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And They Lived . . .
Chase Arthur is a budding animator and hopeless romantic obsessed with Disney films and finding his true love, but he's plagued with the belief that he's not enough for anyone: he's recovering from an eating disorder and suffers from body dysmorphia fueled by his father, and can't quite figure out his gender identity. When Chase starts his freshman year of college, he has to navigate being away from home and missing his sister, finding his squad, and contending with his ex-best friend Leila who is gunning for the same exclusive mentorship. If only he can pull together a short for the freshman animation showcase at the end of the semester.
Then Chase meets Jack Reid, a pragmatic poet who worships words and longs to experience life outside of his sheltered world. But Chase throws everything into question for Jack, who is still discovering his sexual identity, having grown up in close-knit conservative family. Jack internalized a lot of homophobia from his parents and childhood best friend, who unexpectedly visit campus, which threatens to destroy their relationship. Chase will have to learn to love--and be enough for--himself, while discovering what it means to truly live.
Then Chase meets Jack Reid, a pragmatic poet who worships words and longs to experience life outside of his sheltered world. But Chase throws everything into question for Jack, who is still discovering his sexual identity, having grown up in close-knit conservative family. Jack internalized a lot of homophobia from his parents and childhood best friend, who unexpectedly visit campus, which threatens to destroy their relationship. Chase will have to learn to love--and be enough for--himself, while discovering what it means to truly live.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published March 8, 2022
About the author
Steven Salvatore
5 books471 followersSteven Salvatore is a gay chaos agent whose obsessions include Star Wars, Mariah Carey, his loud Italian family, boating in the Adirondacks, exploring Italy, and having and then dissecting his existential crises (not in that order). For twelve years, he was a studied, accomplished writing professor having held many positions within higher education spheres; he now works as an academic advisor at Manhattanville University. He has an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School and he’s a book coach and founder of Queerative Writers, a full-service creative hub for LGBTQ+ aspiring writers. A lifelong New Yorker, he now lives in New Jersey with his amazing fiancé Chris.
Steven is represented by Jess Regel at Helm Literary.
Steven is represented by Jess Regel at Helm Literary.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 540 reviews
December 20, 2021
When I read the synopsis for this book I was so hyped, I’m a queer, trans, perpetually single student in art college and this book sounded made for me. And then I received a physical ARC with that GORGEOUS cover illustrated and my excitement grew even more. Well. That died out fast.
Earlier this year I received an ARC of this authors debut, Can’t Take This Away which I also gave a one star, but I wanted to give this a chance anyways since the synopsis hooked me and I hoped they would have gotten better since their debut. My main issues with cant take this away was the cringe-ness and unrealistic-ness and this book also had those issues MAJORLY.
First lets start with the cringe. I am a reader who cant deal with second hand embarrassment or annoying main characters and OOF did this book contain lots of that. Heres just a few examples of note:
- He put a stop motion gay Disney fanfiction done with barbies in his college portfolio,,,, AND IS PROUD OF IT
- The MC displayed said half naked, gay disney barbies in his dorm room,,, I would immediately request a room transfer if I was his roommate
- The MC wearing,,, a shirt with Disney’s prince Adam on it,shirtless as a grindr profile,,,, on the first day of college,,,,
- Basically this 18 year old has the personality of a millennial Disney adult and I hate him so much
- “Honey badger don’t give a shit is literally the best video on the interwebs” this is a real line that was said,,,, by an 18 yr old character,,,,
- Im not like other boys,,, I only carry my phone around to write poetry on,,,, yes this is a real thing the love interest said
- sexting poetry,,,,,, I cant
- The MC and LI snuck into a gallery where the LI stripped naked for erotic life drawing,,,, I wish I was lying
And this is only the tip of the iceberg of cringy happenings in this book
Next I should speak on is the unrealistic-ness of this book. If I wasn’t a college art student, I don’t think it would be as glaringly obvious, but since this setting is basically my life it made every mistake so so obvious:
- Saying Spider-verse, Coraline, and Spirited Away are Indie films???? Just because its not Disney doesn’t make it Indie?????
- Throwing it words like tortillons and chamois made it feel like the author was trying to hard to sound like a real artist 1) tortillons are the same as blending stumps don’t say ur MC is using both to draw and 2) I have never met anyone who actually uses these and if the do they definitely don’t call them tortillons 3) who on earth is blending there animation sketches?????
- Hes in advanced animation??? first semester??? wow this author did no research first semester of every art collge is core, you dont even touch your major. Its all color theory, gesture, the basics
- They’re animating shorts for a competition??? as college freshmen???? no nope nope thats not how this works no one even gets to make shorts till junior year , these kids shouldn’t even be animating a bouncing ball yet
- did this author even research how animation works. Where is the thumbnails? storyboarding? character design?
- This book really tried to say. one high school student. in just a few months. alone. made an entire rendered short. and went viral. absolutely the fuck he did not, at best that animation was an animatic this is not how animation works AT ALL and what is it with YA books and making things go viral, going viral is not common or easy
- also he was interviewed by “buzzfeed” aka “buzzword”??? and some how all these random people have watched that interview and ask him about it on campus. yeah no that would not happen god this is unrealistic
- He says hes now coloring his animation short after only TWO MONTHS OF WORK and four other classes???? no nonono thats not how this works that would take years and a whole team to do unless its like 15 secs long
- Theres a reception at the end of the semester where everyone shows their projects which are said to be amazing, all of them. I can promise you, if a group of animation freshman had to make full shorts in 3 months with a full class-load,,, they would all suck
My next issue I want to speak on is the diversity. For a queer book about art school, theres little diversity. Outside the MC theres only gay boys, all the girl characters are straight, and no one else is nonbinary or trans. As someone in art college its harder to finder a cishet student than a queer one. Also, Hey YA authors STOP INCLUDING MEMES AND POP CULTURE IN BOOKS!!! All it does is date it and make it cringy. The romance in this book has no chemistry and is very insta love, and honestly, extremely toxic, which I will get into next.
The final issue I need to speak about is the problematic and triggering content. Up till like page 250 this was just a cringy, badly written romance. But then out of literally NOWHERE it got extremely triggering with no warning whatsoever. Can we PLEASE normalize trigger warnings in books with notes of pages that contain them?? Please???
- The MC and LI are having sex and suddenly the LI best friend walk in on them and starts hurling explicit slurs and threats of outing. Like in the span of one page it went from just a cheesy sex scene to extreme homophobia and fatphobia. In response the LI takes space from him and they separate for a while
- In response to the LI being outed, the MC makes himself the victim and basically gaslights the LI to thinking he’s at fault for them breaking up. Like im sorry??? The LI got outed to a homophobic family and I’m supposed to feel bad for the MC here????
- Next there was TW graphic depictions of disordered eating and purging, which really need a warning before getting marketed to teems
- So now, after being outed and gaslighted, the LI makes a big romantic gesture at the animtion reception, the LI stands up, grabs the mic, and reads shitty poetry to try and win back chases love, never acknologing just how shitty the MC treated him. I hate this book.
And then of course it got a happily ever after, somehow. They are in love and back together, the MC gets an animation internship as a freshman, and the LI family is suddenly supportive. The End. All I have to say in conclusion is that Chase is the real antagonist, and I side with his bully who shit talks him and his work, shes right and should say it
Rep: Nonbinary, queer, gay, jewish
CW: Eating disorder, divorced parents, sexual innuendos, explicit scenes, slurs, outing, homophobia, fatphobia, extremly triggering scene pg 258, purging, suicidal thoughts, underqge drinking, recreational drugs
Earlier this year I received an ARC of this authors debut, Can’t Take This Away which I also gave a one star, but I wanted to give this a chance anyways since the synopsis hooked me and I hoped they would have gotten better since their debut. My main issues with cant take this away was the cringe-ness and unrealistic-ness and this book also had those issues MAJORLY.
