T. > Recent Status Updates

having major issues with this book, which is sad bc i had super high hopes for it :'(

after reading some critical reviews, i've lost all desire to finish listening and am going to dnf. may pick up the physical book sometime and skim the rest out of morbid curiosity. maybe

HOLY FUCK his name is "Dev"?? i didn't reread the blurb before starting the audiobook and from the narrators' pronunciation i 100% thought his name was Dave. yikes

they seriously did the "you sound like you're demi!" "shrug, i don't really care about labels" thing... -_-

this premise/setup/plot just doesn't make sennnnnnse

The writing is *so bad*, this has already became a hate-read for me :/

aaaaand we've reached the romance beat where i almost dnf because i'm so frustrated with the characters....

OH and not to mention that after so much time is spent emphasizing the extremity of Simon's anxiety, he gets close to and trusts Jack unrealistically quickly. like listen my anxiety is not nearly as bad as simon's and i'm on meds for it, but i would not be feeling comfortable around someone after that little interaction. it's like we're just given highlight scenes but aren't actually seeing them build a relationship.

okay so apparently Simon is on meds for anxiety?? but there's no indication they make a difference. it's just mentioned and passed over. and i just feel like simon is somewhat infantilized, and jack finding it hot that he's sexually inexperienced is just kind of skeevy... OH and the book is doing the "romantic love saves simon from his sad life" thing. >.> but on the plus side, i love simon's grandma

and like... jack has multiple things going on in his life besides simon. simon only has jack and social anxiety.

--that relationship dynamic isn't appealing to me, i guess. like, i don't think simon is in the best place for a romantic relationship right now, i think he needs other types of support like friends/therapy/medication in order to get in a better place first. and having jack be the One Person Who is Kind to Simon feels like it's setting up for a sort of savior dynamic in the relationship?? idk it's just uncomfy to me

as someone with social anxiety, who was super quiet as a kid and got called shy just like Simon, i'm feeling weird about the portrayal of his social anxiety in this book... it's just so extreme and he has no support, which makes it a bit painful to read [listen to], and of course Jack is the super nice, understanding person who surprises Simon by not being a dick, but—

Grumpy @ this aromantic-erasing line: "the world kind of sucks, and sometimes, the hope for a fairy-tale romance is all we've really got."

basically vaughn just lets jonah treat him really shittily and is just grateful for his presence. for reasons unknown.

"a vaguely snippy jonah on his couch was better than no jonah at all." ugh, vaughn, you deserve better!

ugh vaughn, jonah wasn't "guarded and wary", he was outright hostile!

at least the definition of asexuality is an inclusive one

i'm frustrated that we're getting this scene from jonah's pov, like jonah is the one we're supposed to empathize with. instead of getting to see how shitty his reaction is from vaughn's perspective.

*vaughn* is apologizing to *jonah*? seriously??

vaugh: get up [off my lap]
jonah: make me
ughhhhhh

loooooove reading about an ace character getting non-consenually kissed and touched a whole bunch! /s

Seriously. Jonah is a total asshole. So mad.

yayyyyy, everyone just violate vaughn's boundaries, awesome. /s and vaughn not standing up for himself at all... ugh. (like, he's allowed to get upset if someone kisses him without his consent! that isn't okay, and i'm frustrated that the author has him just go along with it without comment or having strong feelings at all). anti-shipping them rn honestly.

yayyyyy, everyone just violate vaughn's boundaries, awesome. /s and vaughn not standing up for himself at all... ugh. anti-shipping them rn honestly

I was so enjoying the low-conflict nature of this book and hoping it would stay that way... but it was not to be ;_;

ok, what is up with both of them having non-white restaurant owner friends who speak in broken english?? like, once was bad enough, but then it happened *again* :side-eye:

**spoilers-ish**

The kid died? Really? So unnecessary; it feels like a cheap device. Was already thinking of dnf-ing, definitely going to now.

i've just lost interest at this point, it's dragging on too longggg

Was really enjoying it for a while, then started feeling like it was dragging on too long, and *then* it got very cop-happy, and bleh. Also the intensity majorly picked up all of a sudden, after being like 70% normal teen life drama (again, too long), which is jarring...