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Body Grammar
A coming-of-age queer love story set in the glamorous but grueling world of international modeling—a "terrific debut ... roiling with deep questions of identity and art, love, and the irrepressible need for meaning in life" (Jess Walter, bestselling author of The Cold Millions)
By the time Lou turns eighteen, modeling agents across Portland have scouted her for her striking androgynous look. Lou has no interest in fashion or being in the spotlight. She prefers to take photographs, especially of Ivy, her close friend and secret crush.
But when a hike ends in a tragic accident, Lou finds herself lost and ridden with guilt. Determined to find a purpose, Lou moves to New York and steps into the dizzying world of international fashion shows, haute couture, and editorial shoots. It’s a whirlwind of learning how to walk and how to command a body she’s never felt at ease in. But in the limelight, Lou begins to fear that she’s losing her identity—as an individual, as an artist, and as a person still in love with the girl she left behind.
A sharply observed and intimate story of grief and healing, doubt and self-acceptance set against the hyper-image-conscious industry of modeling and high fashion, Body Grammar shines with the anxieties of finding your place in the world and the heartbreaking beauty of pursuing love.
By the time Lou turns eighteen, modeling agents across Portland have scouted her for her striking androgynous look. Lou has no interest in fashion or being in the spotlight. She prefers to take photographs, especially of Ivy, her close friend and secret crush.
But when a hike ends in a tragic accident, Lou finds herself lost and ridden with guilt. Determined to find a purpose, Lou moves to New York and steps into the dizzying world of international fashion shows, haute couture, and editorial shoots. It’s a whirlwind of learning how to walk and how to command a body she’s never felt at ease in. But in the limelight, Lou begins to fear that she’s losing her identity—as an individual, as an artist, and as a person still in love with the girl she left behind.
A sharply observed and intimate story of grief and healing, doubt and self-acceptance set against the hyper-image-conscious industry of modeling and high fashion, Body Grammar shines with the anxieties of finding your place in the world and the heartbreaking beauty of pursuing love.
303 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 14, 2022
86 people are currently reading
15496 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 478 reviews
May 8, 2024
Moving in a quiet, simplistic, true to life way. I love PNW lesbians and granola butches and people who are the living embodiment of “What Makes You Beautiful”
December 12, 2021
BODY GRAMMAR is gorgeously written; it’s chic, vivid, and glittering. It’s also sticky with big truths and stinging heartaches. Jules Ohman is a real talent.
July 17, 2022
Damn I wish I read this book when I was fifteen. It’s a really cute queer coming of age story with a happy ending that feels earned. I think a lot of the grittier realities of the modeling industry (homophobia, weight shaming) were overlooked to keep this book in the feel good category and it felt pretty unrealistic at times. It also read more like YA but I didn’t hate that. I liked the characters, I liked the romance and I really enjoyed reading it. It was very nice.
March 2, 2022
This book is such a sweet read. It's fun and funny and full of supermodels, but those are just the fancy clothes on a story that's deep and universal about becoming a whole person in the world. The love story does just what I want a love story to do: make me feel gooey but also never let me forget that the real love story is about falling in love with yourself, your art, your place in the world. Which, for me, is the whole point of reading.
June 26, 2022
Absolutely perfect.
March 11, 2022
exquisite. unapologetically queer and deeply, deeply moving.
July 26, 2022
this was just kaylor fanfiction but im not mad!
November 8, 2022
This debut novel from Jules Ohman is a beautifully written book about love, longing, and finding your way.
Everywhere Lou goes, her striking, androgynous looks catch the attention of modeling scouts. But the thought of being in front of the camera doesn’t appeal to Lou, who loves taking pictures of her own and dreams of studying ecology in college. She’s also nursing a serious crush on her best friend Ivy, yet neither is willing to make the first move.
When Lou is witness to a tragedy, her confusion about how to react causes a great deal of guilt and seems to widen the divide between her and Ivy. She decides to pursue modeling after all, learning how to be comfortable with a body she’s tried to hide all these years, and making connections with her fellow models.