First lets start with the cringe. I am a reader who cant deal with second hand embarrassment or annoying main characters and OOF did this book contain lots of that. Heres just a few examples of note:
- He put a stop motion gay Disney fanfiction done with barbies in his college portfolio,,,, AND IS PROUD OF IT
- The MC displayed said half naked, gay disney barbies in his dorm room,,, I would immediately request a room transfer if I was his roommate
- The MC wearing,,, a shirt with Disney’s prince Adam on it,shirtless as a grindr profile,,,, on the first day of college,,,,
- Basically this 18 year old has the personality of a millennial Disney adult and I hate him so much
- “Honey badger don’t give a shit is literally the best video on the interwebs” this is a real line that was said,,,, by an 18 yr old character,,,,
- Im not like other boys,,, I only carry my phone around to write poetry on,,,, yes this is a real thing the love interest said
- sexting poetry,,,,,, I cant
- The MC and LI snuck into a gallery where the LI stripped naked for erotic life drawing,,,, I wish I was lying
And this is only the tip of the iceberg of cringy happenings in this book
Next I should speak on is the unrealistic-ness of this book. If I wasn’t a college art student, I don’t think it would be as glaringly obvious, but since this setting is basically my life it made every mistake so so obvious:
- Saying Spider-verse, Coraline, and Spirited Away are Indie films???? Just because its not Disney doesn’t make it Indie?????
- Throwing it words like tortillons and chamois made it feel like the author was trying to hard to sound like a real artist 1) tortillons are the same as blending stumps don’t say ur MC is using both to draw and 2) I have never met anyone who actually uses these and if the do they definitely don’t call them tortillons 3) who on earth is blending there animation sketches?????
- Hes in advanced animation??? first semester??? wow this author did no research first semester of every art collge is core, you dont even touch your major. Its all color theory, gesture, the basics
- They’re animating shorts for a competition??? as college freshmen???? no nope nope thats not how this works no one even gets to make shorts till junior year , these kids shouldn’t even be animating a bouncing ball yet
- did this author even research how animation works. Where is the thumbnails? storyboarding? character design?
- This book really tried to say. one high school student. in just a few months. alone. made an entire rendered short. and went viral. absolutely the fuck he did not, at best that animation was an animatic this is not how animation works AT ALL and what is it with YA books and making things go viral, going viral is not common or easy
- also he was interviewed by “buzzfeed” aka “buzzword”??? and some how all these random people have watched that interview and ask him about it on campus. yeah no that would not happen god this is unrealistic
- He says hes now coloring his animation short after only TWO MONTHS OF WORK and four other classes???? no nonono thats not how this works that would take years and a whole team to do unless its like 15 secs long
- Theres a reception at the end of the semester where everyone shows their projects which are said to be amazing, all of them. I can promise you, if a group of animation freshman had to make full shorts in 3 months with a full class-load,,, they would all suck
My next issue I want to speak on is the diversity. For a queer book about art school, theres little diversity. Outside the MC theres only gay boys, all the girl characters are straight, and no one else is nonbinary or trans. As someone in art college its harder to finder a cishet student than a queer one. Also, Hey YA authors STOP INCLUDING MEMES AND POP CULTURE IN BOOKS!!! All it does is date it and make it cringy. The romance in this book has no chemistry and is very insta love, and honestly, extremely toxic, which I will get into next.
The final issue I need to speak about is the problematic and triggering content. Up till like page 250 this was just a cringy, badly written romance. But then out of literally NOWHERE it got extremely triggering with no warning whatsoever. Can we PLEASE normalize trigger warnings in books with notes of pages that contain them?? Please???
- The MC and LI are having sex and suddenly the LI best friend walk in on them and starts hurling explicit slurs and threats of outing. Like in the span of one page it went from just a cheesy sex scene to extreme homophobia and fatphobia. In response the LI takes space from him and they separate for a while
- In response to the LI being outed, the MC makes himself the victim and basically gaslights the LI to thinking he’s at fault for them breaking up. Like im sorry??? The LI got outed to a homophobic family and I’m supposed to feel bad for the MC here????
- Next there was TW graphic depictions of disordered eating and purging, which really need a warning before getting marketed to teems
- So now, after being outed and gaslighted, the LI makes a big romantic gesture at the animtion reception, the LI stands up, grabs the mic, and reads shitty poetry to try and win back chases love, never acknologing just how shitty the MC treated him. I hate this book.
And then of course it got a happily ever after, somehow. They are in love and back together, the MC gets an animation internship as a freshman, and the LI family is suddenly supportive. The End. All I have to say in conclusion is that Chase is the real antagonist, and I side with his bully who shit talks him and his work, shes right and should say it
Rep: Nonbinary, queer, gay, jewish
CW: Eating disorder, divorced parents, sexual innuendos, explicit scenes, slurs, outing, homophobia, fatphobia, extremly triggering scene pg 258, purging, suicidal thoughts, underqge drinking, recreational drugs
Want to read
August 29, 2021I'm a simple reader. If you mention:
- A character that likes Disney movies
- A mental health rep
- Self-discovery
- LGBTQ+ content
- AND poetry!!!
The book will always land on my TBR!
Why are there so many good books coming out? 😭🙈
- A character that likes Disney movies
- A mental health rep
- Self-discovery
- LGBTQ+ content
- AND poetry!!!
The book will always land on my TBR!
Why are there so many good books coming out? 😭🙈
June 3, 2023
Beautiful, beautiful book, and beautiful, beautiful author’s notes. D*mn, why do these kinds of author’s notes always make me cry?
Sometimes by reading just a few pages, I know that a story is more than just good. And They Lived … touched my whole being. From the first sentence, the writing is incredibly vivid, and the characterization is outstanding. Funny moments (OMG, the condom thing, my mom did a similar thing a long time ago) are interspersed with heavy topics like gender identity, body dysmorphia, and coming out, and they all fit together so wonderfully.
While I was reading And They Lived …, I had a conversation with someone who asked me, “How are you doing?” and more deeper, “Which highlights and lowlights shaped your life?” Those questions made my body shiver and my stomach churn. And when I picked up And They Lived … again, I thought about those questions and felt so seen by this book. I have had body-image issues since my teens and have other insecurities as well. As a grown-up woman, I know there’s no reason to be that insecure, but mentally, to shut up that voice in your head … It always comes back to one thing: to love and accept yourself for who you are. I know … Anyway … back to the book.
What other people want from you is more about them than you. Don’t let anyone hold power over you. You’re a beautiful person, inside and outside, and you deserve to hear that.
We all know the sentence, ‘And They Lived happily ever after,’ and we’re all focused on the last part of this sentence because we all want a HEA. It sounds so beautiful, right? But is a HEA realistic? There’s a wonderful part in this story about this sentence. We all have ups and downs, insecurities, and questions. Because that’s life. And I’m so glad that And They Lived … is not a fairytale. It’s a story about real life, insecurities, harder-hitting topics, and of course, love. But even love can be hard sometimes. Because that’s life too.
I cherished Chase and Jack, I was intrigued by the side characters, and I adored Jack’s mesmerizing poems. Thanks so much, Steven, for writing such an important book! Like I said, even though I’m not a teen, I felt seen.
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Sometimes by reading just a few pages, I know that a story is more than just good. And They Lived … touched my whole being. From the first sentence, the writing is incredibly vivid, and the characterization is outstanding. Funny moments (OMG, the condom thing, my mom did a similar thing a long time ago) are interspersed with heavy topics like gender identity, body dysmorphia, and coming out, and they all fit together so wonderfully.
While I was reading And They Lived …, I had a conversation with someone who asked me, “How are you doing?” and more deeper, “Which highlights and lowlights shaped your life?” Those questions made my body shiver and my stomach churn. And when I picked up And They Lived … again, I thought about those questions and felt so seen by this book. I have had body-image issues since my teens and have other insecurities as well. As a grown-up woman, I know there’s no reason to be that insecure, but mentally, to shut up that voice in your head … It always comes back to one thing: to love and accept yourself for who you are. I know … Anyway … back to the book.
What other people want from you is more about them than you. Don’t let anyone hold power over you. You’re a beautiful person, inside and outside, and you deserve to hear that.
We all know the sentence, ‘And They Lived happily ever after,’ and we’re all focused on the last part of this sentence because we all want a HEA. It sounds so beautiful, right? But is a HEA realistic? There’s a wonderful part in this story about this sentence. We all have ups and downs, insecurities, and questions. Because that’s life. And I’m so glad that And They Lived … is not a fairytale. It’s a story about real life, insecurities, harder-hitting topics, and of course, love. But even love can be hard sometimes. Because that’s life too.
