Starred Review ALA Booklist (Wed Jul 06 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

Starred Review Let's face it, dudes and dudettes: Goslee's debut is seriously cool. In large part that's due to her droll cast of characters. Her star is 16-year-old Mike, whose three favorite things are his little sister, Rosie; his garage band; and his sorta girlfriend, Lisa. Only now Lisa has broken up with him rta. That's bad, but not fatal, because she's still his BFF. Until she mentions how he's gay. But Mike's not gay. Is he? At least Rook Wallace, his long-time bête noire, firmly remains his foe. Doesn't he? Geez, what next? Well, there's the horrifying prospect of actually coming out, for one. And dating, for two. Life sure is hard. Goslee's take, on the other hand, is exceedingly easy to like. In describing Mike's tentative steps toward self-awareness, the author doesn't make a single false step. Everything is just right: the tone, the style, the right-on dialogue, the characterization, the apposite amount of angsty drama, the pace of the genuinely sweet-spirited story. Fans of David Levithan's Boy Meets Boy (2003) and Becky Albertalli's Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (2015) won't be disappointed, and there isn't much higher praise than that.

School Library Journal Starred Review (Wed Jul 06 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

Gr 9 Up-As a high school junior, Mike thought he knew himself. He is obsessed with garage rock. His favorite weekend pastime is going to parties. His friends are a ragtag bunch of daredevils and misfits he has been hanging out with since grade school. Although he previously dated only girls, he realizes now how that was a smoke screen. In truth, Mike is attracted to guys. How does this new revelation fit in? Goslee's portrayal of this existential crisis is as humorous as it is grounding. All the feelings of disbelief and anxiety that one might expect are delivered in the way only a 16-year-old boy could articulate, profanity and sexual innuendos included. Although this book could be easily accessible to a younger teen, it does feature more mature content, making it more suitable for older teens. Ultimately, this work focuses on a very common experience. Finding out that you don't fully understand yourself is no easy feat. VERDICT Recommended for young adults who enjoy realistic fiction such as Bryan Lee O'Malley's "Scott Pilgrim" series or books by John Green, Adam Silvera, or John Corey Whaley.— Jaclyn Anderson, Madison County Library System, MS

Horn Book (Wed Jul 06 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

Right before junior year, pot-smoking rocker Mike is dumped by his sort-of girlfriend, who matter-of-factly informs him he's gay. This is news to Mike, but he soon recognizes that he may, in fact, be attracted to both boys and girls. Readers undeterred by the book's erratic pacing and myriad references to passi bands will find a refreshingly normalizing depiction of bisexuality via raunchy teen-boy humor.

Kirkus Reviews (Wed Jul 06 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

With a close-knit group of guy friends, a cool girlfriend, and few worries, Mike's junior year is off to a great start. Until it isn't. First, the white suburbanite's girlfriend, Lisa, informs him that they aren't actually dating. Then he finds out that, while blackout drunk at a party, he made out with a guy. Now everything shifts into unfamiliar territory. Mike can't help but freak out as he begins to notice how he is thinking about guys, especially Rook Wallace, his enemy since middle school. On top of this, Lisa has wrangled him into running for student government with her, filling his once contentedly slacker schedule with dreaded extracurricular participation. The third-person narrative moves quickly with plenty of realistic teen banter. Risky underage behavior abounds, including a lot of heavy drinking and pot smoking, and is, for the most part, consequence-free in the way that only a story centered on middle-class white kids can be. Mike's self-talk as he grapples with his sexual identity is at times cringeworthily self-deprecating. Though there are some rough patches as he comes out to his friends, the most resistance he experiences in coming to terms with his sexuality is from himself. A humorous account of a teen's reluctant and awkward journey to acceptance of his emerging bisexuality. (Fiction. 14-18)

Voice of Youth Advocates (Wed Jul 06 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

Mike is happy with his life. áHe is in a band, he has great friends, and he has a girlfriend. áThen something happens at the end-of-summer party that he definitely does not remember, and his girlfriend, Lisa, dumps him. áIt does not really faze her; they were only playing at dating anyway, she tells him. áApparently, she knows him better than he does, especially when she fills him in on what he did at the party. áHe cannot believe it, and the unraveling of who Mike thinks he is and his junior year begins.áHe finds himself roped by Lisa into being student council vice president and elected to Homecoming Court in what he thinks is some sort of cruel joke, all while he is trying to figure out why exactly he suddenly cannot stop thinking about making out with guys.Goslee's Mike is a typical teenage boy, and she captures his voice effortlessly. áReaders are immersed in Mike's head, cheering him on as he struggles to come to terms with what they already know. Goslee relates the confusion and heartbreaking consequences of Mike's realization with humor and grace.áIf the other characters are a bit underdeveloped, the reader gives Goslee a pass since Mike does not know himself and is not a reliable narrator. áOverall, this is a delightful story that many young people need to hearthat it is okay to be different and it is even better to be yourself.Jennifer Baker.