Almost unwittingly, Lou becomes a sensation in the modeling world. And while she develops more comfort with being in front of the camera and on runways, she’s not sure if this is the life she wants. But mostly she can’t stop thinking about that one fateful day, and how much she still wants Ivy in her life.
This book is definitely character-driven, but I absolutely loved the emotions of the characters and the journeys they took. It’s tremendously self-assured for a debut novel, and it reminds me of one of my favorite authors, Nina LaCour, who writes so well about longing. I can’t wait to see what Ohman does next!!
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.
Follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/getbookedwithlarry/.
Everywhere Lou goes, her striking, androgynous looks catch the attention of modeling scouts. But the thought of being in front of the camera doesn’t appeal to Lou, who loves taking pictures of her own and dreams of studying ecology in college. She’s also nursing a serious crush on her best friend Ivy, yet neither is willing to make the first move.
When Lou is witness to a tragedy, her confusion about how to react causes a great deal of guilt and seems to widen the divide between her and Ivy. She decides to pursue modeling after all, learning how to be comfortable with a body she’s tried to hide all these years, and making connections with her fellow models.
Almost unwittingly, Lou becomes a sensation in the modeling world. And while she develops more comfort with being in front of the camera and on runways, she’s not sure if this is the life she wants. But mostly she can’t stop thinking about that one fateful day, and how much she still wants Ivy in her life.
This book is definitely character-driven, but I absolutely loved the emotions of the characters and the journeys they took. It’s tremendously self-assured for a debut novel, and it reminds me of one of my favorite authors, Nina LaCour, who writes so well about longing. I can’t wait to see what Ohman does next!!
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.
Follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/getbookedwithlarry/.
October 4, 2022
Lovely, concise read. It’s giving sapphic America’s Next Top Model fan fiction in a good way! Sometimes oversimplified musings and solutions, but ultimately heartfelt.
May 29, 2022
BODY GRAMMAR
Thank you to Goodreads and Vintage Books/Penguin Random House for this ARC.
I think that I expected to like this book more than I actually did—but that doesn’t mean that this story won’t touch someone else. With that being said, my rating has little to do with the value of the content, whether thematical or grammatical, and is mostly based on personal preference.
I did find the characterization in this story to be very realistic. Each individual in the story had their own fully realized goals and their own inner worlds that didn’t necessarily have to do with the narrator/protagonist (my personal favorite character was Harrison). This was something that I appreciated immensely, as it helped immerse the reader into the world of the book. It also helped that the descriptions of the runways and the ins-and-outs of the fashion world seemed well-researched.
Personally, I felt that there were really great isolated moments and chapters in this book that I enjoyed and that made me smile (the first chapter, Harrison and Lou’s trip to the garden, etc.), but it simply wasn’t my cup of tea, as much as I tried. However, I do hope that the author publishes again in the future. Who is to say that I won’t enjoy the next story?
#goodreadsgiveaways
Thank you to Goodreads and Vintage Books/Penguin Random House for this ARC.
I think that I expected to like this book more than I actually did—but that doesn’t mean that this story won’t touch someone else. With that being said, my rating has little to do with the value of the content, whether thematical or grammatical, and is mostly based on personal preference.
I did find the characterization in this story to be very realistic. Each individual in the story had their own fully realized goals and their own inner worlds that didn’t necessarily have to do with the narrator/protagonist (my personal favorite character was Harrison). This was something that I appreciated immensely, as it helped immerse the reader into the world of the book. It also helped that the descriptions of the runways and the ins-and-outs of the fashion world seemed well-researched.
Personally, I felt that there were really great isolated moments and chapters in this book that I enjoyed and that made me smile (the first chapter, Harrison and Lou’s trip to the garden, etc.), but it simply wasn’t my cup of tea, as much as I tried. However, I do hope that the author publishes again in the future. Who is to say that I won’t enjoy the next story?
#goodreadsgiveaways
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 23, 2022
Body Grammar is an incredibly sharp coming of age story that LGBTQIA+ people rarely get to claim. Lou, the primary character, is relatable in how she reckons with PTSD, and how that affects her confidence, body, and position in the world. While I didn't particularly relate to her unfulfilled love, it's all part of her realization of who she wants to be. Stumbling through the world is an important part of recognizing what you want from it, and Body Grammar exceeds in that storytelling. This novel is sexy and endearing, and a fun one to look out for.