I cherished Chase and Jack, I was intrigued by the side characters, and I adored Jack’s mesmerizing poems. Thanks so much, Steven, for writing such an important book! Like I said, even though I’m not a teen, I felt seen.
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March 9, 2022
I would add CWs but that would be preparing you to read the book when I just wholeheartedly believe that no one should read this.
Violently fatphobic, this book discusses body dysmorphia, EDs, and lots of other complex topics, yet handles them all so poorly that I have no hesitation in calling it harmful.
If I were to write comps around this book, I would call it "if Becky Albertalli wrote A Little Life."
As a fat person, a queer person, a nonbinary person, and a Jewish person, I am absolutely appalled. Frankly, I don't trust anyone who recommends this.
Part of me wants to leave quotes to prove how awful this is but it's literally so triggering in its content that I don't feel comfortable doing so. Rather, here is the link to a review that I think sums up a lot of awful things about it pretty well.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Violently fatphobic, this book discusses body dysmorphia, EDs, and lots of other complex topics, yet handles them all so poorly that I have no hesitation in calling it harmful.
If I were to write comps around this book, I would call it "if Becky Albertalli wrote A Little Life."
As a fat person, a queer person, a nonbinary person, and a Jewish person, I am absolutely appalled. Frankly, I don't trust anyone who recommends this.
Part of me wants to leave quotes to prove how awful this is but it's literally so triggering in its content that I don't feel comfortable doing so. Rather, here is the link to a review that I think sums up a lot of awful things about it pretty well.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
August 31, 2021
And They Lived is an absolute knockout of a book. Personal, moving, and devastatingly comforting in a way that only Steven Salvatore can do, this fairytale inspired story is one for the ages. A perfect balance of joy, love, pain, and healing, reading this book was a catharsis. I wish I could go back in time and give this book to a younger version of myself, because she desperately needed a story like this one.
I cannot express enough how much I loved this book, with it's silly college adventures, sex positivity, gender feelings, and the honest approach to mental health. Seeing these characters heal, seeing Chase Arthur learn to love himself and heal, was literally like I got to release the tension I'd been holding in since my college days, like I was healing right alongside him. Because this book exists, I know that everything is going to be okay, that I am worth a happily ever after, but what's most important is that I live.
I cannot express enough how much I loved this book, with it's silly college adventures, sex positivity, gender feelings, and the honest approach to mental health. Seeing these characters heal, seeing Chase Arthur learn to love himself and heal, was literally like I got to release the tension I'd been holding in since my college days, like I was healing right alongside him. Because this book exists, I know that everything is going to be okay, that I am worth a happily ever after, but what's most important is that I live.
April 20, 2022
This book was absolutely awful for every reason imaginable, and I am honestly shocked that it got published.
First of all, this is clearly the author’s self-insert, wish-fulfilment fic about how they wish their first year of uni had gone. It's unrealistic, and honestly doesn't make sense in a lot of places.
Secondly, the characters are horrible, especially the MC who is pushy, and tries to force Jack to come out to his parents when he’s not ready. He's so self-absorbed, does not realise what his friends are going through. Not only that, but they’re the best at everything, can make no mistake in animation. Their roommate, Benny, is a walking gay stereotype who swallowed the worst seasons of drag race. Not only that, but I swear when MC and Benny were talking, it felt like someone had ingested and then vomited Gen Z slang all over the page. But then the pop-culture references are millennial? Clearly the author was trying to appeal to a younger generation, but they got confused.
You know when people ask for trigger warnings at the beginning of a book, it's because of novels like this one. The MC has been battling binge eating for years. Chapter 18 is absolutely awful and triggering - the MC gets harrassed and humiliated by their own father, not once but like four times until someone intervenes??? And they are all so awful, why would the author humiliate the MC so much?! Once was enough. And the love interest, who "saves" them, his retort is so weak and feable? It's like slapping a kindergarteners hand slightly "no no". Imo it would needed a stronger rebuke if you want to teach your younger audience something. Everything is just done in extremis, absolutely no nuance anywhere.
I also didn't feel any chemistry between MC and Jack, and let's not even talk about the sex scenes (which felt too vulgar for the intended audience). Also Benny has a dildo collection? Lmao what 18/19 year old broke student has such a thing?
Lastly, I want to say that this book tries so hard to be woke, it's ridiculous. Someone please tell the author that you don't need to address the million issues out there - because by acknowledging all, but only in 1-2 sentences, it comes across as insincere. There's also the issue of misogyny - none of the women in this book are complex characters and they just exist to further the MC's arc.
First of all, this is clearly the author’s self-insert, wish-fulfilment fic about how they wish their first year of uni had gone. It's unrealistic, and honestly doesn't make sense in a lot of places.
Secondly, the characters are horrible, especially the MC who is pushy, and tries to force Jack to come out to his parents when he’s not ready. He's so self-absorbed, does not realise what his friends are going through. Not only that, but they’re the best at everything, can make no mistake in animation. Their roommate, Benny, is a walking gay stereotype who swallowed the worst seasons of drag race. Not only that, but I swear when MC and Benny were talking, it felt like someone had ingested and then vomited Gen Z slang all over the page. But then the pop-culture references are millennial? Clearly the author was trying to appeal to a younger generation, but they got confused.
You know when people ask for trigger warnings at the beginning of a book, it's because of novels like this one. The MC has been battling binge eating for years. Chapter 18 is absolutely awful and triggering - the MC gets harrassed and humiliated by their own father, not once but like four times until someone intervenes??? And they are all so awful, why would the author humiliate the MC so much?! Once was enough. And the love interest, who "saves" them, his retort is so weak and feable? It's like slapping a kindergarteners hand slightly "no no". Imo it would needed a stronger rebuke if you want to teach your younger audience something. Everything is just done in extremis, absolutely no nuance anywhere.
I also didn't feel any chemistry between MC and Jack, and let's not even talk about the sex scenes (which felt too vulgar for the intended audience). Also Benny has a dildo collection? Lmao what 18/19 year old broke student has such a thing?
Lastly, I want to say that this book tries so hard to be woke, it's ridiculous. Someone please tell the author that you don't need to address the million issues out there - because by acknowledging all, but only in 1-2 sentences, it comes across as insincere. There's also the issue of misogyny - none of the women in this book are complex characters and they just exist to further the MC's arc.
June 4, 2022
I understand that this is a hugely personal book for the author, but that doesn’t change the fact that it is also bad. I’ve hardly ever read anything I’ve disliked this much. The story was bland at best, and the only truly interesting characters were the side characters, which were barely fleshed out. I think it’s worst quality is its “and everyone clapped” energy. As I’m not in the target audience, I try to give YA and NA books a bit more leeway than adult novels. However, this YA novel is filled with references so old that I can tell it was written for when I was a teenager. Why are there more references to snapchat and “honey badger don’t quit” than tiktok, which is never once mentioned????????
It’s like this book was written by a 14 year old on tumblr in 2012. It’s painfully obvious that the mc is a self-insert by the author. That’s never a dealbreaker for me, as there are many excellent books that start that way, but this was a bit much. I would recommend this as a hate-read for anyone who likes to do that.
Edit: after a month of self reflection, I’d like to add that I think this book is not only bad but also actively harmful. As other reviewers have pointed out, almost every single character in this book is a harmful stereotype. I can’t speak to the tokenism of jewish and non-white characters, so I will let other reviews speak to that. However, as a fat non-binary person with eating issues, the portrayal of fatness within this book is absolutely not up to standard. I have no idea if the author was ever a fat person, but the experience of having body dysmorphia does not translate into experience with fatness. I originally encouraged people to hate read this, but I don’t think that was appropriate and I apologise for that. Please do not read or support this author in any way.
It’s like this book was written by a 14 year old on tumblr in 2012. It’s painfully obvious that the mc is a self-insert by the author. That’s never a dealbreaker for me, as there are many excellent books that start that way, but this was a bit much. I would recommend this as a hate-read for anyone who likes to do that.
