***TW: bullying, terminal illness, death of a loved one, homophobia ***
written by Sophie Gonzales
I requested this book from NetGalley as it was described as “a modern-day, queer re-imagining of GREASE” and I love Grease so what was not to like! And I am so glad I did. I haven’t read many books with LGBTQ characters so this was also something that intrigued me.
Ollie meets Will while on holiday and they have a wild, intense fling, promising to keep in touch once they go back to ‘real life’. But once summer is over Ollie doesn’t hear a word from Will. He knows that Will wasn’t ‘out’ but surely that isn’t a reason to blank him?
To make Ollies end of summer even worse, him and his family move to a different state t be nearer his aunt who is sick, meaning a new school and new people to make friends with.
As with Grease, it turns out that Will goes to Ollie’s new school, however Ollie soon feels worse about the whole situation as he gets blanked. Ollie makes friends with a group fo 3 girls who take him under their wing and help him muddle through high school.
I really enjoyed reading about the girls as they add a lot to the story and are all individuals who have their own issues to deal with, unlike a lot of high school girls in YA books.
There are a lot of serious, real life issues tackled in this book but they are written about so well. I definitely laughed and cried along with the characters!
There are hints to sex scenes through the book but none happen “on page” which I really liked as I think it makes the book more accessible to more young people? The story definitely didn’t leave me feeling like something was missing without them either!
This is a great book, I think those experiencing any of the issues that any of the characters are experiencing would enjoy, as well as just anyone really!
Stay safe and happy reading!
Highland Book Fairy 