This Is Kind of an Epic Love Story

by Kacen Callender

Lambda Literary Award finalist for the best LGBT YA novel of 2018

A fresh, charming rom-com perfect for fans of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda and Boy Meets Boy about Nathan Bird, who has sworn off happy endings but is sorely tested when his former best friend, Ollie, moves back to town.

Nathan Bird doesn't believe in happy endings. Although he's the ultimate film buff and an aspiring screenwriter, Nate's seen the demise of too many relationships to believe that happy endings exist in real life.

Playing it safe to avoid a broken heart has been his MO ever since his father died and left his mom to unravel-but this strategy is not without fault. His best-friend-turned-girlfriend-turned-best-friend-again, Florence, is set on making sure Nate finds someone else. And in a twist that is rom-com-worthy, someone does come along: Oliver James Hernandez, his childhood best friend.

After a painful mix-up when they were little, Nate finally has the chance to tell Ollie the truth about his feelings. But can Nate find the courage to pursue his own happily ever after

• ISBN10: 0062820222
• ISBN13: 9780062820228
• Publish Date: 30 October 2018
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Inc
• Imprint: HarperCollins
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 304
• Language: English
• URL: http://harpercollins.com.au/9780062820228

Reviews

[jeannamichel]

I liked it, but I really wanted to love it and that didn't happen. The diversity is amazing in this. Plus, I've never before read a book about where a character needs to use ASL (American Sign Language). It was interesting so see how he utilized technology in this case - as well as how the protagonist learns some ASL for him. It was a really cute story. Except... most of the characters were a bit flat. We didn't get a lot of detail from anyone and I found myself really not caring about anyone in the story except the protagonist. The couple of the story are to believed to be best friends from their childhood and while that's great to have learned that, we never see the two fall in love- they just see each other again and are in love again. There's minimal development, which was disappointing. And Nate, the protagonist, learns nothing from his past mistakes- as every time he flips off his friends, other people have to tell him to apologize, he never is able to come up with what to do on his own. There seemed to be more to his character that met the eye and I wish Callender had explored all the characters a bit more. Overall, I liked it some things and didn't like others.

[Sam@WLABB]

Between the books referenced in the synopsis and the too cute for words cover, I knew I had to read this book, and Callender delivered on everything that was promised.

Nate was one super sweet and wonderfully awkward hero. Gosh! I loved him to bits! Nate was down with love, and feared letting himself fall again. He spent a lot of the book wrestling with his complicated feelings and complicated relationships, but that was all part of his journey. His exploration was honest and thoughtful, and I know I was rooting for him to take a chance on love.

Nate was lucky and had a pretty awesome squad by his side. First of all, they were all so interesting. Flo was an animator, Ashley was a gamer, Gideon was an athlete, and Oliver James was a photographer. Each person had something they were really passionate about, they each had something that was theirs, but they also shared in some way with each other. Their group dynamic was really interesting too. They had their ups and downs, like everyone does, but in the end, they were always there for each other, and the love they shared was really special.

I loved Nate's sister as well. These siblings shared a special bond, and Nate's sister was a great cheerleader for him. She encouraged him to pursue his screenplay writing dreams, as well as nudging him to follow his heart.

A lot of people are going to talk about the diversity in this book, because let's face it, there are not a ton of books out there featuring queer POCs, and even less featuring queer POCs, who are hard of hearing. Callender organically worked in descriptions of signs and other ways the characters communicated with Oliver, which I loved. But what really stood out to me, was how Callender allowed their characters to just be who they were. There was no coming out and no labeling. It's sort of how it should be, where people just love who they love. No explanations necessary. And why did I love that? Because this book was not about being queer per se, it was a love story, and it was a sweet and adorable love story at that.

This book was near perfection for me. The one thing that would have put this over the top is if it had an epilogue. The ending was good, but too brief. It was like the beginning of an ending, and I just needed a little bit more. Don't misunderstand me. I was smiling with tears of joy in my eyes, when I finished this book, but I needed to know a little bit more about the near future for the characters, because I cared so much about them and their future together.

This book was about so many things. It was about second chances and following your heart. It was about friendship, being a friend, and family. It was about pain, grief, and loss. But mostly, it was about love, and the different ways it can permeate our lives.

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

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[Stephanie]

This book was super cute. It had its problems (side characters mostly) but overall, adorbs.

(You can tell it's a quick, fun read considering I had time to devour it during SDCC)