Edit: after a month of self reflection, I’d like to add that I think this book is not only bad but also actively harmful. As other reviewers have pointed out, almost every single character in this book is a harmful stereotype. I can’t speak to the tokenism of jewish and non-white characters, so I will let other reviews speak to that. However, as a fat non-binary person with eating issues, the portrayal of fatness within this book is absolutely not up to standard. I have no idea if the author was ever a fat person, but the experience of having body dysmorphia does not translate into experience with fatness. I originally encouraged people to hate read this, but I don’t think that was appropriate and I apologise for that. Please do not read or support this author in any way.
June 24, 2023
I wanted to just slip this one under the radar and dodge reviewing it but as it's one of my Twelve Recommendations in Twelve Months.. I sorta feel obliged to slap a (half-hearted) review together in honour of my friend who was kind (and brave) enough to offer said recommendation.
And listen, at a glance, this seemed like it could've been cute. Maybe not mind blowing or revolutionary but fun. So I saved it for Pride month (even though we should [and I do] read queer all year!) and.. yeah, yikes. This rating might feel like a hate crime but I don't know what else to say except this wasn't it.
I understand based on the author's note that this is a very personal story, depicting a journey the author themselves went on to a certain degree, but it also very much feels like a self-insert fantasy retelling of their life and it's just as unrealistic as it sounds. Also, very dramatic, very insta-love, potentially very triggering, filled with fairly stereotypical character and representation archetypes, and oh, did I mention unrealistic? None of this feels based in the real world and that's fine but it also doesn't make for an easy to swallow read.
I think, buried somewhere in amongst it all, there is an important message about self-love but I personally don't think it was well done. Which basically sums up the story. Not the characters or the plot or the message was crafted well or with any kind of care, even though I think there was an attempt to do so, and with so many heavy topics touched on, and some outright playing out on page, I just think this was a total fumble. There was no fun to be had, no emotions to be felt, and the romance was.. cringe. Actually, a lot was cringe.
In conclusion, because I have nothing more to say, I am thankful for the recommendation and that I've read at least one (!) LGBTQIAP+ read this month (because with the way my reading is going I have no idea if I'll pick up another), but I will not be paying this one forward.
1.5 stars
---
This review can also be found at A Take From Two Cities.
And listen, at a glance, this seemed like it could've been cute. Maybe not mind blowing or revolutionary but fun. So I saved it for Pride month (even though we should [and I do] read queer all year!) and.. yeah, yikes. This rating might feel like a hate crime but I don't know what else to say except this wasn't it.
I understand based on the author's note that this is a very personal story, depicting a journey the author themselves went on to a certain degree, but it also very much feels like a self-insert fantasy retelling of their life and it's just as unrealistic as it sounds. Also, very dramatic, very insta-love, potentially very triggering, filled with fairly stereotypical character and representation archetypes, and oh, did I mention unrealistic? None of this feels based in the real world and that's fine but it also doesn't make for an easy to swallow read.
I think, buried somewhere in amongst it all, there is an important message about self-love but I personally don't think it was well done. Which basically sums up the story. Not the characters or the plot or the message was crafted well or with any kind of care, even though I think there was an attempt to do so, and with so many heavy topics touched on, and some outright playing out on page, I just think this was a total fumble. There was no fun to be had, no emotions to be felt, and the romance was.. cringe. Actually, a lot was cringe.
In conclusion, because I have nothing more to say, I am thankful for the recommendation and that I've read at least one (!) LGBTQIAP+ read this month (because with the way my reading is going I have no idea if I'll pick up another), but I will not be paying this one forward.
1.5 stars
---
This review can also be found at A Take From Two Cities.
January 9, 2023
Emotional story!
This is not a perfect story. It definitely had it's ups and downs. Some of the characters ticked me off several times. There were also quite a few cringe moments and cringy dialogue. That being said, there was also a lot to love about this book! Chase was very strong to be able to deal with every he dealt with and make it through to the end! All in all I'm declaring this a 3.75 star read that I'm rounding up to 4!
This is not a perfect story. It definitely had it's ups and downs. Some of the characters ticked me off several times. There were also quite a few cringe moments and cringy dialogue. That being said, there was also a lot to love about this book! Chase was very strong to be able to deal with every he dealt with and make it through to the end! All in all I'm declaring this a 3.75 star read that I'm rounding up to 4!
June 27, 2022
This queer college love story is EXACTLY what I needed in my life. So so damn good.
March 7, 2022
Steven Salvatore's second YA book,
And They Lived...
, hit me square in the feels.
Chase is a lover of fairytales, of happy endings. He dreams of a career as an animator and is pursuing that in college. He’s struggled with body dysmorphia and an eating disorder in the past, and he’s not quite sure if he’s gay, genderqueer, or nonbinary. Ultimately, he’s hoping college will help him feel more comfortable with himself as he finds his circle and has to deal with the drama of competing with a former friend.
And then he meets Jack. Jack is a poet, a writer, obsessed with stories and the power of words. He’s handsome, athletic, confident—or at least appears that way—and immediately they feel a pull toward one another. But Jack isn’t sure about whether he’s gay, and worries about the reactions of his conservative family, so he’s constantly giving Chase mixed signals.
As the semester heats up, and Chase is trying to win a prestigious mentorship, he’s desperate to figure out who he is, where he wants his life to go, and whom he wants around him. But at the same time, he needs to see if a happy ending with Jack is possible or if their story needs to go in a different direction.
I fell in love with And They Lived... almost immediately. Chase is such an endearing character—some of his struggles were very familiar and personal to me—and the supporting characters were such fun, too. Salvatore knows how to touch your heart, and they say in their author’s note that this is their most personal book to date.
Thanks to Storygram Tours and Bloomsbury YA for inviting me on the tour for And They Lived... and providing me with a complimentary advance copy of the book.
Pick it up when it publishes 3/8!!
Check out my list of the best books I read in 2021 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2022/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2021.html.
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.
Follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/the.bookishworld.of.yrralh/.
Chase is a lover of fairytales, of happy endings. He dreams of a career as an animator and is pursuing that in college. He’s struggled with body dysmorphia and an eating disorder in the past, and he’s not quite sure if he’s gay, genderqueer, or nonbinary. Ultimately, he’s hoping college will help him feel more comfortable with himself as he finds his circle and has to deal with the drama of competing with a former friend.
And then he meets Jack. Jack is a poet, a writer, obsessed with stories and the power of words. He’s handsome, athletic, confident—or at least appears that way—and immediately they feel a pull toward one another. But Jack isn’t sure about whether he’s gay, and worries about the reactions of his conservative family, so he’s constantly giving Chase mixed signals.
As the semester heats up, and Chase is trying to win a prestigious mentorship, he’s desperate to figure out who he is, where he wants his life to go, and whom he wants around him. But at the same time, he needs to see if a happy ending with Jack is possible or if their story needs to go in a different direction.
I fell in love with And They Lived... almost immediately. Chase is such an endearing character—some of his struggles were very familiar and personal to me—and the supporting characters were such fun, too. Salvatore knows how to touch your heart, and they say in their author’s note that this is their most personal book to date.
Thanks to Storygram Tours and Bloomsbury YA for inviting me on the tour for And They Lived... and providing me with a complimentary advance copy of the book.
Pick it up when it publishes 3/8!!
Check out my list of the best books I read in 2021 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2022/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2021.html.
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.
Follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/the.bookishworld.of.yrralh/.
March 4, 2022
“Somewhere between the two kingdoms, they grew old together. And they lived.”
TW:
Bulimia
Body dysmorphia
Drug use
Drinking
Misgendering
Homophobia
Outing
Suicidal ideation
I read the premise for this book the day it was announced and even that day, I knew this would hit me like a truck. And I was right, it did.
I think, as a society, we still back away from writing fat characters, as if they’re something to be abhorred. It’s definitely gotten better recently, but there’s still a large gap that books like this are doing their best to cover. Anyway, when I saw this book, when I figured out what it was about, I was overwhelmed. I remembering DMing Steven to inform them how much I appreciated this and how grateful I was that they were delving into such a rough topic. I knew I was going to like this book. But reading it solidified that for me.
Anyway, onto the book.
