I was so sold on the pitch of an LGBT+ retelling of Grease that I had to request it on Netgalley (and then I won a physical proof, so I can always hold this beautiful tale near). Luckily, the book more than lives up to its premise, crafting an adorable contemporary YA romance, whilst also dealing with themes of grief and terminal illness in such an amazing way. 

When I first started reading, I wasn't expecting the topic of cancer to come up and this is something which unfortunately I've lost some family members to, so it always hits home for me. I thought that Gonzales showed this horrific illness really well, showing both the hope and devastation that you experience watching a family member struggle with it. The experience of grief is so multi-faceted and she showed this brilliantly, bringing me close to tears. Ollie's experience was something that I could strongly relate to, making him an even more memorable protagonist. 

Speaking of characters, all of the main characters and supporting cast felt so realistic and fleshed out. Ollie is an imperfect, funny and awkward protagonist that sounded like he could fit into my classes. I also loved Lara, Juliette and Niamh so much. They felt like such a good group of friends, being able to call each other out but ultimate coming together to support one another. All of the dialogue felt natural and flowed really well, never feeling forced. 

Then of course, we have the romance that lies at the core of the book. I really liked this romance and how we got flashbacks to their summer, combining the past and present to show just how strong their relationship could be. It felt like it naturally progressed and Will's journey of being able to accept himself was incredibly emotional to witness, though I also got Ollie's flashes of anger at being something to be hidden. 

Full review will be up on my blog on Monday.

Amazing! GAY GREASE!! what more could you ask for?!
Okay serious now this was a fantastic book! A summer loving ;) getting wobbly once they start school together.
The characters in this were all perfectly fleshed out, they all had their flaws but I loved them all sosoo much. This is definitely becoming a 2020 favourite! Right now it even feels like an overrall favourite?! (This may be due to just finishing it bUt it was seriously so amazing)
[I was given a arc of this book from NetGalley for an honest review]

Only Mostly Devastated is everything I thought I wanted from an updated, queer reimagining of Grease and more!

Ollie and Will enjoyed their Summer Nights by the lake, but when September rolls around and Ollie finds himself matriculating at a new school with Will as his classmate everything has changed. Will is still very much in the closet and is not at all comfortable with his summer beau now being a daily fixture alongside his jock lifestyle.

I have to say that I adored our narrator Ollie from the get go. He is funny, sweet caring and loves his friends and family. I also loved the fact that he was already out and comfortable with his own sexuality as that made for a perspective in this genre that I haven't seen much. He was struggling with watching someone else struggle with their sexuality and that made for an interesting dynamic between the characters.

Ollie makes friends on his first day with 3 girls and their stories are just as integral to the novel as that of Ollie and Will. The whole cast of characters, in fact, are lovingly created and I felt invested in each and every one of them early on in this read.

The novel doesn't just focus on Hopelessly Devoted teens though. The story deals with the difficulties a family faces when a member is battling cancer, and Sophie Gonzales handles this carefully and tenderly, without playing down the emotional turmoil it can put a family through.

All in all, I loved this book. I couldn't put it down and zipped through it (like Greased Lightning?) in a day. I was genuinely sad when I finished it as I really loved the characters and didn't want to say goodbye to them just yet.

Only Mostly Devasted is a really strong YA novel, thoughtfully dealing with important themes. I can certainly recommend it.

BOOK REVIEW: Only Mostly Devastated by Sophie Gonzales

3 stars

I was extremely excited about this book, gay reimagining of grease?! Count me in! Unfortunately for me it didn't quite live up to my expectations but it was still an incredibly cute easy read.

Ollie was our lead male and I loved him from the beginning. He was such a nice guy, with so much love for his family and friends. You can see that he is linked with Sandy from Grease. His love interest is Will, a jock that is not yet out of the closet. They met and had a summer romance but when Ollie's unwell aunt means Ollie and his parents move to the area, they end up in the same school.

I really liked the female side characters, they gave so much to the narrative and the growing friendship with Ollie was lovely to see.
The storyline was a little lacklustre and I actually felt a little bored at times. There just seemed to be a lot of repetition. I wish there had been more depth surrounding some of the issues raised as well.

Overall it is a well written, cute easy read with great representation of the lgbtq community. Sadly it just wasn't enough to stand out in this (rightly so) growing sector.

Out March 5th.

Please note that I was gifted this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Ollie's summer fling turns suddenly serious when he joins the same school as his erstwhile boyfriend. Unfortunately, Will is not out and feels he can't be in his conservative school. Now Ollie has to chose between the moments Will can give him, and his own sense of self worth.

