This is such a cute story! Felipe and Caio were both agonisingly shy at times but it all worked out eventually. I love them together.

Caio's friend Becky was a great character, she really brought some joy to the story, and I was pleasantly surprised that Becky's girlfriend had a big scar down her chest from open heart surgery. I have the exact same scar and I've never heard of a character who has been through open heart surgery like me. It was mentioned twice, and both times were quite brief, but it meant so much to me.

Watching Felipe and Caio fall for each other over 15 days was a wonderful journey, there were a few ups and downs but it was never boring. The therapy scenes were important, I think there should be more therapy scenes in YA books because normalising therapy is vital.

Some of my favourite parts of this book were:
1. Felipe standing up for a fat kid and then being that kid's hero
2. Felipe standing up for himself
3. Felipe realising he is worthy of love

I want more books with fat protagonists please!

I loved this book and everything it stood for. The message of acceptance is clear throughout and it made me feel all warm and fuzzy. Loved it was a book about staying true to yourself instead of the usual changing for a relationship.

4.5/5

I ADORED this book! My only complaint is that is wasn't long enough.
These two cinnamon rolls are the CUTEST.

Felipe is a 17 yo gay fat kid in a quiet town in Brazil who gets relentlessly bullied. He lives with his mum who he's is very close with and has no friends. During Winter Break he's told that his super hot neighbour, Caio, who he's known since childhood is going to be staying with them for 2 weeks.

The two used to hang out at the pool as kids but didn't go to school together. So when Felipe stopped going to the pool due to being insecure the two no longer saw each other.

Felipe is so insecure that he struggles to even talk to Caio at first but eventually the two rekindle their friendship over LOTR, musicals and a push from Caio's friends.
And as the two grow closer Felipe realises Caio's life isn't as perfect as it seems.

The two encourage each other to grow and be brave, and eventually romance starts to blossom.

Honestly I loved these two so much, and Felipe's mum and Becky & Mel. I just wanted to hug them all.
And I could definitely relate to Felipe with being insecure and being awkward about making friends as a kid.

Also the translation of this book was superb. I've had mixed experiences with translated books but this was impeccable.

I've knocked it down for half a star because there are 3 HP references but otherwise this book was wonderful.

CW: fatphobia, bullying, homophobia

First, as always with a translated novel; the translation is very smooth, with just a slight formality in some of the dialogue to give it away. Otherwise, I wouldn't have noticed at all.

This is a nice, gentle love story. Felix's lack of self confidence and embarrassment were so well written I could feel myself cringing at them. It's really well written; the boys don't immediately fall in love, there's a background of friendship and they've spent several days together before they even hold hands.

I also liked that not everything was tied up neatly; there are family issues that haven't been addressed at the end, and that's very true to life. Not everything wraps up at the same time, there are always ongoing things and I loved seeing that reflected here.

This is a lovely read that I'm going to enjoy recommending to people. I would love to know how to pronounce Caio, though!

I read this book at the perfect time, it was everything I wanted it to be. It was just so sweet and happy and made me smile so much. I absolutely adored the main character and the love interest.
If you want a cute, lgbt rom com that will make you laugh and smile I would highly recommend this one!

Here the Whole Time follows Felipe who is unexpectedly forced to spend his summer break with his neighbour Caio, putting a dent in Felipe’s plans but also forcing him to come out of his shell and tackle some of his personal issues.

The book is a fast faced and quick read which takes place over 15 days, although the characters were likable, the book was too short for me to really connect to them and the story – there was a lot of things that were talked about in the book but not addressed fully or as much as I would like. I did like Felipe, I liked his relationship with his mother and how he tries to deal with his problems but I did not like him as a narrator. Right from the start, the writing style of the book meant that we got a lot of Felipe’s thoughts – it felt never ending and dragged on, I did like the focus on his feelings and emotions about his body and Caio but I felt like more should have happened in the book and that the start should have been more interesting.

The plot of the book is quite repetitive, the second half of the book was hard to read because I was bored and although it is a short read it felt longer than it was. I did like the concept of the story taking place over 15 days but hardly anything seemed to happen in the plot and then towards the end, things happened really quickly and felt rushed. The topics and themes that the book dealt with was interesting to read but it felt like the book just touched upon these issues and did not delve into them fully because of the length of the book which was disappointing.

2/5

I LOVED this book, it's pretty much a perfect YA romance and tale of character growth / coming of age. No big twists plot-wise, but keeps you turning pages because you want to see it all unfold. Characters all realistic and lovable, and refreshing to having something set in Brazil and have such a nice mother-son relationship centre stage.