The thing that a lot of people don’t know about not meeting social body standards is that you’re reminded of it every day. If not from yourself, then from social media, Ads, magazines, books: everything. And, so, seeing this book and Chase, talk about their body and their struggles in a way that I related nearly wrecked me. It hurt, but in a good way. It felt like I wasn't alone. I felt understood. And a lot of that is because the body image issues were written in such a good, real way. I felt all of those feelings, I understood Chase in a way that I didn’t expect to. Every time they talked about how they felt about his body, it was like a gut punch. The feelings are real and they’re honest. That was the most important part of this book for me: the honesty with self-image.
I also really enjoyed the animation side of things in this book. I have a few friends who are art major and they also had an end of the year freshman gallery so it was really cool to see that with the animation aspect of things!! The whole Prince and the Knight story was so well done, in my opinion. I could read that on its own all day, happily. (Plus the drag queen witch: yes pls!)
I truly loved Benny, Rae and Xavier so, so much. That’s another thing I enjoyed about this book: the amount of people not given labels. Aside from Chase, I think there’s maybe 2-3 characters that label their sexuality. Everyone else is just who they are and that’s something that I think is really, really important to see: although labels are wonderful for some people, others find them unnecessary and that's okay!
Overall, this book ran me over with a truck, threw me into a critical “how I view myself” moment and it’ll definitely be a book I come back to over and over again when I start to struggle with myself
TW:
Bulimia
Body dysmorphia
Drug use
Drinking
Misgendering
Homophobia
Outing
Suicidal ideation
I read the premise for this book the day it was announced and even that day, I knew this would hit me like a truck. And I was right, it did.
I think, as a society, we still back away from writing fat characters, as if they’re something to be abhorred. It’s definitely gotten better recently, but there’s still a large gap that books like this are doing their best to cover. Anyway, when I saw this book, when I figured out what it was about, I was overwhelmed. I remembering DMing Steven to inform them how much I appreciated this and how grateful I was that they were delving into such a rough topic. I knew I was going to like this book. But reading it solidified that for me.
Anyway, onto the book.
The thing that a lot of people don’t know about not meeting social body standards is that you’re reminded of it every day. If not from yourself, then from social media, Ads, magazines, books: everything. And, so, seeing this book and Chase, talk about their body and their struggles in a way that I related nearly wrecked me. It hurt, but in a good way. It felt like I wasn't alone. I felt understood. And a lot of that is because the body image issues were written in such a good, real way. I felt all of those feelings, I understood Chase in a way that I didn’t expect to. Every time they talked about how they felt about his body, it was like a gut punch. The feelings are real and they’re honest. That was the most important part of this book for me: the honesty with self-image.
I also really enjoyed the animation side of things in this book. I have a few friends who are art major and they also had an end of the year freshman gallery so it was really cool to see that with the animation aspect of things!! The whole Prince and the Knight story was so well done, in my opinion. I could read that on its own all day, happily. (Plus the drag queen witch: yes pls!)
I truly loved Benny, Rae and Xavier so, so much. That’s another thing I enjoyed about this book: the amount of people not given labels. Aside from Chase, I think there’s maybe 2-3 characters that label their sexuality. Everyone else is just who they are and that’s something that I think is really, really important to see: although labels are wonderful for some people, others find them unnecessary and that's okay!
Overall, this book ran me over with a truck, threw me into a critical “how I view myself” moment and it’ll definitely be a book I come back to over and over again when I start to struggle with myself
May 20, 2022
if i took a shot for every cliche in this book id have alcohol poisoning
June 19, 2022
6/4/2022 - DNF @50%
Soooo… I was really looking forward to this, especially since Kirt Graves was narrating. Unfortunately, it isn’t working for me.
I’m not sure if it was overhyped in my circles and I expected too much. Or if as a cishet woman in her 40s I just can’t connect in any way to the experiences of a non-binary gay college freshman.
I really enjoyed the humor and banter, but it got old fast. There’s a punchline in every conversation. Feeling like every stereotype was on crack. There were also a lot of jokes and references that *I* got that my older teens would not have. It seemed odd that these catch phrases were thrown around as if all 18-22yo would know exactly what they meant.
I also felt like the MC wasn’t having typical internal thoughts, instead they spent a significant amount of time in what felt like vocabulary lessons for the reader. Maybe occasionally have a character ask a question and another answer or something. Having every possible word/concept defined via internal monologue killed the pacing of the story and made me feel like I was reading “LGBTQIA+ for dummies”.
Narration:
I enjoyed Kirt Graves narration. He’s the only reason I got as far as I did. He does an amazing job with giving all the characters unique sounding voices and keeping them consistent throughout the book.
This book desperately needs a content warning for having so many potentially triggering things in it. I have mixed feelings about how they were handled. (possible spoilers). This list is NOT exhaustive:
3/2022 - I want the audio - Kirt Graves!!!! 🎧📚🥰
Soooo… I was really looking forward to this, especially since Kirt Graves was narrating. Unfortunately, it isn’t working for me.
I’m not sure if it was overhyped in my circles and I expected too much. Or if as a cishet woman in her 40s I just can’t connect in any way to the experiences of a non-binary gay college freshman.
I really enjoyed the humor and banter, but it got old fast. There’s a punchline in every conversation. Feeling like every stereotype was on crack. There were also a lot of jokes and references that *I* got that my older teens would not have. It seemed odd that these catch phrases were thrown around as if all 18-22yo would know exactly what they meant.
I also felt like the MC wasn’t having typical internal thoughts, instead they spent a significant amount of time in what felt like vocabulary lessons for the reader. Maybe occasionally have a character ask a question and another answer or something. Having every possible word/concept defined via internal monologue killed the pacing of the story and made me feel like I was reading “LGBTQIA+ for dummies”.
Narration:
I enjoyed Kirt Graves narration. He’s the only reason I got as far as I did. He does an amazing job with giving all the characters unique sounding voices and keeping them consistent throughout the book.
This book desperately needs a content warning for having so many potentially triggering things in it. I have mixed feelings about how they were handled. (possible spoilers). This list is NOT exhaustive:
3/2022 - I want the audio - Kirt Graves!!!! 🎧📚🥰
January 18, 2023
"There are no rules, Gray. And there's no pressure to be anything other than excactly who you are at any given moment."
3.5 stars
In the beginning, I was absolutely sure that this was about to be a 5 star read. I was drawn in at once, fell immediatlely in love with Benny and Chase. I also kinda liked Jack but he seemed a little too perfect. But I was all in. Until at some point, I wasn't. I still liked it - especially the story within the story. I would love to that short film.
There were two things that bugged me. First: the drug use. Yes, you can say "it's just weed" and stuff but I still hated how the consumption was used in driving the development of everything. I would have preferred having achieved that development without the drug use being "necessary". Second: Chase blames his dad for falling out of love with his mom and not staying in the relationship even without loving her. That situation is complex on a level that I can't (and won't) discuss fully here. But: of course the dad should never have ditched his kids when he ended things with their mom or act as harmful as he did. That much is obvious. But Chase is old enough to see that staying in a loveless relationship for the kids isn't the way to go. It doesn't help anybody. (Of course I don't have the emotional involvement he does and everyone deals differently but this still bugs me.)
April 19, 2022
Tell me the author didn’t even Google “how animation works” without telling me the author didn’t even Google “how animation works” because HOLY SHIT lmao.
I went to film school. I work in animation. No way the author even bothered to do research. Trash.
I went to film school. I work in animation. No way the author even bothered to do research. Trash.
May 7, 2022
4.5 ⭐️
March 24, 2022
CW: Essstörung, Bodyshaming, Homophobie
Dieses Buch hat mein Herz gebrochen und wieder zusammengesetzt. So poetisch und realistisch, mit Charakteren, die man einfach lieben muss. Die Liebesgeschichte hat mich völlig eingenommen und ich liebe, wie sex-positive dieses Buch ist. In Jugendbüchern begegnet mir das noch viel zu selten.
Es vermittelt wunderbar, dass man sich erst selbst lieben muss, bevor man jemand anderen lieben kann. Große Liebe.
Dieses Buch hat mein Herz gebrochen und wieder zusammengesetzt. So poetisch und realistisch, mit Charakteren, die man einfach lieben muss. Die Liebesgeschichte hat mich völlig eingenommen und ich liebe, wie sex-positive dieses Buch ist. In Jugendbüchern begegnet mir das noch viel zu selten.
