Autoboyography by Christina Lauren
Synopsis
"Three years ago, Tanner Scott’s family relocated from California to Utah, a move that nudged the bisexual teen temporarily back into the closet. Now, with one semester of high school to go, and no obstacles between him and out-of-state college freedom, Tanner plans to coast through his remaining classes and clear out of Utah.
But when his best friend Autumn dares him to take Provo High’s prestigious Seminar—where honor roll students diligently toil to draft a book in a semester—Tanner can’t resist going against his better judgment and having a go, if only to prove to Autumn how silly the whole thing is. Writing a book in four months sounds simple. Four months is an eternity.
It turns out, Tanner is only partly right: four months is a long time. After all, it takes only one second for him to notice Sebastian Brother, the Mormon prodigy who sold his own Seminar novel the year before and who now mentors the class. And it takes less than a month for Tanner to fall completely in love with him."
My Thoughts
I fully admit that this one took me a moment to get into. At the beginning, it felt like a pretty basic ya contemporary book and I struggled to get through it. But somewhere in the middle things picked up and I could not stop listening!
This book is one that is hyped a lot and as such, I was skeptical about it going in. But I feel like it certainly deserves said hype. The blossoming love story between Tanner and Sebastian made me giddy to see and also was heartbreaking knowing it likely wouldn't end anywhere good. So much of the book is sets you up for terrible heartbreak in the end.
“His smile ruins me.”
― Christina Lauren, Autoboyography
A lot of this book deals with identity and how they do and don't define you. Tanner is admittedly bi and Sebastian struggles with accepting that he is gay, though fully admits he's not attracted to women at all. Lots of discussions of how being bisexual doesn't mean you can just choose to date someone of the opposite sex just because it's easier which I liked but I wish had been a little louder since it feels like this was a sentiment that many characters said throughout the book.
Definitely recommend this book if you need a heartwrenching romance, though I would be wary of recommending this to anyone with past trauma related to a church since that is a huge part of this book.
Genre: lgbtqia+, contemporary, ya
Representation: bi MC, gay MC
Content Warnings: HP reference, f-slur, closeted relationship, homophobia