I'll admit it; I'm in the minority of people who enjoyed Grease 2. That really has no bearing on this review, which is fairly solidly based on the original, you say? Ah, but Grease 2 has a plotline of the girls deciding that they're more than their romantic partner's significant other; they are people in their own right with thoughts and feelings. Since Ollie is taking the Sandy role in this version, I think it's still appropriate.

It is quite obviously based on the original, though, right down to the roles some of the characters play. Lara is possibly my favourite, although alterations to her role cut out the pregnancy story line, which is a shame; I'd have loved to have seen how she dealt with it.

In terms of family storylines, Ollie comes out the best...or worst...with a bereavement storyline running through most of the novel and really bursting into the limelight about two thirds of the way through. I may have cried. It's beautifully done, showing a huge range of reactions rather than the one or two that are usually showcased in this kind of novel.

I really enjoyed this read, I think it was really well done and I'm looking forward to seeing it on sale.

Ah 'Only Mostly Devastated' was everything I want a contemporary YA book to be. Now I am quite easily impressed but I LOVED it. It made me angry, it made me cry and made me swoon - what more do you want?! I really think a sequel focusing on one of the rose gold girls would be AMAZING!

Thank you Netgalley and Hodder for the review copy!

***TW: bullying, terminal illness, death of a loved one, homophobia ***

I requested this book from NetGalley as it was described as "a modern-day, queer re-imagining of GREASE" and I love Grease so what was not to like! And I am so glad I did. I haven't read many books with LGBTQ characters so this was also something that intrigued me. 

Ollie meets Will while on holiday and they have a wild, intense fling, promising to keep in touch once they go back to  'real life'. But once summer is over Ollie doesn't hear a word from Will. He knows that Will wasn't 'out' but surely that isn't a reason to blank him? 

To make Ollies end of summer even worse, him and his family move to a different state t be nearer his aunt who is sick, meaning a new school and new people to make friends with.

As with Grease, it turns out that Will goes to Ollie's new school, however Ollie soon feels worse about the whole situation as he gets blanked. Ollie makes friends with a group fo 3 girls who take him under their wing and help him muddle through high school. 

I really enjoyed reading about the girls as they add a lot to the story and are all individuals who have their own issues to deal with, unlike a lot of high school girls in YA books. 

There are a lot of serious, real life issues tackled in this book but they are written about so well. I definitely laughed and cried along with the characters!

There are hints to sex scenes through the book but none happen "on page" which I really liked as I think it makes the book more accessible to more young people? The story definitely didn't leave me feeling like something was missing without them either! 

This is a great book, I think those experiencing any of the issues that any of the characters are experiencing would enjoy, as well as just anyone really!

What a nice book. Yes, nice. I feel like that’s the best word I could use to describe it. Only Mostly Devastated is a book that tells the story of Ollie and his summer-fling Will, in a casual, less over the top Grease retelling than the original. Which is a good thing! Listen, I love Grease as much as the next LGBT+ millennial, but is John Travolta’s Zuko not the most OTT character you’ve ever seen? Most characters in the book are perfectly balanced. They have their flaws, their weaknesses and their talents, and no one feels like a Mary Sue.

The story is close enough to the original for it to feel familiar and cosy, but also new and exciting. The aunt Linda subplot was superbly handled and definitely pulled on the heartstrings.

I feel like this book could have benefitted of being slightly longer— it now felt like some character building was missed and some things were told, not shown. After the major plot point in the subplot, I expected more of a conversation between Ollie and his parents, rather than the short argument they had at the uncle and aunt’s house. I kept waiting for a heartwarming scene that seemed glossed over in the end. I feel like this book could have easily been another fifty pages and I would have liked it the same or even more, as it would’ve allowed for more development of the minor characters such as Ollie’s parents, Lara, and aunt Linda. Not just those, but I would’ve liked more about Will and his parents as well, especially near the end of the book.

Regardless of those comments, the book was incredibly sweet and easy to get to. The writing was witty and it was a great book to cuddle up with under a blanket with storm Ciara—- wait Dennis, no actually— Ellen roaring around me with a warm cup of tea.

4 out of 5 stars.

