Name: Whatever.
ISBN: 9781626723993

S. J. Goslee

Hilarity ensues when a slacker teen boy discovers he's gay, in this unforgettably funny YA debut.

Or how Junior Year Became Totally F$@cked

Whatever.

Ella Zegarra

ya tengo guión y storyboard listo, quién lo financia????

Tiffany Robinson

This was a really good read. The characters were annoying at time but it was very enjoyable.

Ariel Himboi

This book will take you on a wild ride.

On the first impression of opening the book, you are gusted away into a world of alternative rock culture on the first page. Yes- it is very unsettling at first, being thrust into this magical world of angst. We have a normal, cliche teenage boy in a rock band who can't stop thinking about putting his hands on his current girlfriend- and a guitar. The writing style I admit is a little bit atrocious in the beginning as it seems to read more like the author's word vomit. However, once you get into the groove of the book you start to loosen up.

I really liked the representation of a confused bisexual human being with a semi-normal family life with good relationships. Only, his current girlfriend dumps him and he becomes increasingly confused as he realizes his eyes are wandering on... guys. 

There isn't a lot of plot to this story so a lot of it hangs on the interactions between key characters. I think that this story could have been a lot better if there had been more plot. But based on what we were given, I will rate it. 

I liked Mike as a character surprisingly so. And maybe that's because we have a lot in common. Not in the music department or the loving family sort of way. What I mean is that we have a lot of trouble dealing with the fact that we are, utterly, sadly trudging through life day by day wondering if we really want to stick a tongue down the throat of someone who is the same sex. 

I admit it, that I Savannah the book nerd, am bisexual. I appreciate guys, I think they're cute, but I figured out a while ago that for a God-gifted reason I have a knack for giving girls googly-eyes all the time! The only difference between me and Mike is that it didn't take long for me to accept this fact and to face it head-on. 

I like that it wasn't a "Guess I'm kind of queer now so hey let's just hook up and be queer" but more that Mike was living through a sort of easy "coming out" kind of story. Sure he had moments with J.J and times where he totally denied himself the possibility, I enjoyed seeing Mike figure out his feelings and rather than make a big deal, he focused a lot on his friendships first. 

The book fell flat when it came to the romance. Here we have a love interest who ironically used to bully him in middle school, and now all of a sudden he's smirking at Mike and flirting with him. WTH??? Anyway, Wallace totally fell flat as a character. He was shortly written, sweet, handsome or so other, and that didn't sit well with me. He had no personality. Cookie cutter, bland even. And for that, I was disappointed. 

Most stories are different, everyone lives life a different way, but the author didn't make this feel SPECIAL or, in certain rare cases, the good kind of "normal" and it was simply neither. If it weren't for Mike or Serg- Wallace's younger brother, I would have given up.

I must say that the middle did pick up. I wasn't exactly entranced with the sports or school aspect but it was enough to push the story along. I finished the book pretty quickly but my glass half-empty.

There was a lot of potential missing from this book and you can tell by the size of it. It was far too short and I don't think the writing style was right for this story. The characters were diverse and compelling enough to grab hold of my attention. I found it a kind of a bummer in the end that there wasn't too much at stake and the plot went nowhere. 

Now, there are contemporary books out there. Romance contemporary, or even just romance. This felt out of the circle. It felt like it didn't belong in any of the categories, that this book was just floating in space without intention. `And for that, it's really 3 or 3.5 star-rated books. I think some will enjoy it if they push through the first half, and others will dismiss it as published work made by arguably someone who would be better off writing fanfiction. 

With that, I happily suggest you give it a try if this review seems to edge your way into interest. For those who are already on the edge, I would tell you that maybe you should look somewhere else for now.

“Fans of David Levithan’s Boy Meets Boy (2003) and Becky Albertalli’s Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (2015) won’t be disappointed.” —Booklist, starred review “Recommended for young adults who enjoy . . . books by John Green, Adam Silvera, or John Corey Whaley.” —School Library Journal, starred review It's like the apocalypse came, only instead of nuclear bombs and zombies, Mike gets school participation, gay thoughts, and mother-effin' cheerleaders. Junior year is about to start. Here's what Mike Tate knows: His friends are awesome and their crappy garage band is a great excuse to drink cheap beer. Rook Wallace is the devil. The Lemonheads rock. And his girlfriend Lisa is the coolest. Then Lisa breaks up with him, which makes Mike only a little sad, because they'll stay friends and he never knew what to do with her boobs anyway. But when Mike finds out why Lisa dumped him, it blows his mind. And worse—he gets elected to homecoming court. With a standout voice, a hilariously honest view on sex and sexuality, and enough f-bombs to make your mom blush, S.J. Goslee's debut YA novel Whatever. is a fresh, modern take on the coming-out story. A 2017 Booklist Youth Editors' Choice

or how junior year became totally f$@cked

Abi Baker

Yes to bi male protagonists!! 1000x YES.

But I kinda felt under the impression that Mike was gay, and it feels horrible saying that, but a lot of the characters seemed to think so (although that could just be biphobia) and Mike himself never seemed overly attracted to women in the book. 

I just think there are probably stronger examples of bi male representation out there.

Whatever. Or how Junior Year Became Totally F$@cked

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