Es vermittelt wunderbar, dass man sich erst selbst lieben muss, bevor man jemand anderen lieben kann. Große Liebe.
February 20, 2022
Thank you Bloomsbury for this arc
I dnfed around page 80. I was cringing every few sentences in this book from the fat-phobia,homophobia, and body dysmorphia. As a queer, Jewish person I wasn’t a fan of the way one of the Jewish characters was represented in this book either.
This book was said to be for ages 14+ but was written more like a nostalgic 30 reliving their college years. College and young adults may have changed since I have been in school but everything about this books seemed very unrealistic.
I dnfed around page 80. I was cringing every few sentences in this book from the fat-phobia,homophobia, and body dysmorphia. As a queer, Jewish person I wasn’t a fan of the way one of the Jewish characters was represented in this book either.
This book was said to be for ages 14+ but was written more like a nostalgic 30 reliving their college years. College and young adults may have changed since I have been in school but everything about this books seemed very unrealistic.
January 13, 2023
I fell in love with the first few chapters but sorry this book turned into a shit storm afterwards. Not only was it extremely triggering to read it was also just badly written. The way they handled his eating disorder was disgusting. It was purely used as a tool and for dramatic effect because the only time you hear about his eating disorder is when it has to do with other guys.
The fat phobia was really fucking unnecessary like what the hell was that? It was already graphically homophobic to a point where I was like “okey yes we get it, his family is homophobic jesus.”
And why did benny have to be such an incredibly stereotypical gay character? What point was the author trying to make? It was so incredibly cringe worthy.
I hated this book. I’m glad it’s done but I REALLY need to read something good now because lord the books i’ve read are ass.
The fat phobia was really fucking unnecessary like what the hell was that? It was already graphically homophobic to a point where I was like “okey yes we get it, his family is homophobic jesus.”
And why did benny have to be such an incredibly stereotypical gay character? What point was the author trying to make? It was so incredibly cringe worthy.
I hated this book. I’m glad it’s done but I REALLY need to read something good now because lord the books i’ve read are ass.
April 7, 2022
imma be completely honest i hate read it like it was so cringy to the point i read it to see how bad it got, spoiler alert it did not get better. Like there was just so much second hand embarrassment through the whole thing and pop culture references every paragraph i couldnt do it. Ya so this book is not for me but at least it has a pretty cover so it will look good on my shelf 😅
please check out this review they do a way better job at explaining -> https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
please check out this review they do a way better job at explaining -> https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
June 8, 2022
I don’t know what happened to Steven Salvatore’s second book but this is not what I was expecting. I had so high hopes for this one because I really liked Steven’s first book.
The MC was treated like shit by their lover and the whole story there was a lot of talks about doing drugs and his roommate going on and on about fucking other guys I just HATE reading about fuckboys that’s just not for me.
And something else the sex parts were so graphic I sometimes forgot I was reading a YA book lol I don’t mind reading about sex parts but this is new for YA books.
The MC was treated like shit by their lover and the whole story there was a lot of talks about doing drugs and his roommate going on and on about fucking other guys I just HATE reading about fuckboys that’s just not for me.
And something else the sex parts were so graphic I sometimes forgot I was reading a YA book lol I don’t mind reading about sex parts but this is new for YA books.
January 24, 2023
4 / 4.5 -- This was such a fantastic story. I loved both Chase and Jack and found them to be realistic and truly human. We saw their good, their bad, and their ugly. I cared about both of them and spent a long portion of the book being completely uncertain as to what the ending of the book would be. There were excellent elements of fairytales that merged effortlessly with the other elements of the book.
The book was rooted in body dysmorphia and eating disorders. Those topics are very hard for a lot of people. But Steven Salvatore completely nailed it. It was explored with grace, delicacy, honesty, and compassion. The book gave us such an accurate depiction of body dysmorphia / ED's and dove into the thought processes behind it and how they seep into nearly every aspect of our lives.
There were some truly beautiful moments in the book that made me so happy. I also appreciated the raw, emotionally-charged (and sometimes NOT happy) moments that we got as well because it gave us so much character development.
Plus -- despite all the sweet moments we got, the book certainly didn’t sacrifice spice.
At times, I thought some of the dialogue was almost too “YaAsSs qUeEn”-y and it seemed a bit reductive to have that be an entire personality trait of queer characters. But otherwise, the characters were so much fun (i.e., Benny) that it didn’t make me love them any less.
SPOILERS BELOW
I was so happy with the ending that we got. It was satisfying (especially knowing how hard it was for Chase and Jack to get there), heartwarming, and true to the book’s title, because they lived. I would not mind another venture into the lives of Chase and Jack in the future to see what has happened since the ending of this book.
Overall, I truly enjoyed this read! I shed a few tears at certain points and had a giant smile on my face at other points. Steven Salvatore gave us peaks and valleys / highs and lows, and it made And They Lived …” a great book.
The book was rooted in body dysmorphia and eating disorders. Those topics are very hard for a lot of people. But Steven Salvatore completely nailed it. It was explored with grace, delicacy, honesty, and compassion. The book gave us such an accurate depiction of body dysmorphia / ED's and dove into the thought processes behind it and how they seep into nearly every aspect of our lives.
There were some truly beautiful moments in the book that made me so happy. I also appreciated the raw, emotionally-charged (and sometimes NOT happy) moments that we got as well because it gave us so much character development.
Plus -- despite all the sweet moments we got, the book certainly didn’t sacrifice spice.
At times, I thought some of the dialogue was almost too “YaAsSs qUeEn”-y and it seemed a bit reductive to have that be an entire personality trait of queer characters. But otherwise, the characters were so much fun (i.e., Benny) that it didn’t make me love them any less.
SPOILERS BELOW
I was so happy with the ending that we got. It was satisfying (especially knowing how hard it was for Chase and Jack to get there), heartwarming, and true to the book’s title, because they lived. I would not mind another venture into the lives of Chase and Jack in the future to see what has happened since the ending of this book.
Overall, I truly enjoyed this read! I shed a few tears at certain points and had a giant smile on my face at other points. Steven Salvatore gave us peaks and valleys / highs and lows, and it made And They Lived …” a great book.
December 22, 2022
Look, I read a lot of ridiculous stuff, but nothing is worse than an awful book that is purported to be good. Here we go.
I received this book in the mail from my friend and fellow When in Gurgh book club-er. She knew she was cursing me when she did so, but since that's the spirit of the Gurgh book club, I happily began to read it.
"The sportsball people have been moved in for a few weeks already, but I can’t honestly imagine me, uncoordinated queer AF Disnerd Chase Arthur just, like, wandering up to the athlete’s dorm being all, “hey, wanna party? I got the Moana sing-along on iTunes."
Off to a good start. The author admitted in the acknowledgements that Chase Arthur is his alter ego. I might overuse the word 'cringe' in this review, but that is cringe. Chase's perspective is ridiculous, over-the-top immature, and difficult to get through. The above quote is just a taste of the ongoing narration throughout the book.
On that note, this book tries very hard to be 'woke' without giving any substance to any of the characters. Benny is the gay-best-friend, Leila is the mean-girl, Rae is the girl-best-friend-who-sacrifices-her-own-personality/life-to-be-part-of-his (who is also Jewish, but that only factors into her character once in the very beginning), Chloe and Sofia are his upperclassmen who have no personalities other than to support him. They're extremely tokenized. Jack, the love interest, is completely flat and writes mediocre poetry at best. Each character revolves around Chase with no agency of their own.
Let's be real, the Intro to Animation professor would actually be an underpaid grad student or adjunct, not a leading professional in the field of animation. Nor would they assign such a huge project to Fall semester freshmen who just came from high school and are completely overwhelmed. Good luck getting 18 year olds to do that. Also, if I saw my professor walk in with a tattooed disney princess on her shirt, I would not be able to take her seriously. She's also completely inappropriate giving him a nickname (based on his physical appearance) and singling him out as her special student from the very beginning. (What is it about Chase that everyone thinks he's amazing immediately?)
"Eh, I'm not the best at life drawings. My professor says I need to work on limbs and proportions."
