Review: Autoboyography by Christina Lauren

“Love fails for a million reasons - distance, infidelity, pride, religion, money, illness. Why is this story any more worthy?
It felt like it was. It felt important. Living in this town is suffocating in so many ways.
But if a tree falls in the woods, maybe it makes no sound.
And if a boy falls for the bishop's closeted son, maybe it makes no story."

You know that feeling when you get the urge to reread a book while you're still reading it? Yeah, this was that kind of book.

Listen, I'm not the biggest fan of insta-love (actually, I think climbing Mount Everest during a freaking snowstorm is easier than falling in love with a person just by looking at them) but I am a huge fan of bisexual rep, boys questioning their sexual identity and finding comfort and acceptance in places they weren't even looking and since this book had two of the most adorable, heart-breakingly lost dorks in existence in it, I'm more than willing to ignore that this all started with one shared glance across a classroom.

This was such a beautiful story about two boys meeting, becoming friends and falling in love. Sebastian - the son of a bishop - admits to liking boys, but doesn't accept he's gay, knowing that his Mormon family will likely kick him out if they ever found out. Tanner, on the other hand, has known he's bisexual for years and while he keeps it under wraps in his very religious hometown, has a family that accepts him and is beyond proud of him. Watching these two boys from very different backgrounds clash was engaging, suspenseful, hilarious, and incredibly sad at times, but also made me smile like the Cheshire Cat. 

This was so much more than a love story, it was one of acceptance. It showed that love transcends everything else, that it can be pure and beautiful and as powerful as the differences that threaten to divide us.
To quote Lin-Manuel Miranda, "And love is love is love is love is love, cannot be killed or swept aside."

So, if you need a good contemporary LGBTQ+ book, need something to make the wait for the Love, Simon movie seem shorter, or just want to feel all the feels, go read this book please and thank you.

5/5 stars for Autoboyography