Name: trixie's review of Been Here All Along by Sandy Hall
Item: Been Here All Along
Rating: 2
Author: trixie

Sandy Hall

Gideon always has a plan. It includes running for class president, becoming head of the yearbook committee, and having his choice of colleges. It does NOT include falling head over heels for his best friend, Kyle. It’s a distraction, it’s pointless—Kyle is already dating the head cheerleader, Ruby—and Gideon doesn’t know what to do. Kyle finally feels like he has a handle on life. He has a wonderful girlfriend, a best friend willing to debate the finer points of Lord of the Rings, and social acceptance as captain of the basketball team. So when both Ruby and Gideon start acting really weird, just as his spot on the team is threatened, Kyle can’t quite figure out what he did wrong. Sandy Hall, the author of A Little Something Different, is back with her signature wit in this quirky and heartfelt LGBT YA novel.

He's in Love with the Boy Next Door

Been Here All Along

Kate

trixie

it wasn’t bad but it wasn’t good. little to no actual plot or character development.

cute and cheesy YA that made for a super quick and easy read but also had me in my feels 

Ralie Sutton

jess

This was a very quick read about the boy who falls in love with the boy next door, and while it was cute, it was just sort of ... boring? I liked that there was very little homophobia and surprisingly no biphobia, but I feel like the plot didn't have much substance to it. 

There were too many POV characters with their own problems; I don't understand exactly why Ezra had to have a POV? It really didn't add much to the story and his subplot wasn't resolved. The book was too short for the subplots and none of them were really resolved. 

One thing I did like is that Ruby wasn't completely demonized in the story, because usually when a love triangle like this happens, the girl gets demonized. And while Ruby does think about it, she actually (view spoiler)[helps Kyle and Gideon get back together in the end, which is nice. (hide spoiler)]

I didn't like the writing style and all the voices sounded too similar; I kept forgetting who was narrating and had to keep checking and none of them were very developed.

Reyna Wren

So cute!! Gosh. I really enjoyed everything about this. It was cotton candy levels of sweetness and fluff. I was quite happy to see that the author didn't simply ignore her side characters, and it was SO NICE to read an LGBT novel with almost no homophobia!!! It was nice that the guys were just boys in love, and that the novel revolved around normal rom-com cliches, rather than everything being about them being gay, like some YA LGBT novels.

So fun. So cute. So sweet. One of my faves :)

Olivia Mason

cute, short and sweet. definitely not the best well-written love story -- probably wouldn't recommend it.

Tiffany Robinson

I was really excited to read this book, but for me it kind of feel flat. I felt the story was rushed and it didn't develop the characters very well. I didn't get invested at all.

Gideon always has a plan. His plans include running for class president, becoming head of the yearbook committee and having his choice of colleges. They do not include falling head over heels for his best friend and next-door neighbour, Kyle. It's a distraction. It's pointless, as Kyle is already dating the gorgeous and popular head cheerleader, Ruby. And Gideon doesn't know what to do . . . Kyle finally feels like he has a handle on life. He has a wonderful girlfriend, a best friend willing to debate the finer points of Lord of the Rings, and social acceptance as captain of the basketball team. Then, both Ruby and Gideon start acting really weird, just as his spot on the team is threatened, and Kyle can't quite figure out what he did wrong . . .

Ariel Himboi

Been Here All Along is a perfect book for those who want a short teen love story with bits of cliche drama. I won't say too much considering it reads like a young adult work about two confused teens falling in love with ex-drama happening in the background.

Something I absolutely loved was the way the characters dialogue worked out. The main antagonist is Ruby and rather than painting her as the backstabbing ex-girlfriend who is out for revenge, we see her character motivation and quirks. I like that we see what issues are going on in her POV and that she struggles to make the right decisions. What I like is that she continues to read as a good friend and that along the way as she makes bad decisions, she tells herself to work harder and be a better person. Unlike most antagonists, she had a bit of a personality and touch to her. Instead of the author teaching us to hate Ruby I could tell that we were meant to sympathize with her. And I did. 

It was cliche in the way that there wasn't a whole blow-out on the coming-out. Now, I'm not saying there should be any more problems such as internalized-homophobia or bullying on account of the high-school setting, only that it was a little bit nice to have a light-hearted style. It's a lot different than most stories and I must praise that we have a book that focuses on finding love rather than finding one's identity and dealing with any backlash.

This is a fairly easy book to read and I can say that because I finished it within an hour or two the moment it reached my doorstep. It moves swiftly and the writing style is easy on the eye. In the end, I liked the characters and the story and the ending and it left me teary-eyed and happy!

One thing that I must point out is that I didn't enjoy the clashing writing style with the multiple POV's. I felt that there were instances where a character's POV was unnecessary and only added to the page count of the book. For instance, I could have done without Ezra's POV even though he added a tad bit to the story. Otherwise, it was great!

I think most people will enjoy this book and that it makes a great addition to my shelf. Give it a try!

Kate &
Been Here All Along by Sandy Hall

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Been Here All Along by Sandy Hall