Thank you so much to the publisher and Netgalley for sending me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!


What would you do if you had to spend the next 15 days with your lifelong crush?

Felipe gets it — he’s fat. Not chubby. Not big-boned. Fat. And he doesn’t need anyone to remind him, which is, of course, what everyone does. That’s why he’s been waiting for this moment ever since the school year began: school break. Finally, he’ll be able to spend some time far away from school and the classmates who tease him incessantly. His plans include catching up on his favorite TV shows, finishing his to-be-read pile, and watching YouTube tutorials on skills he’ll never actually put into practice.

But things get a little out of hand when Felipe’s mom informs him that Caio, the neighbour kid from apartment 57, will be spending the next 15 days with them while his parents are on vacation. Felipe is distraught because A) he’s had a crush on Caio since, well, forever, and B) Felipe has a list of body image insecurities and absolutely NO idea how he’s going to entertain his neighbour for two full weeks.


Here the Whole Time is a wholesome and heart-warming story that deals with serious topics whist convey a number of great and positive messages. I feel like so many people are going to fall in love with Felipe and Caio. I’m so glad that this book was translated by Larissa Helena so that it could be published in the UK and US. It is such a beautiful book and I loved it a lot.

This book deals with a lot of very important themes such as fat shaming, body images, homophobia, bullying, insecurities and anxiety. Despite this it never felt like a heavy book to me. Instead I found it to be a very positive story and it really brought a smile to my face.

Another thing that I really appreciated about this book was how openly and honestly the author discussed the importance of therapy. I’m also a big fan of how loving the home that this story takes place in. His mother is so supportive and caring and it is so wonderful to read. Reading the interactions between Felipe and his mother always brought a smile to my face!

I adored the characters in this book, especially the main character Felipe. He is such a fun character and is so unique. He faces so many insecurities about his body image and who he is and all of these felt very real. It isn’t always easy to read about how Felipe feels about his body and I think some people would find it triggering. I think it is done incredibly well and it is clear to see how things change for his as his story progresses.

Caio is beyond adorable! I loved the relationship between Caio and Felipe. It is so cute and will be making me smile for a log while. I was a huge fan of how their relationship develops gradually and how they discuss everything with each other.

This book is packed full of some excellent side characters as well. Like I said earlier I loved Felipe’s mother. She is so supportive and their relationship is so sweet and wonderful. I cannot write a review for this book without mentioning Becky, Melissa and Felipe’s therapist who are all incredible too.

Overall, I cannot recommend Here the Whole Time enough! It is so heart-warming and wholesome and a book I won’t be forgetting any time soon. I highly recommend you give this one a read as soon as it comes out!

Read in a day, couldn't put it down!

Lovely, uplifting, gentle story of self-acceptance and love.

Touching on many issues in the book, bullying, homophobia, fat-shaming, anxiety, insecurity but done in a way that addresses the issues without becoming a depressing read for teens/young people.

It was an enjoyable read that I would happily recommend to others!

What a sweet, lovely and wholesome love story. I loved the main character's journey to self-acceptance, and the barriers he faced externally and internally to accept love. I also loved the relationship he had with his mum. Such a sweet story, would highly recommend.

Here the Whole Time, was such a sweet novel.
I flew through it in under a day and found myself rooting for the characters the whole time.
Set in Brazil, Felipé and Caio find themselves thrust together unexpectedly for 15 days and end up growing closer together as friends and something more.

There were many great aspects to this book, one of my favourites being the relationship between Felipé and his mother. Seeing their closeness and loving relationship and all their little traditions brought a huge smile to my face. I related so much with their character dynamic.

I really appreciated seeing representation for plus size characters, I don't think they're included in YA literature enough and in a positive light even less.
I think a huge amount of readers will resonate with feeling, at times, insecure in themselves and their appearance. Whether they have negative thoughts about themselves or they go through unimaginable bullying from peers.

In regards to this, I was so pleasantly surprised to see such a great attitude towards therapy. It isn't common to have a positive mention of therapy especially within YA, but this gave such a healthy outlook towards psychotherapy and any awareness that normalises therapy is definitely a good thing in my eyes.

There were a few times, in the early scenes between our two main characters that I wasn't sure they came off as completely realistic dialogue between two teenagers. But I'm not a teenage boy so what do I know.

One of the absolute cutest scenes for me was Felipé defending the little boy at his mother's art class from bullies.
The way Eddie saw him as his Batman was so cute and him drawing his hero was just so sweet. Felipé never thought anyone would see him in this light and certainly didn't think about himself in such a positive way, and to see himself through the eyes of this child was so emotional. Especially when, later in the novel, Caio shows him the drawing again when he reminds Felipé that people see him this way and he should accept himself.