August 25, 2024
Intriguing, fresh concept with a lot of potential, but for me the execution just fell short. Interesting themes but most of them were undeveloped, and a lot of “telling” instead of “showing.” There were pages here and there that were strong and made me feel a lot, but I felt a bit detached from the novel as a whole. Overall just felt like a pretty amateur work - but I think this was the writer’s debut so I’d be curious to see what else they write!
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December 22, 2022The writing was stunning, a really strong 3.5
July 15, 2022
I thought this was a poignant description of how a young person navigates sexuality, death, grief, friendships and young adulthood. I thought the premise was really cool and of course I love character driven novels so this really hit most of the marks with me.
November 21, 2022
4.5. really really liked this one, setting it partially in the modelling/fashion world was really interesting to me even tho I don’t really care abt that stuff at all, so it probably helped that Lou didn’t care much about it in some senses either. also always delightful to read a pnw book. I like a book that feels both modern and timeless without trying too hard, and I felt that this book achieved that. maybe I’ll feel differently if I reread it in the future and we’ve all stopped using instagram but who can say.
The relationships between Lou and Ivy (and Catherine and Thayer and Mari) were all really well done imo and I felt that it captured the feeling of being in a transition period personally/professionally. In this case it was the year after high school grad but as someone who is closer to/still in(?) the post-uni transition years the feelings were still familiar.
I liked how the ending came together too. With this type of novel I feel like the endings often leave something to be desired but I felt like Lou and the reader were taken to a natural endpoint that answered questions and left me feeling okay about leaving the characters on their own.
look end of the day I see a book with the phrase “delicious longing” in one of the back cover blurbs, I know I’m gonna like the book!
The relationships between Lou and Ivy (and Catherine and Thayer and Mari) were all really well done imo and I felt that it captured the feeling of being in a transition period personally/professionally. In this case it was the year after high school grad but as someone who is closer to/still in(?) the post-uni transition years the feelings were still familiar.
I liked how the ending came together too. With this type of novel I feel like the endings often leave something to be desired but I felt like Lou and the reader were taken to a natural endpoint that answered questions and left me feeling okay about leaving the characters on their own.
look end of the day I see a book with the phrase “delicious longing” in one of the back cover blurbs, I know I’m gonna like the book!
November 20, 2024
I don’t really get this book. I don’t understand Lou’s actual motivation behind modeling and many of her actions throughout the book.
Lou is apparently androgynous to the point where people mistake her for a boy, but that is only ever brought up once or twice. She wears menswear on the runway like once. But there’s no talk about any struggles she might have with that in the modeling industry. She doesn’t reflect on that at all, which is weird to me.
She is asked to lose “a couple inches” off her waist and doesn’t seem to have a problem with that. Besides being hungry. I just think that is incredibly unrealistic that an 18 year old just wouldn’t care about her body or how she is perceived at all!
Lou also breaks a photographers extremely expensive guitar, falls off a runway, and cancels on jobs all the time. And she never faces any consequences for any of those things. She is also booked immediately by huge designer brands to do shows. Just seems unrealistic.
Also I didn’t really care about the main relationship because they barely spent time together. There’s also a lot of unhealthy polyamory in this. Like why make so many characters poly but also cheaters?? Idl maybe it’s a NYC thing.
Lou is apparently androgynous to the point where people mistake her for a boy, but that is only ever brought up once or twice. She wears menswear on the runway like once. But there’s no talk about any struggles she might have with that in the modeling industry. She doesn’t reflect on that at all, which is weird to me.
She is asked to lose “a couple inches” off her waist and doesn’t seem to have a problem with that. Besides being hungry. I just think that is incredibly unrealistic that an 18 year old just wouldn’t care about her body or how she is perceived at all!
Lou also breaks a photographers extremely expensive guitar, falls off a runway, and cancels on jobs all the time. And she never faces any consequences for any of those things. She is also booked immediately by huge designer brands to do shows. Just seems unrealistic.