"Are you kidding?" He gasps. "These are perfect. They look so real. The lines in the musculature, the way her back curves to show her posture, the creases in the skinfolds. Chase, your professor is batshit!"
This was a special little moment for me in the book because I taught Foundation Drawing this past semester. (My students were great, and I'm so thankful they weren't Chase.) Chase spends the scene drawing Jack and mentions that he has an exaggerated Disney style of drawing. It painted the most vivid, awful picture of this kid drawing anime and his boyfriend thinking he's the best thing ever and saying his professor is batshit for giving a valid critique. If your proportions are off, you need to look at your perspective and your sighting techniques. Really measure out your space and the relation the objects have to each other. DO NOT, and I mean DO NOT, give your boyfriend a bj in the drawing studio! This was absolutely the worst scene of the book. A bj in the drawing studio? I cannot think of a more unsexy place. The fluorescents alone.
The professor's obvious favoritism for Chase aside, Leila's treatment in the pursuit of her art is bad. Chase, and by extension, the author, want so badly to silo her off into one art form when contemporary art...doesn't...work...like...that... Do you know how many artists do both sculpture and animation? Do you know how many do performance art? Art schools are rapidly breaking down walls between mediums. Leila pursuing animation is not that wild of a concept, and the reasoning the author gives for her to do so is ridiculous. There's no way ambitious Leila would go after it by herself, no, she's only doing it because she's petty and jealous of our wonder-kid. Her idea with the eggs, despite not being fully fleshed out, was still better than Chase's fairytale. (He drew Jack's character insert with lightning coming out of his irises. Cringe.) At least she was trying to critique a larger social structure, vs whatever point the author/Chase was trying to make about tropes.
When this book wasn't dating itself with pop culture references, it launched into preaching about whatever Chase was going through at the moment. The plot, if you can consider it a plot, was Chase finding some sort of self acceptance. There was a whole bunch of yadda yadda loving me for me crudely mixed in with sex positivity and a how-to pamphlet. I think we were supposed to find the scene with Chase and his therapist to be deep. It read like overkill.
Honestly? This book was shitty, and frankly, embarrassing.
The only thing it has going for it is that it has some sort of representation, because when I was in high school, books like this didn't exist. Chase mentions that Love, Simon etc., was influential to him, and I think that this book is trying to be what Love, Simon was to a lot of people. It doesn't get there, for sure, but maybe some especially dramatic high schoolers will find it a little more appealing. For me, it made me feel every single second of my 29.8 years.
I received this book in the mail from my friend and fellow When in Gurgh book club-er. She knew she was cursing me when she did so, but since that's the spirit of the Gurgh book club, I happily began to read it.
"The sportsball people have been moved in for a few weeks already, but I can’t honestly imagine me, uncoordinated queer AF Disnerd Chase Arthur just, like, wandering up to the athlete’s dorm being all, “hey, wanna party? I got the Moana sing-along on iTunes."
Off to a good start. The author admitted in the acknowledgements that Chase Arthur is his alter ego. I might overuse the word 'cringe' in this review, but that is cringe. Chase's perspective is ridiculous, over-the-top immature, and difficult to get through. The above quote is just a taste of the ongoing narration throughout the book.
On that note, this book tries very hard to be 'woke' without giving any substance to any of the characters. Benny is the gay-best-friend, Leila is the mean-girl, Rae is the girl-best-friend-who-sacrifices-her-own-personality/life-to-be-part-of-his (who is also Jewish, but that only factors into her character once in the very beginning), Chloe and Sofia are his upperclassmen who have no personalities other than to support him. They're extremely tokenized. Jack, the love interest, is completely flat and writes mediocre poetry at best. Each character revolves around Chase with no agency of their own.
Let's be real, the Intro to Animation professor would actually be an underpaid grad student or adjunct, not a leading professional in the field of animation. Nor would they assign such a huge project to Fall semester freshmen who just came from high school and are completely overwhelmed. Good luck getting 18 year olds to do that. Also, if I saw my professor walk in with a tattooed disney princess on her shirt, I would not be able to take her seriously. She's also completely inappropriate giving him a nickname (based on his physical appearance) and singling him out as her special student from the very beginning. (What is it about Chase that everyone thinks he's amazing immediately?)
"Eh, I'm not the best at life drawings. My professor says I need to work on limbs and proportions."
"Are you kidding?" He gasps. "These are perfect. They look so real. The lines in the musculature, the way her back curves to show her posture, the creases in the skinfolds. Chase, your professor is batshit!"
This was a special little moment for me in the book because I taught Foundation Drawing this past semester. (My students were great, and I'm so thankful they weren't Chase.) Chase spends the scene drawing Jack and mentions that he has an exaggerated Disney style of drawing. It painted the most vivid, awful picture of this kid drawing anime and his boyfriend thinking he's the best thing ever and saying his professor is batshit for giving a valid critique. If your proportions are off, you need to look at your perspective and your sighting techniques. Really measure out your space and the relation the objects have to each other. DO NOT, and I mean DO NOT, give your boyfriend a bj in the drawing studio! This was absolutely the worst scene of the book. A bj in the drawing studio? I cannot think of a more unsexy place. The fluorescents alone.
The professor's obvious favoritism for Chase aside, Leila's treatment in the pursuit of her art is bad. Chase, and by extension, the author, want so badly to silo her off into one art form when contemporary art...doesn't...work...like...that... Do you know how many artists do both sculpture and animation? Do you know how many do performance art? Art schools are rapidly breaking down walls between mediums. Leila pursuing animation is not that wild of a concept, and the reasoning the author gives for her to do so is ridiculous. There's no way ambitious Leila would go after it by herself, no, she's only doing it because she's petty and jealous of our wonder-kid. Her idea with the eggs, despite not being fully fleshed out, was still better than Chase's fairytale. (He drew Jack's character insert with lightning coming out of his irises. Cringe.) At least she was trying to critique a larger social structure, vs whatever point the author/Chase was trying to make about tropes.
When this book wasn't dating itself with pop culture references, it launched into preaching about whatever Chase was going through at the moment. The plot, if you can consider it a plot, was Chase finding some sort of self acceptance. There was a whole bunch of yadda yadda loving me for me crudely mixed in with sex positivity and a how-to pamphlet. I think we were supposed to find the scene with Chase and his therapist to be deep. It read like overkill.
Honestly? This book was shitty, and frankly, embarrassing.
The only thing it has going for it is that it has some sort of representation, because when I was in high school, books like this didn't exist. Chase mentions that Love, Simon etc., was influential to him, and I think that this book is trying to be what Love, Simon was to a lot of people. It doesn't get there, for sure, but maybe some especially dramatic high schoolers will find it a little more appealing. For me, it made me feel every single second of my 29.8 years.
May 26, 2022
You know don’t judge a book by its cover? Yeah, this applies. I picked this up primarily for that amazing cover. Those colours!
For real though, there are just so many problems with this story. I’m going to do my best to be vague about my issues with the story, but it could be considered a slight spoiler.
The biggest problem in this story is that the person that falls in love with the main character acknowledges from the start that he did not know until then that he was gay (it is the most insta-love story ever by the way). Some drama happens, of course, and the main character gets super mad that the guy he loves isn’t being all public about his love for him, especially in front of all the people they know. This is treated as legitimate for the main character to throw a fit here and that the love has messed up (and should even apologize) by not taking a public stance. I especially found the main character hypocritical since at one point he says “I’m done justifying my identity. I don’t owe her or anyone that conversation. Nobody is entitled to more of me than I want to give.”
This is just bullshit. You can’t get into a relationship with someone, particularly someone just discovering their sexuality, and then expect them to come out, or else. Coming out isn’t about anyone but the person coming out. There should probably be discussions about how to handle situations for the person who isn’t out yet. The other person needs to understand that it isn’t about them or their love and try to be understanding and supportive.
I was initially interested in the gender queer part of the story. It was weird though, because it felt like it didn’t actually fit into the book very well. It almost felt like the author forgot about it for almost the entire book and then thought ‘oh yeah, the main character said he was really stressed about this in the beginning so I need to try to talk about it again’. Just felt forced. There were a few lines that made me think, but mostly made me want to find other books.