I really appreciated that this novel wasn't another sob story about gay teens struggling with their sexuality. Felipé never felt ashamed about his sexual identity, his insecurities were more about his weight and appearance. And while Caio didn't feel ready to come out to his parents he wasn't going through this internal struggle about who he was. To see them work through things together and not end up as another sob story was a definite positive for me.

One thing that slightly hindered my rating of this book was the fact that some of the characters could be quite over dramatic, this could have been intentional as a character trait however this is just a personal pet peeve.
Lastly I would have a loved to see a little more of the setting described. I believe this is the first book I've read set in Brazil but there were times I forgot that that was where the character's were based .

If you're looking for a feel good story about family, friendship and first love I'd definitely recommend giving this book a go.
Also I'd recommend to anyone who enjoys Alice Oseman's Heartstopper graphic novel series.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with the eARC of this book.

This was such an unexpected and yet adorable read!
I loved the whole story. I started reading it out of curiosity right after I got approved for it. I thought I'd just read the first page but instead I read the whole book in one day.

I loved Caio and Felipe's story, it was adorable. It was a light-hearted story about finding love and slowly learning to love yourself, and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

This book is so. Freaking. Cute.

One page and I would have followed Felipe anywhere. This narrator can pick any subject, I'll read. He is so funny, touching, awkward and adorable. Honestly, I just wanted to hug him and beg him to be my best friend.

Caio, his love interest, was dreamy and super cute too. I also loved Rita, Felipe's mum, and Becky, Caio's friend. Too much good dialogue to handle.

This book tackles difficult subjects like fatphobia, anxiety, homophobia, and bullying, but it's not a heavy book. It's heartbreaking at times but it's firmly on the side of happiness, empowerment, and romantic fulfillment. It's a joyous and very satisfying read.

I loved that it was set in Brazil, too, it's lovely to get good YA from somewhere other than the UK or US.

I really hope that a good director picks this up, it would make a fantastic film. And I'd love to read more books by Vitor Martins, this one is a real winner.

Here the Whole Time is a YA love story translated from Portuguese, about a seventeen-year-old boy who has to live with his handsome neighbour for fifteen days. Felipe is fat and gay, and his classmates at school in his small Brazilian town are constantly mocking him about the former, so he's relieved that it's summer break, and he can spend time watching Netflix and YouTube and not having to deal with people. That is, until his mum reveals that Caio, their neighbour who Felipe has a crush on but hasn't spoken to in a few years, will be staying with them whilst his parents are away. Suddenly, Felipe has to confront his issues around talking to people, but at the same time, he might discover some new things he likes and rediscover old ones.

This is an incredibly sweet book about a fat teenager finding ways to deal with his anxiety and shyness and confront issues that have been affecting his life for years. Felipe's relationship with his mum is lovely, and it feels important to show a protagonist like Felipe with a supportive parent who doesn't question his body or sexuality. There's also some nice moments with Caio's best friend and her girlfriend, in which Felipe gets the chance to reflect on other people's relationships with their body and their self-esteem (though it would've been nice to see more of the characters at the end).

I've never read a YA book from Brazil so it was good to get the chance to read this in translation, especially as a lot of the big name young adult LGBTQ romcom type books often seem to be set in suburban America or maybe an English school. The narrative follows through the fifteen days with fairly minimal conflict, making it an ideal option for someone looking for a short, fluffy read that still grapples with some issues.

This book can resonate with so many people with becoming to love, accept and stand up for yourself. Truly a book for everyone.

The book follows two boys who stay together over multiple days when Caio’s parents go away. It tells a story of becoming more confident to talk to people and to show your true self to them.

Felipe is a lovely character who finally gives us plus size rep that many books lack and it was lovely to see someone become to love and accept himself for who he is. Also stand up for himself against his bullies. The book was also representative with the inclusion of Caio’s and Felipe’s relationship. Their relationship was extremely cute and its amazing to see more gay representation in books, and how parents and friends can react.

The only thing I wish is that Felipe could have become more confident and began to love himself, without a boys help. Sometimes it makes me sad when people feel the need to have their partner show them that they can be themselves, rather than them to coming to that conclusion by them self . But it was a lovely book.

All in all, a great read which I throughly enjoy.

In this very stressful time, I’ve been looking to books to provide me with that sweet serotonin through nice, fuzzy stories, and Here the Whole Time by Vitor Martins (translated by Larissa Helena) really hit that spot.

