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A review by smokedshelves
Always the Almost by Edward Underhill
5.0
thank you to st. martin’s press, wednesday books, and netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
wow. i just know this story will resonate with other trans and nonbinary readers in the same ways it has for me. with its messy characters, whom you still love despite it. with miles’ passion for piano, which emanates off the pages. with beautiful, but raw and realistic, teen trans-masc representation. all of it comes together to bring this beautiful little thing.
while i personally did not enjoy the two (2) piano lessons that i took as a child (no, we don’t count the middle school music class i took one semester), miles’ pure passion for his playing urged to find our hidden-away keyboard and just play. play what? who knows. and that’s what i really think shines through. while i can’t directly appreciate miles’ love for playing and classical music, i deeply understand his love and drive to be the best at something you love. putting your absolute whole-being into your discipline. (that was me with swimming for many years). i just love to read about someone passionate about something, niche or not. and this delivered in that aspect.
while a big focus was his piano playing, of course the rest of it was mainly about relationships, queerness, and what that means in high-school. and while, yes, like i mentioned, these characters are messy . it just made them feel like real teens i know and most probably used to be myself. it makes them feel real. they’re not perfect. they’re going to fuck it up sometimes. but they love and care about the people close to them and they just have to learn how to find ways to communicate their desires or concerns or whatnot. and these characters, they do… well, eventually.
do i personally wish there wasn’t any justification of cheating? absolutely. but it’s been done and it’s unfortunately how the events went down. but like i said, i’m glad these characters learn to move past it in their own ways, communicating their underlying causes. so, i’ll that take. and on an overall sense, it’s more acknowledgement than i see in most cis-hetero stories so… a win is a win.
anyways, that’s pretty much all i have to say about this lovely little story for now. oh, except, i love stefania and i want her to adopt me (i am rachel, she is me). okay, that’s all!
wow. i just know this story will resonate with other trans and nonbinary readers in the same ways it has for me. with its messy characters, whom you still love despite it. with miles’ passion for piano, which emanates off the pages. with beautiful, but raw and realistic, teen trans-masc representation. all of it comes together to bring this beautiful little thing.
while i personally did not enjoy the two (2) piano lessons that i took as a child (no, we don’t count the middle school music class i took one semester), miles’ pure passion for his playing urged to find our hidden-away keyboard and just play. play what? who knows. and that’s what i really think shines through. while i can’t directly appreciate miles’ love for playing and classical music, i deeply understand his love and drive to be the best at something you love. putting your absolute whole-being into your discipline. (that was me with swimming for many years). i just love to read about someone passionate about something, niche or not. and this delivered in that aspect.
while a big focus was his piano playing, of course the rest of it was mainly about relationships, queerness, and what that means in high-school. and while, yes, like i mentioned, these characters are messy . it just made them feel like real teens i know and most probably used to be myself. it makes them feel real. they’re not perfect. they’re going to fuck it up sometimes. but they love and care about the people close to them and they just have to learn how to find ways to communicate their desires or concerns or whatnot. and these characters, they do… well, eventually.
do i personally wish there wasn’t any justification of cheating? absolutely. but it’s been done and it’s unfortunately how the events went down. but like i said, i’m glad these characters learn to move past it in their own ways, communicating their underlying causes. so, i’ll that take. and on an overall sense, it’s more acknowledgement than i see in most cis-hetero stories so… a win is a win.
anyways, that’s pretty much all i have to say about this lovely little story for now. oh, except, i love stefania and i want her to adopt me (i am rachel, she is me). okay, that’s all!