Ollie’s family flew across America to spend Summer with his Aunt and family when his Aunt’s cancer meant many hospital visits. Ollie found himself babysitting his young cousins. But life wasn’t all hard work as he met and befriended Will – his age, and everything Ollie wanted in a boy, except Ollie was gay and out and Will had not admitted that to himself, let alone friends or family. Then the Summer holiday ended.
Ollie’s parents then threw him a curved ball when they told him they were going to spend the next year nearby – far away from his life in California with his friends, his music and school.
On Ollie’s first day in his new school he is befriended by a group of girls to whom he confides his wonderful Summer. It takes a few days before Ollie discovers what the girls had realised, that Will also attends the same school and is Mr Popular – sporty and arrogant – an ideal he intends maintaining even when it cuts ties with Ollie.
This book is a journey for all characters. Lara’s shift from cagey, haughty onlooker to loyal, determined friend, and Niamh and Juliette’s focus on following their dreams flesh out the story to make this more than a simple romance. This is a gentle book about feelings, no graphic scenes, and perfect for others who are not yet ready to divulge their innermost thoughts. Even though Ollie seems to be open and up front, he is not being entirely honest with himself, and allowing his friends to discover their own feelings is the only way forward for everyone.

A retelling of Grease with a modern twist, a cute love story. Both of these make this a must read. It's cute, lovely and read you will find very very hard to put down when you start it. It's an extremely welcome edition to the LGBTQ+ Teen genre,

(Thanks Hachette for NetGalley approval for this one! Only Mostly Devastated is published in the UK on 5th March.)

Only Mostly Devastated is about Ollie, who has a short holiday romance with a guy called Will who seems perfect - until he ghosts him. When Ollie finds out they're staying in North Carolina to be near his dying aunt, and he's transferring schools, it's a shock - but an even bigger one comes when he finds that Will is a classmate of his. Who's very much not out to his friends. With help from his new friends, can Ollie rekindle the spark they had? And with Will acting like something of an asshole, should he even want to?

I've been desperate to read this one ever since I initially saw descriptions along the lines of "Grease, but with two guys in love" and WOW, it didn't disappoint! Ollie is a lovely main character, sweet and kind and generally - if not always - thoughtful and I loved the trio of girls he becomes friendly with, particularly Lara, who starts off antagonistic towards him but eventually becomes a trusted friend. I also really enjoyed the portrayal of the family relationships; Ollie spends a lot of time looking after his two little cousins when his aunt is especially ill and they're wonderful characters, as are his parents and aunt and uncle. Sophia Gonzales pulls off an impressive feat here by weaving a really emotional storyline of Ollie's aunt's declining health, and the issues Will has with hiding his sexuality in a school where even generally kind-hearted teens are apt to make thoughtless comments about gay people, in with a delightful romance to make a funny and heart-warming book with real depth. I thought Will was a great love interest, by the way. He's a kind and sympathetic person but he's so worried about having his sexuality exposed that he can act in an obnoxious way; seeing the way he tries to deal with this fear really made me warm to him.

I love Sophie Gonzales's writing style - it's fresh, really readable, and she makes all of her characters, and their hopes and fears, feel brilliantly alive. She also builds to a truly gorgeous climax which felt incredibly satisfying. Massively recommended as one of the strongest YA debuts I've read for ages, and one that I can definitely see myself rereading several times. (Also I have to give a shout-out to Jim Tierney's cover which is BEAUTIFUL.)

A gentle love story: about two teenagers dealing with romance for the first time. Whilst one is dealing with a dying family member and the other is coming to terms with them self.

All the stars!

I actually picked this book up because I was feeling a bit down and thought that a YA contemporary romance pitted as being like Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda mixed with Clueless and Grease would be the perfect escapist novel for me. Humour! This book would have humour, right? And it did - it made me snort with laughter a lot. But somehow I missed the bit in the blurb about the main character's aunt's health having taken a turn for the worst, or rather I underestimated how large a part this would play in the novel. I spent almost half the novel in tears, or at least on the verge of them. I don't think I've ever read a novel before where a character has reacted to a situation in exactly the same way I have, to the point even their thought processes are identical to my own. Ollie's interior monologue brought out a lot of feelings in me, and though it wasn't the escapism I hoped for, it made me feel less alone, in a way that's hard to explain.

Honestly I could give this book 5* just for that, and the humour of course (I NEEDED the humour) but there's so much more that I loved. There was an emotional maturity to this that I wasn't expecting, in the way relationships were handled, and in the wonderfully morally grey characters. It took me a while to warm up to them, but I think that's natural when a lot of them aren't particularly likeable at first. I kind of hated Lara at the beginning, but she might have been my favourite by the end. Will is alternatively loveable and a dickhead, but Ollie isn't perfect either. I really enjoyed watching the characters grow over the course of the novel, and seeing their relationships develop as they did.

