It's never been quite so clear to me as it was reading this book that there is a major difference between straight authors trying to capture LGBT/queer voices and LGBT/queer authors writing those characters. There is so much depth and richness to all of the characters, and while people unfamiliar with YA may be like "they're so dramatic," I am not so far removed from that age that I have forgotten just how dramatic teenagers realistically are.

It was such a heartfelt, heartwrenching book. The number of chapter-ending cliffhangers and the characters' arcs had me going on a number of face-journeys, which is always a sign of a good book!

The Pride sequence at the end made me bawl, and also now I want to shove it in the face of every LGBT/queer person while simultaneously never let a straight person see it, which I think means it's important to me now.