Publishers Weekly
01/20/2020
Summers end, and with them summer flings. But Ollie’s relationship with Will was great, and when Ollie’s Californian family stays in North Carolina to help his sick aunt, he hopes that the fling can continue—if only Will would text him back. Ghosted, Ollie starts senior year at a new school, makes friends, comes out (he’s been out for years, but now he has to do it again), and realizes that Will goes to the same school. He’s a varsity basketball star, a closeted one. Narrator Ollie is deeply sympathetic, but both teens’ feelings—love, hate, lust, grief, and, for Will, insecurity about coming out—are convincing, as are conversations about the different dynamics of being out in San Jose and small-town North Carolina. Though Gonzales (The Law of Inertia) is Australian, she gets most U.S. details right in this Grease reboot, creating an inclusive cast and giving weight to many parts of Ollie’s multifaceted life, including his aunt’s illness, the cousins he babysits, and his friendships. Ages 13–up. (Mar.)
From the Publisher
Only Mostly Devastated is the kind of book I wish existed when my kids were younger—a charming, funny, laugh-out-loud teen romance that reminds all readers love comes in a multitude of flavors, and they are ALL sweet.” —Jodi Picoult, New York Times–bestselling author of Small Great Things and A Spark of Light
“A delightful, heartwarming, heartrending story about family, love, friendship, and living your most authentic life. I couldn't put it down.” —New York Times–bestselling author Sandhya Menon
“A queer YA romance that just got everything right at every turn was enough to break through the firm brick wall that has become my being and make all the feelings flood through.” —BookRiot
“Sweet and earnest.... A worthwhile romance for any collection.” —Booklist
“Gonzales turns in a witty, smart, credible, and irreverent contemporary romance that handles all these elements skillfully and with heart.... The power of this fun Grease retelling is that it normalizes the spectrum of sexual orientations. Recommended for all teens.” —School Library Journal
“Heartfelt and charming, Only Mostly Devastated is a touching and delightful YA contemporary romance. Highly recommend for fans of Nicola Yoon, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, and Sick Kids In Love.” —YA Books Central
“A delight! This heartfelt, queer update on Grease features a diverse cast of teen characters and a charmingly earnest protagonist in Ollie. Gonzales handily balances lively banter with somber issues, and the compelling will they/won't they storyline warmly illustrates a timeless truth: love is love is love.” —Jenn Bennett, author of Alex, Approximately
“There can never be enough queer stories about romance—and when they are told with this much heart, humor and a swoon worthy story line, you never want them to end.” —Angelo Surmelis, author of The Dangerous Art of Blending In
“Irresistibly cute, hilariously sweet, this book warmed my heart with its characters and love story” —Mason Deaver, author of the national bestseller I Wish You All the Best
“Oh my gosh, Only Mostly Devastated is SO GREAT! Funny and sweet and super gay, fans of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda are going to be all over it. It’s totally swoon-worthy!” —Cale Dietrich, author of The Love Interest
"Outrageously funny and terribly sweet, Only Mostly Devastated will tug at your heartstrings until they break, then weave you new ones made of pure gold." —K. Ancrum, author of The Wicker King
"Wry but earnest, sweet but irreverent, heartbreaking but hopeful. With wit and authenticity, Only Mostly Devastated tells the story of what happens to a summer romance after summer is over. You'll be rooting for Ollie and his messy, wonderful friends from the first page to the last." —Hannah Capin, author of The Dead Queens Club and Foul Is Fair
“With razor-sharp wit, masterful comedic timing, and heaps of heart, these hilarious, lovable, heartbreakingly real characters make Only Mostly Devastated an instant hit and Sophie Gonzales one YA author to watch.” —Julia Lynn Rubin, author of Burro Hills
“Narrator Ollie is deeply sympathetic.... Gonzales...gets most U.S. details right in this Grease reboot, creating an inclusive cast and giving weight to many parts of Ollie’s multifaceted life.” —Publishers Weekly
School Library Journal
01/01/2020
Gr 8 Up—Musically inclined Ollie spends his last year of high school in a new town, watching his beloved aunt die. Oh, and being madly in love with Will, the basketball player he met during the summer who, it turns out, is so deeply closeted that Ollie begins to hate him. As the school year unfolds, Ollie gains true friends, wrestles with understanding Will's trepidations about coming out, and discovers dimensions of his own as he experiences the ways those closest to him handle anxiety, as well as his own reaction to his aunt's death. Gonzales turns in a witty, smart, credible, and irreverent contemporary romance that handles all these elements skillfully and with heart. The characters, including Ollie's new besties—moderately mean bisexual Lara, quiet but focused Niahm, and boisterous Juliette—and his aunt's two small kids, have their own authentic personalities, and the pace is swift without skipping any essential beats that reveal the rhythms of their intersecting and realistic lives. VERDICT The power of this fun Grease retelling is that it normalizes the spectrum of sexual orientations. Recommended for all teens.—Francisca Goldsmith, Library Ronin, Worcester, MA
Kirkus Reviews
2019-12-08
Summer lovin' gets a Southern twist in this addicting coming-of-age gay romance.
Ollie's year is not turning out the way he planned. First, his summer crush, Will, ghosts him and stops answering his texts. Then his aunt's cancer advances to such a critical stage that his parents decide to relocate the family from San Jose to Collinswood, North Carolina, to take care of her. Suddenly Ollie finds himself starting senior year at a new school without friends, without his beloved band, but with Will, a varsity basketball captain who not only isn't out, but initially refuses to be seen with him. Ollie just wants a fresh start, but Will makes that impossible, doing everything from sitting at his table at lunch to transferring into his music class. Watching the central lovers struggle to grow toward one another is just one of the many pleasures offered by Gonzales' (The Law of Inertia, 2018) second novel. The diverse supporting cast—particularly Ollie's new trio of female friends—is so richly characterized that readers will swear they bump into these girls in the halls every day. Scenes between Ollie and Will are tender and tense, complicating both boys' emotional journeys authentically. Sweet and tart in equal measure, this novel reminds us that legalizing gay marriage didn't necessarily make coming out in America any easier. Ollie is white; Will is Venezuelan American.
Poignant, piquant, and not to be missed. (Fiction. 14-18)
