Who would've thought Soccer Boys would steal my Heart?
Who would've thought my heart would be stolen by some Soccer Boy(s)? Passing Playbook fed me and my next of kin.
Okay, maybe I don't have kin and maybe this book isn't very nutritional according to any professional, but it's oh so sweet. Straight off the bat, readers are introduced to the funny Spencer Harris. After reading just the first few pages, I found myself fiercely attached to Passing Playbook because of Spencer's humor (I literally lol'd, folks) and how Isaac Fitzsimons showed the nose-burning, palm-sweating situations and experiences of queer teens that spawn after Coming Out -- aka loved ones who don't quite understand, the looming worry of having students know you're out before you're ready and navigating this new space of queer-ness.
This was a refreshing read that focuses on the variety of intricacies of coming out and having a queer and trans identity as well as the good and the joy and the love of it. Overall, this was an extraordinarily fresh read after a line of stories with dreary storylines and a reading slump. Passing Playbook manages to balance an incredibly readable style (I was FLYING through these damn pages) with humor and depth to the point that it was so easy for me to slip into the book and for the world to melt away -- like literally, I was reading these out in the hot Texas heat today while waiting to go home from school and forgot about my surroundings because I was practically being transported. I'm adding this to the list of books to pack with me for college (it's a few months down the road, but I'm planning early lol)
Why is it only 4 Stars then?
First of all, don't get it twisted: 4 stars still means that this book is exceptional and this is a book I'd probably revisit again down the road. That being said, I see this book as a "I'm in a reading slump and/or sad, lemme find a comforting book that's easy to read in order to feel impassioned again and like I'm capable of feeling love" type book rather than a "this book must've hit me in my eyes and got me new ones because I see the world differently. What is life? What is love? Who am I? I literally see myself in all aspects of this character" vibes which how I differentiate between a 4-star read and a 5-star one.
Okay, maybe I don't have kin and maybe this book isn't very nutritional according to any professional, but it's oh so sweet. Straight off the bat, readers are introduced to the funny Spencer Harris. After reading just the first few pages, I found myself fiercely attached to Passing Playbook because of Spencer's humor (I literally lol'd, folks) and how Isaac Fitzsimons showed the nose-burning, palm-sweating situations and experiences of queer teens that spawn after Coming Out -- aka loved ones who don't quite understand, the looming worry of having students know you're out before you're ready and navigating this new space of queer-ness.
This was a refreshing read that focuses on the variety of intricacies of coming out and having a queer and trans identity as well as the good and the joy and the love of it. Overall, this was an extraordinarily fresh read after a line of stories with dreary storylines and a reading slump. Passing Playbook manages to balance an incredibly readable style (I was FLYING through these damn pages) with humor and depth to the point that it was so easy for me to slip into the book and for the world to melt away -- like literally, I was reading these out in the hot Texas heat today while waiting to go home from school and forgot about my surroundings because I was practically being transported. I'm adding this to the list of books to pack with me for college (it's a few months down the road, but I'm planning early lol)
Why is it only 4 Stars then?
First of all, don't get it twisted: 4 stars still means that this book is exceptional and this is a book I'd probably revisit again down the road. That being said, I see this book as a "I'm in a reading slump and/or sad, lemme find a comforting book that's easy to read in order to feel impassioned again and like I'm capable of feeling love" type book rather than a "this book must've hit me in my eyes and got me new ones because I see the world differently. What is life? What is love? Who am I? I literally see myself in all aspects of this character" vibes which how I differentiate between a 4-star read and a 5-star one.