The story is told from the perspective of Felipe, a fat, gay teenager who is faced with having to spend his school holiday with his neighbour who he has a huge crush on, Caio. Caio and Felipe used to be friends, but they’ve drifted apart over the years, and now Felipe doesn’t know how to muster the courage to talk to the boy who’s currently sharing his bedroom. But, as the days go on, Felipe finds that he and Caio are growing closer, and he begins to think that maybe he has a chance with Caio – although he has several issues of his own to work through first.

Martins explores the way we twist things – things that people say, that they do, and interactions we’re a part of – in an interesting way. Felipe overthinks every interaction, twisting it to make himself the problem or a problem, no matter what actually happens. But over the course of the novel, he is shown that that is rarely the truth, and learns to take a step back and consider what actually may have happened. Although the book only shows fifteen days of this journey, the difference between Felipe at the start and the end of the book is clear. And it’s clear that Felipe continues to learn past the last page of the book. No-one in life is ever really perfect, or has their problems fixed over a neat story arc, and Martins reflects that in Felipe.

The book also explores how to let other people love you and see that you have value in a world that spends so much time telling you you have less value for who you are as a person – who you love, what you look like, etc. Felipe struggles under the label of fat, worrying how he looks to Caio, how he could ever compare to this boy he sees as perfect when Felipe gets called horrendous names on the regular by his peers, but Caio’s life isn’t as perfect as it seems. Caio faces issues with his peers and his parents that Felipe doesn’t have to fight. Both of them emerge stronger at the end of the book, allowing themselves to find strength in letting themselves be loved, seeing themselves having more value than they started the book with.

The book also touches on so many other important topics, such as the importance of role models and representation for young children, body image issues, and difficulties of different parent-child dynamics, treating each of these topics with care.

I loved Here the Whole Time, it was such a comforting and quick read. The only issue I had was the hatred of Little Mix from Felipe, but for such a sweet book I think I can let it slide.

I was given a free copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I am pleased I got to read 'Here the Whole Time' by Vitor Martins now it has been translated from Portuguese. The plot centres on Felipe, who is a 17 year old plagued by insecurities, particularly the one dominating his mental wellbeing (and conversations with his therapist): his body image. His internal monologue shares his feelings about being fat and the bullying which he constantly faces at school, having destroyed his confidence and sense of worth.

Enter Caio, Felipe's gorgeous neighbour who used to play mermaids with him in the pool (before Felipe stopped swimming). Caio's parents leave him to stay with Felipe and his mother for two weeks while they go on holiday. This beautiful boy staying in Felipe's room may just be the nudge Felipe needs to face his demons and let himself be loved.

Martin's writing in this novel is just adorable, mainly due to the sweet purity of the central relationship. Felipe and Caio truly bring out the best in each other. I loved seeing how Felipe gradually grew whilst learning about how to find his happy place in the world.

There are some weighty topics tackled in the text, especially due to the horrific bullying Felipe experiences and Caio's frustration with his overbearing parents (who he still hasn't come out to). These are portrayed with sensitivity but, unfortunately, don't really go anywhere. I know it is not the author's job to resolve every plotline, as is the reality of life where problems don't just disappear, but any sense of closure on the coming out or issues with school bullies would have made the payoff a little more satisfying.

Overall, this book is lovely - two extremely likeable central characters and some laugh out loud moments (particularly where Felipe breaks the fourth wall and includes the reader in his steam of consciousness). The young adult market are going to enjoy this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher who provided an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow this was a one sitting read, I couldn't put it down.
Felipe has his whole summer planned,
"His plans include catching up on his favorite TV shows, finishing his to-be-read pile, and watching YouTube tutorials on skills he'll never actually put into practice."
That is until he is informed his childhhod friend/crush/neighbour Caio, will be staying with him and his mother, while Caio's parents are on vacation.
So not only does he have to share his summer, he also has to share his room.....
But that's not Felipe's only problem, Felipe is fat. And he doesn't need anyone to remind him, which is, of course, what everyone does.

This is a tender romance/coming of age/ self confidence joy of a read.
From Felipe's relationship with his mother, and there often themed nights, such as musical night.. To his awkwardness around Caio as he tries to work out what his deal is.

It's full of moving themes that the author deals with brilliantly.
Including homophobia, fatphobia, bullying, anxiety and body insecurity.
I really recognised Felipe's thought spiral about wether his belly was hanging out as he slept, or wearing to many clothes to hide his body.
The author explores the importance of therapy. Talking frankly and openly with parents and friends about it.
I love all the different relationships in this book, from mother to best friend. Everyone feels present.
I'm really glad I read this.