Also, there's some really good rep in here, including some fairly thorough bi rep (characters explicitly refer to themselves as bi, there are bi coming out scenes, and coming out as bi is in no way shown to be "less difficult" than coming out as gay or lesbian). There's also PCOS rep! Honestly it is so important for young women to know about the condition, and I'm so glad the author chose to go into some detail with it too, even talking about the horrible paradox of how losing weight can ease the symptoms, but how dieting can also make them ten times worse, and how honestly it's just best to do what makes you happy. Some great body positivity here too!

Ultimately I loved pretty much everything about this book, and am really looking forward to seeing what Sophie Gonzales does next.

4/5 stars
This story was so cute and so much fun and i would recommend it to anyone who enjoys becky albertalli or jenny han books.

Only mostly devastated is a GREASE REIMAGINING (!!) and follows Ollie and Will who had a summer fling. When Ollie moves schools, he is surprised to find that Will is at his new school. The only problem, Will isn't out.

One of my favourite things about this book was the supporting characters. They were all so well developed and i cared about them all throughout reading this book. I really hope that Sophie Gonzales writes more in this world because i really want to see stories from the other characters perspectives (especially Lara).

The romance was also really cute and pure, i just loved Ollie and Will together. Every scene where the two of them interacted was a joy to read and just put a smile on my face.

Finally, i really enjoyed the writing style in this book. Ollie's voice was so much fun to read and i really felt connected to his character. the plot was easy to follow and i felt that i could just fall into this book whenever i picked it up. I think it makes a perfect read for when you just want something fun to escape into when you're too busy to read something really heavy.

Overall, Only Mostly Devastated is such a fun little romance book with interesting and interesting, well-developed set of characters and an ADORABLE romance.
i hope it gets the success & hype it deserves upon publication <3

This was the heart-warming love story I'd been looking for! I adored all the characters, especially Ollie, and thought the author did a brilliant job of showing the complexities of being a teen in love whilst also dealing with the topic of bereavement beautifully. The 'realness' of the story was what drew me in and the representation of diversity only added to that.

The comparisons to Grease are to be expected, but Ollie is far less irritating than Sandy!

More books in the same vein, please!

I love Grease, but let's be honest - it doesn't have the greatest plot of all time. In many ways, novelising it brings out the weaknesses in the structure, so there were a few flaws to Only Mostly Devastated I just had accept came with the territory.

But thankfully, Gonzales also uses her retelling as an opportunity to go beyond and explore some complex issues such as grief, homophobia and coming to terms with your identity. I didn't find the characters particularly well-developed, but they did grow on me - especially Ollie. I didn't really root for him as a romantic, but when he is depicted more as a friend and caring nephew, he really shone.

Does Only Mostly Devastated bring anything new to the YA rom-com genre? No. But did I enjoy it? Yes!

Ollie has the perfect summer romance. And then he never hears from Will again. Until he turns up at his new high school and finds Will goes there, although Will pretends they've never met. What will Will do?

I absolutely LOVED this book. I devoured it in two sittings. It has so much heart. I found myself crying multiple times and laughing out loud. This is a must read!

With huge thanks to NetGalley and Hatchett Children’s Group for kindly allowing me to read an ARC of ‘Only Mostly Devastated’ in exchange for an honest review.

Right from the beginning I loved this book, Ollie is so adorable and funny, you can’t help but love him. His voice is one you instantly connect to, witty and smart this novel is often laugh out loud. As you get to know Ollie and his new friends the story is interspaced with snippets of his and Will’s love story which are really sweet and endearing to read. They certainly give context to a side of Will’s character that you need in order to not think he’s, quite frankly, a bit of d**k. Whilst the first half of the novel is a little slow from almost exactly half way through it really takes off.

One of the things I loved the most about Only Mostly Devastated was ‘The Roses.’ Teenage girls at high school are all too often absolute nightmares and hugely stereotypical of a certain kind of girl. Ollie’s new friends however embraced him immediately, they are loyal, supportive and whilst they each face their own challenges I felt that they were ultimately united in being there for each other. I particularly loved Lara and seeing her relationship and character develop throughout the book was really enjoyable. The writing is great and you find yourself really routing for each of them throughout.

To me, the main downside was the ending. Though, ‘that kiss’ at the match was very #swoon and the ending was super romantic – I felt that ultimately Will’s coming out was dealt with both too quickly and too simplistically. It was almost too easy and whilst in the real world you’d want everyone to be accepted and embraced by their friends and family regardless ultimately this is not always the case that seamlessly everyone just accepts that without some period of transition/acceptance. So in that for me it lacked realism and it left me feeling like Sophie had backed away from addressing some of the more challenging topics.