Also I didn’t really care about the main relationship because they barely spent time together. There’s also a lot of unhealthy polyamory in this. Like why make so many characters poly but also cheaters?? Idl maybe it’s a NYC thing.
February 14, 2022
Exquisite writing. Just amazing. This book is an excellent study of subtle emotions. It's also just a lot of fun to read. I like that Lou's anguish is about how to love someone specific and how to become herself. The voice and dialogue are both so funny!
This book captures the beguiling strangeness of modeling and lets the reader feel like part of the community of beautiful and complicated people in the industry. I would watch a TV show based on "Body Grammar" for sure.
I really like how sex was portrayed in this book; it felt real and reflective of the different kinds of experiences that young people have. The kisses that are hot. The ones that are fun. The ones that feel weird. The ones that are expressions of love.
And I loved the ending. The beautiful expansiveness of those last few pages. I want to feel that all the time.
This book captures the beguiling strangeness of modeling and lets the reader feel like part of the community of beautiful and complicated people in the industry. I would watch a TV show based on "Body Grammar" for sure.
I really like how sex was portrayed in this book; it felt real and reflective of the different kinds of experiences that young people have. The kisses that are hot. The ones that are fun. The ones that feel weird. The ones that are expressions of love.
And I loved the ending. The beautiful expansiveness of those last few pages. I want to feel that all the time.
February 8, 2023
2/8 - enjoyed it just as much the second time!
A tender, sharp, and gorgeous story! Great for anyone who enjoyed Nina LaCour's Yerba Buena or Julie Buntin's Marlena. I listened to the whole thing in a day and surprised myself with how drawn in I was to the story. Lou is a young model in NYC contemplating a tumultuous desire for her adolescent best friend among a tragedy that left them scattered. I loved watching Lou grow and shift and found the story entirely compelling in its exploration of identity.
A tender, sharp, and gorgeous story! Great for anyone who enjoyed Nina LaCour's Yerba Buena or Julie Buntin's Marlena. I listened to the whole thing in a day and surprised myself with how drawn in I was to the story. Lou is a young model in NYC contemplating a tumultuous desire for her adolescent best friend among a tragedy that left them scattered. I loved watching Lou grow and shift and found the story entirely compelling in its exploration of identity.
September 19, 2025
I think I hated every character but dang this was well-written 🤯 A story that captures the inbetweeen adolescence that feels like the Sundays of the August between high school graduation and college. Sprinkled with grief, growth and identity. A lot to think about and I loved the narrative tone and thought
January 7, 2024
A heartfelt, queer coming of age novel. Loved this one.
June 9, 2022
Jules Ohman has a wonderful way with words, vivid and descriptive and wonderfully emotional. This is not a full-throttled bildungsroman but one that hits you in all the soft spots in ways you don't even realize until long after it's over. I really loved Lou as a character, who was constantly at war with her own emotions and sometimes in denial of them but always really genuine. Her group of friends/acquaintances was also really well-drawn and relatable - I've known quite a few people like Harrison and Mari in my younger years so I found them very endearing.
I would have loved a more conclusive ending, but then, in a way, it was conclusive in its own way and left just as it should have been. There was just something very sweet and innocent about Body Grammar, not in an immature way but almost in a nostalgic one. Who among us can't remember searching for something we couldn't quite put our finger on while that very thing was right in front of us all the time?
Thanks to NetGalley, as always, for the ARC.
I would have loved a more conclusive ending, but then, in a way, it was conclusive in its own way and left just as it should have been. There was just something very sweet and innocent about Body Grammar, not in an immature way but almost in a nostalgic one. Who among us can't remember searching for something we couldn't quite put our finger on while that very thing was right in front of us all the time?
Thanks to NetGalley, as always, for the ARC.
January 12, 2023
Something I should’ve loved: lesbianism, fashion, New York, friendship, love, and loss. Yet I was so beyond disappointed. Every character was frustrating—other than Megan and Catherine—and had no sense of redemption come resolution. The few great lines did not outweigh the messy prose, cringe humor, and almost twitter-timeline dialogue. Where themes of grief and guilt could have been explored, they were left barely cracked at the surface and forgotten about until the end. Over 300 pages that could’ve been cut down to 150—a greatly unsatisfactory read.
