who would enjoy this.
To me, it was rushed and there wasn't a chance for me to get to know the characters and feel for them. I felt nothing for the characters and I felt nothing for the relationship. I appreciate the diversity in it but I just didn't like it.
I can appreciate why people like it though. It's a cute little contemporary. It's a very quick read.
I'm going to be bluntly honest here. I didn't like this book. I gave it two stars because it was a quick read and I'm sure there are people who would enjoy this.
To me, it was rushed and there wasn't a chance for me to get to know the characters and feel for them. I felt nothing for the characters and I felt nothing for the relationship. I appreciate the diversity in it but I just didn't like it.
I can appreciate why people like it though. It's a cute little contemporary. It's a very quick read.
August 11, 2023
E-ARC PROVIDED BY NETGALLEY AND THE PUBLISHER
This book it's probably my favorite read of 2017 so far.
I could relate so much with the way Emmy thinks about being fat, and the melancholy of the characters, and having anxiety, and Jude! Can't talk about representation in this part of the novel, but I loved him so much!
This was fluffy, sweet romance that made me cry as well as smile so much while reading it. I highly recommend it and can't wait for the physical book to be available so I can hug it and love it and reread it a million times.
This book it's probably my favorite read of 2017 so far.
I could relate so much with the way Emmy thinks about being fat, and the melancholy of the characters, and having anxiety, and Jude! Can't talk about representation in this part of the novel, but I loved him so much!
This was fluffy, sweet romance that made me cry as well as smile so much while reading it. I highly recommend it and can't wait for the physical book to be available so I can hug it and love it and reread it a million times.
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