I won an advanced copy of How it All Blew Up through NetGalley, so I could share my review with you!
Disclaimer: I recommend reading additional OwnVoices reviews of this title, as they have more personal opinions on the representation shown in this story. As a (non-male identifying) queer book blogger, I am only able to reflect on specific elements of the story with personal nuance, so I will focus my review on how I related to that content.
Amir never thought coming out to his more traditional family would be easy, but even he didn’t expect to end up in an airport interrogation room because of it. After a classmate captures a photo of Amir kissing another boy, Amir is forced to contend with blackmail and the constant fear of being outed to his family. His classmate demands increasingly large amounts of money, with the ultimatum that, if he isn’t paid by graduation night, he’ll make sure everyone in Amir’s life knows he’s gay. But, when graduation finally comes around, Amir decides that maybe he just needs to escape. To run away to someplace where blackmail and family troubles would become distant memories. So, Amir throws some things into a bag and leaves for places unknown, with the hopes of maybe getting to really be himself. After a whirlwind month spent living in Italy, Amir lands himself in an interrogation room, telling the officers how, exactly, his whole world blew up in the span of a few weeks.
You can get your copy of How it All Blew Up on September 22nd from Viking Books for Young Readers!
This book was an extremely easy and enjoyable read, which took me less than a day to finish. The narrative flowed quickly, finding a balance between joy and struggle that I found to be very readable. How it All Blew Up is the sort of contemporary novel I like to read best during summertime, both because of its shorter length and because of its self-discovery narrative.
My Recommendation-
If you have been looking for a book that explores themes of the duality of identity, and personal discovery, you should pick up How it All Blew Up! This book would be a good fit for fans of Adam Silvera or Ben Philippe, because of its critically timed character development!
Disclaimer: I recommend reading additional OwnVoices reviews of this title, as they have more personal opinions on the representation shown in this story. As a (non-male identifying) queer book blogger, I am only able to reflect on specific elements of the story with personal nuance, so I will focus my review on how I related to that content.
Amir never thought coming out to his more traditional family would be easy, but even he didn’t expect to end up in an airport interrogation room because of it. After a classmate captures a photo of Amir kissing another boy, Amir is forced to contend with blackmail and the constant fear of being outed to his family. His classmate demands increasingly large amounts of money, with the ultimatum that, if he isn’t paid by graduation night, he’ll make sure everyone in Amir’s life knows he’s gay. But, when graduation finally comes around, Amir decides that maybe he just needs to escape. To run away to someplace where blackmail and family troubles would become distant memories. So, Amir throws some things into a bag and leaves for places unknown, with the hopes of maybe getting to really be himself. After a whirlwind month spent living in Italy, Amir lands himself in an interrogation room, telling the officers how, exactly, his whole world blew up in the span of a few weeks.
You can get your copy of How it All Blew Up on September 22nd from Viking Books for Young Readers!
This book was an extremely easy and enjoyable read, which took me less than a day to finish. The narrative flowed quickly, finding a balance between joy and struggle that I found to be very readable. How it All Blew Up is the sort of contemporary novel I like to read best during summertime, both because of its shorter length and because of its self-discovery narrative.
My Recommendation-
If you have been looking for a book that explores themes of the duality of identity, and personal discovery, you should pick up How it All Blew Up! This book would be a good fit for fans of Adam Silvera or Ben Philippe, because of its critically timed character development!