Thank to you Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Listen. I really wish that I would have loved this book because it has a lot of potential. Stories like Justin's are important. Not just because of his sexuality, but because of his race, his looks (I LOVE that he is described as chubby) and his personality, which does not match with the toxic masculinity that's all around him. All of this is made especially important because the story takes place in the nineties, where everything I have just mentioned was even harder to deal with than it is today - and it can be still difficult in the twentyfirst century.

Now, for the things that I loved about this book. Justin knows exactly who he is, even though he is afraid to show it. He likes mixtapes and music and like every child of the 90s, I can absolutely relate to sitting in front of the radio and waiting for that special song to come on just to hit record very very quickly. So the fact that this book had all the mixtapes made me very very happy. It was adorable and I loved it.

Now for the things I didn't love too much... Mainly, I was confused about lot of things all of the time. For example Benny, Justins best friend, confuses me a lot. To be honest, I don't think that pulling your friend's pants down or burping in their faces could be considered funny. In fact, I would actually consider it bullying. Again, speaking from a personal perspective here, I was uncomfortable with it because I only ever knew these things as bullying. I was again very confused, when Benny finds Justin in the tent, waiting for Dominic and says something super cryptic. Is he in love with Justin? If so, why is it not adressed at all in the rest of the novel? If he's not, I am even more confused by the whole scene. Is the scene just there for Dominic to become jealous? I just... really don't know what was going on here...

There is another part, when Justin and Dominic talk about condoms and whether or not they need them, being two guys. I didn't find an answer to this in the rest of the book. And there should be an answer in the book. There should be a definite YES, CONDOMS ARE IMPORTANT. If it hadn't come up, I wouldn't have missed a conversation like that but considering that this is the nineties, where the AIDS crisis was admittedly not as scary and overwhelming than at the hight of the pandemic in the 80s (and first therapies were introduced, etc) I would have still liked the book to go there and to tell teens -gay teens - who are the prime target of novels like these, that condoms are in fact vital for other reasons than just preventing pregnancies. I just wish it had been in there.

Lastly, I felt like some parts of the book were kind of rushed. For example the whole romantic relationship between Justin and Dominic. I realise that they knew each other before being neighbours but I would have enjoyed a longer lasting courtship - or a getting to know each other better. Because in the end, I didn't feel like I knew anyone properly at all and I felt like I wasn't able to connect with any characters the way I would have liked to.

I still think it is an important book. And I did like it. However, due to my concerns i had to choose the Goodreads rating "it was okay".

I cannot wait to see what Jake Martinez does next, though.