I found it odd that the author chose to make the main character specifically work in hand drawn animation, which takes longer than computer animation. I get that they wanted to have the main character create a finished product in a short period of time for the format of the book, but it’s too short for what they are making alone. Hayao Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli does hand drawn animation, and currently, working with a team of 60 animators, they can only complete 1 minute of animated film time per month.
The writing itself was not that great. There was some weird or cringey use of language sometimes.
For real though, there are just so many problems with this story. I’m going to do my best to be vague about my issues with the story, but it could be considered a slight spoiler.
The biggest problem in this story is that the person that falls in love with the main character acknowledges from the start that he did not know until then that he was gay (it is the most insta-love story ever by the way). Some drama happens, of course, and the main character gets super mad that the guy he loves isn’t being all public about his love for him, especially in front of all the people they know. This is treated as legitimate for the main character to throw a fit here and that the love has messed up (and should even apologize) by not taking a public stance. I especially found the main character hypocritical since at one point he says “I’m done justifying my identity. I don’t owe her or anyone that conversation. Nobody is entitled to more of me than I want to give.”
This is just bullshit. You can’t get into a relationship with someone, particularly someone just discovering their sexuality, and then expect them to come out, or else. Coming out isn’t about anyone but the person coming out. There should probably be discussions about how to handle situations for the person who isn’t out yet. The other person needs to understand that it isn’t about them or their love and try to be understanding and supportive.
I was initially interested in the gender queer part of the story. It was weird though, because it felt like it didn’t actually fit into the book very well. It almost felt like the author forgot about it for almost the entire book and then thought ‘oh yeah, the main character said he was really stressed about this in the beginning so I need to try to talk about it again’. Just felt forced. There were a few lines that made me think, but mostly made me want to find other books.
I found it odd that the author chose to make the main character specifically work in hand drawn animation, which takes longer than computer animation. I get that they wanted to have the main character create a finished product in a short period of time for the format of the book, but it’s too short for what they are making alone. Hayao Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli does hand drawn animation, and currently, working with a team of 60 animators, they can only complete 1 minute of animated film time per month.
The writing itself was not that great. There was some weird or cringey use of language sometimes.
May 12, 2022
This book was/is important to me. As a non-binary queer person, as someone who has struggled with BDD, has long lasting issues with their father, struggled for the longest time with putting themselves in a box to fit the mold. Often times I say that I see myself in books, but this book truly let me be seen fully. It's rejuvenated me in building myself up and given me hope that I can and will get better.
While for some, the story seemed unrealistic and too swept up in pop culture, for me that is what made myself be lost in the story. I melded the animation arc and the true story in ways that danced across the pages like electricity from a residual lightning strike.
And They Lived...
That's the thing about this book, they lived, the story could have wound up in so many different ways, but it ended the way it did. And I for one am beyond grateful to have a happy ending to this story, while I go through my life letting endings find their way into my life.
While for some, the story seemed unrealistic and too swept up in pop culture, for me that is what made myself be lost in the story. I melded the animation arc and the true story in ways that danced across the pages like electricity from a residual lightning strike.
And They Lived...
That's the thing about this book, they lived, the story could have wound up in so many different ways, but it ended the way it did. And I for one am beyond grateful to have a happy ending to this story, while I go through my life letting endings find their way into my life.
November 27, 2021
this book shines so bright 2022 won’t be able to keep up. likeeeeeee when i tell y’all steven has outdone themselves I MEAN IT! can’t take that away was bloody brilliant, but and they lived…?!??! it’s just beyond beautiful and important and so NEEDED! steven is a phe.nom.en.al writer. i literally do not have a single critique. how can i critique a book that is perfection personified and then turned into a literary modern masterpiece?? ya can’t. ya just can’t. i can’t not WAIT for y’all to get your hands on this BEAUTY. chase is just 🥺🥺🥺
i’m 1000% genuine when i say that i love this book. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️5/5 for sure!!
i’m 1000% genuine when i say that i love this book. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️5/5 for sure!!
March 31, 2022
4 stars. And They Lived... was a triumphant romance that contained all of the sweetness you'd expect from a fairy tale but didn't shy away from displaying the darkness too.
March 31, 2022
This genderqueer/coming of age romance was soooooo tender and beautiful and absolutely AMAZING!!
Steven Salvatore is a new to me author and I will officially read anything they write from now on!! Chase is a freshman in college pursuing his love of animation. He also has body dysmorphia and is struggling with his identity.
He meets and falls in love with Jack, a young man who isn't out to his family. I truly loved going on their journey of first love and figuring out their bodies and desires. My heart broke when circumstances tore them apart.
I was ALL about Jack's poetry and Chase's fairy tale animation project. The story within a story really added an extra special layer to this book!
Perfect for fans of Jay's gay agenda, The heartbreakers books or Felix ever after. I fell in love with these characters. My heart broke along with Chase's and when he spirals into a body dysmorphia fugue of self-loathing I felt this story got so real and relatable.
The mental health rep in the book is amazing and the journey of self-love and discovery plus the found college family/friendships really made the book for me.
If you love fairy tale retellings and relatable, utterly real and raw queer characters this book is one not to miss. Great on audio too narrated by Kirt Graves. Excuse me while I go devour this author's backlist, they have officially become an auto-buy author for me!!
CW: toxic parental relationships, body dysmorphia, depression, homophobia, body shaming
Steven Salvatore is a new to me author and I will officially read anything they write from now on!! Chase is a freshman in college pursuing his love of animation. He also has body dysmorphia and is struggling with his identity.
He meets and falls in love with Jack, a young man who isn't out to his family. I truly loved going on their journey of first love and figuring out their bodies and desires. My heart broke when circumstances tore them apart.
I was ALL about Jack's poetry and Chase's fairy tale animation project. The story within a story really added an extra special layer to this book!
Perfect for fans of Jay's gay agenda, The heartbreakers books or Felix ever after. I fell in love with these characters. My heart broke along with Chase's and when he spirals into a body dysmorphia fugue of self-loathing I felt this story got so real and relatable.
The mental health rep in the book is amazing and the journey of self-love and discovery plus the found college family/friendships really made the book for me.
If you love fairy tale retellings and relatable, utterly real and raw queer characters this book is one not to miss. Great on audio too narrated by Kirt Graves. Excuse me while I go devour this author's backlist, they have officially become an auto-buy author for me!!
CW: toxic parental relationships, body dysmorphia, depression, homophobia, body shaming
April 8, 2022
*3.5 stars
I'm a little torn on this book. On the one hand, many of the references and much of the dialogue (especially near the beginning) is really cringe and feels very off for a modern college student; see this review for specific examples, but a prominent example for me was the constant use of Mean Girls references for a freshman in college when this is set now. Obviously, it's a well-known film, and sure, it's not out of the realm of possibility that this group of friends loves it, but that movie came out in 2004, and it just feels like with a lot of the references that the author hasn't spoken to a teen in the last 10 years (case in point: the mention of that "honey badger don't care" Youtube video...in 2022). However, on the other hand, as the book kept going, I found myself really caring for the characters (even though the way they spoke to each other...was interesting/over-the-top). I also think the resolution of the relationships was really satisfying, and I also though that the animated story within the story was actually really effective and fit well which is a rare occurrence for me. I'm not sure how much I'll be recommending this, but I won't be burning my copy either.
I'm a little torn on this book. On the one hand, many of the references and much of the dialogue (especially near the beginning) is really cringe and feels very off for a modern college student; see this review for specific examples, but a prominent example for me was the constant use of Mean Girls references for a freshman in college when this is set now. Obviously, it's a well-known film, and sure, it's not out of the realm of possibility that this group of friends loves it, but that movie came out in 2004, and it just feels like with a lot of the references that the author hasn't spoken to a teen in the last 10 years (case in point: the mention of that "honey badger don't care" Youtube video...in 2022). However, on the other hand, as the book kept going, I found myself really caring for the characters (even though the way they spoke to each other...was interesting/over-the-top). I also think the resolution of the relationships was really satisfying, and I also though that the animated story within the story was actually really effective and fit well which is a rare occurrence for me. I'm not sure how much I'll be recommending this, but I won't be burning my copy either.
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