February 15, 2023
:/ i wanted to like this and i gave it a fair shot but the writing was much too YA for me (a gentleman scholar) and i found it to be predictable and just like . not that interesting. also to write, print, and publish the words “they were a whole vibe” in a novel is ? heinous . i am a hater before all else and i dont think this book is objectively awful it just was not for me xoxo
March 2, 2025
i want to live in the world of this book omfg. big ups for quiet literature. modeling stuff at times did not feel realistic but i don’t mind bc i didn’t want lou to suffer any more than she already was
July 11, 2025
I didn’t think I’d end up giving it a 4 but the last 50 pages were like moving (I also read them on a bus while listening to sad music during sunset) but this was quietly really good
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June 28, 2023dnf at 50%- shockingly dull and unfeeling
September 24, 2022
BODY GRAMMAR
Jules Ohman
A coming-of-age story about alternative lifestyles of professional modeling over college education. One went to college and the other to New York as a professional model, they were young and in love but needed the time apart to grow.
This was one of the softest, quietest and gorgeously written books I have read. The characters are soft, smooth and complicated and so beautifully drawn. I loved everything about it including the title. I loved that despite all of her jet setting around working, she was still amazed that she was eating at the adult table.
4 stars
Happy Reading!
Jules Ohman
A coming-of-age story about alternative lifestyles of professional modeling over college education. One went to college and the other to New York as a professional model, they were young and in love but needed the time apart to grow.
This was one of the softest, quietest and gorgeously written books I have read. The characters are soft, smooth and complicated and so beautifully drawn. I loved everything about it including the title. I loved that despite all of her jet setting around working, she was still amazed that she was eating at the adult table.
4 stars
Happy Reading!
May 14, 2022
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
I was pleasantly surprised by this book. The characters, plot, and writing were well developed and beautifully balanced. Though it’s very much a coming of age story, the characters felt mature, and their experiences will resonate with regardless of your age.
Jules Ohman combines the feelings of not knowing who you are or what you want to do with the weight of grief, and mixes in the confusion of first loves to form an enchanting, engaging story that settles into their reader’s chest and rests there. It’s also a story that doesn’t center coming out as queer as a portion of the coming of age story which is rare to find in literature, and great to see normalized.
I was pleasantly surprised by this book. The characters, plot, and writing were well developed and beautifully balanced. Though it’s very much a coming of age story, the characters felt mature, and their experiences will resonate with regardless of your age.
Jules Ohman combines the feelings of not knowing who you are or what you want to do with the weight of grief, and mixes in the confusion of first loves to form an enchanting, engaging story that settles into their reader’s chest and rests there. It’s also a story that doesn’t center coming out as queer as a portion of the coming of age story which is rare to find in literature, and great to see normalized.
January 30, 2025
3.5*
Very chill, very queer, and entirely unrealistic, good enough to end the year on
Very chill, very queer, and entirely unrealistic, good enough to end the year on
June 22, 2023
honestly so beautifully melodically written. it has this serenity to it that it just feels like a story you can read as the backdrop of summer takes place despite the story taking place through the seasons. also, it’s beautiful but not annoyingly wordy nor does it use “big words” so it’s honestly really accessible to people who want to get into more lyrical stories that feel like a breeze to read through and won’t get you overwhelmed.
however, i do think i had trouble investing in the characters. it just felt like i was just outside rather than being in there, yknow? i was just finishing the story because i didn’t wanna have a dnf on my roster not because i genuinely cared how it was all gonna play it. plus, that play out was pretty mediocre anyway…which can feel a bit unsatisfying for some readers.
however, i do think i had trouble investing in the characters. it just felt like i was just outside rather than being in there, yknow? i was just finishing the story because i didn’t wanna have a dnf on my roster not because i genuinely cared how it was all gonna play it. plus, that play out was pretty mediocre anyway…which can feel a bit unsatisfying for some readers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 478 reviews