That said, I loved this novel, a great read with fantastic characterisation and frequently funny and heart-warming. One to read.

When a book comes along that's billed as 'Simon Vs The Homosapien Agenda meets Grease', there are only two appropriate reactions:

1. Squealing and flailing with excitement, shortly followed by...

2. ... that sinking feeling as you realise no book can possibly live up to the promise of that description.

Well, I am delighted to tell you that not only does Only Mostly Devastated live up to the promise, in some ways it exceeds it. While the 'Grease, but make it queer' vibe is felt more strongly at the beginning and fades as the book goes on, this is, if anything, for the better, allowing the characters and plot to stand on their own rather than the reader constantly playing 'spot the comparison'. And about those characters... while a slight (tiny!) criticism would be that the supporting characters aren't always entirely fleshed out, this didn't matter to me as I loved the voice of Ollie (our Sandy) so very much. Lara (Rizzo) is also a great creation, managing to walk that fine line (as the original character does) between biting sarcasm and vulnerability. Meanwhile, it was so refreshing to read queer YA where there's more going on for the protagonist than just being LGBTQ. Shock horror, queer folk are actually fully rounded people with whole entire other stuff going on in their lives aside from coming out! The major sub-plot involving Ollie's aunt Linda and her cancer diagnosis was beautifully and movingly written, and I loved seeing a teenage character relating to their family in such a caring way (the scenes where Ollie babysits his young niece and nephew are especially cute).

But at the heart of this book is the will-they, won't-they romance between Ollie and Will, who - following a summer-long fling while both on vacation - find themselves in an awkward position when the resolutely out and proud Ollie unexpectedly transfers to the same high school as closeted uber-jock Will. Gonzales does such a great job of making Will likeable, even when you want to scream at him to stop being such a dude bro, and that ending... that ending!!!! Suffice to say I was an absolute mess of tears and smiles for about the last 30 pages.

While not perfect (I felt the plot about Niamh's weight and dieting was poorly handed and would have benefited from a fat sensitivity reader), Only Mostly Devastated is already on course to be my favourite YA of 2020. Very highly recommended.

Let's be real, it was never going to be that hard to sell me on a queer retelling of Grease. That's like my perfect pitch. However, I was worried that the actual book wouldn't live up to my expectations. But not only did it live up to them, but it blew them out of the water.
This book follows our main character Ollie, who was had the perfect summer whirl wind romance with the lovely Will. However, when his parents decide they are moving to their vacation location, Ollie has to start a whole new school for his senior year, and if that wasn't bad enough, he's also being given the silent treatment by Will. That is, until he sees Will at his new school. We follow Ollie as he tries to make new friends, fit into a school that's not quite as liberal as his old one, deal with his Aunt who is sadly dying from cancer making him an almost full time baby sitter, and navigate a very on and off relationship with Will.
What I Liked:
-Ollie. He had such a strong voice, and I connected with him almost instantly. He was a quintessential Gen Z teenager, and his inner monologue as well as his dialogue felt so natural and never felt forced. He was awkward, and passionate, and flawed, and funny, and the perfect protagonist.
-The side characters. There are a lot of characters in this book, but they truly all felt like real people. They were so well fleshed out, and nothing ever felt forced like Gonzales was trying to make them seem "relatable". Ollie has an interesting friendship group that develops really well as we get more and more information about them, and even his young cousins felt real.
-The romance. This was the perfectly balanced romance. It was full of angst, soft moments, arguments, romantic gestures and all of it came together to be a romance I rooted for with my entire being. I thought it was really great how many flashbacks we got to their summer romance. So often we're just told that a couple have been together for X amount of time, but we don't really care because we don't get to see any of it. But we got to see both their past and present romance, which really helped to develop it. I just loved this romance so much.
-The exploration of family and grief. I don't really have much to say on this, but I thought it was done really well and it made me cry... quite a bit.
-The emotions. This book made me feel every emotion under the sun, I laughed, I cried, and smiled like an idiot. It was a total rollercoaster, and I loved every second of it.
What I Didn't Like:
-It's really only one thing, and that's that there was a sort of non consented outing. I just really prefer all outings to be 100% the characters choice.
Overall, this is an absolute must read of 2020, and I will be buying a physical copy as soon as I can. I'm almost positive this is going to be on my favourite books of 2020 list and it's only the first week of January!