I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher (thank you!) in exchange for an honest review. ** A week later, and I was still getting lost more often than the girl in the Labyrinth movie, except I didn't even have David Bowie in tights as a reward for my efforts.” Only Mostly Devastated is a story about two boys who spend the summer falling in love only to have to say goodbye at the end of it all. But wait. SURPRISE! Ollie shows up as the new student at Will's school. Whoops.

I really do think Sophie Gonzales has a lot of potential and I'm excited to see what she comes up with next. Now, the messy part mentioned before turns everything interesting. Because sure, on one hand it’s not great for Ollie to date someone who’s in closet when he’s been out for years and doesn’t want to stop being open about that part of himself. On the other, Will grew up in a totally different environment, with a totally different family & group of friends, and as we all know, coming out just isn’t easy. Him being scared is totally understandable, just like Ollie being impatient and hurt is totally understandable.

Only Mostly Devastated

Ollie, our main character, is one of these characters I want to protect and hug and just wonderful. He’s kind and yet socially awkward a tiny little bit, he’s caring and just so relatable in the way he views things and life. He makes mistakes and assumptions and is really far from perfect, but despite his flaws, you just want him to be okay and happy. I really wanted him to be happy. Los personajes secundarios, para mí, son los que han hecho que la novela me haya llegado tanto, aparte de la evolución de Ollie y su relación con Will. Por ejemplo, Lara pasa de ser tHaT bItCh a ser THAT BIIIIITCH! y su desarrollo, uff… no tengo palabras, QUÉ MARAVILLA. Sin duda mi personaje favorito. ¿Will? I don’t know her. El resto de secundarios como Juliette o incluso Matt también muestran desarrollo, y aunque se queden en un segundo plano, son tramas también importantes que hacen que todo el conjunto brille. I really liked Ollie. The situation he is in is actually very relatable, if you've ever been in love with somebody who needs to work their feelings out at their own pace (on positive side) or anybody who was somehow unavailable and wanted to keep your relationship 'secret'/'private' no matter what you wanted or how much it hurt you (the worst case scenario, but yes, I've been there and many other people also have). It is easy to get blinded by heartbreak, embarrassment, or anger, and sometimes it is healthier to walk away. Other times it is important to look carefully and objectively whether the other person is trying and whether your situations are compatible. Ollie's is an amusing narrator. He is fairly awkward, very sweet, and has a lovely sense of humour. He shows self-awareness and self-respect (two things that are often MIA in a YA main character). While he does use acronyms (I had to google D and M) and makes plenty of references to popular culture, these were well incorporated into the narrative (they didn't come across as just random insertions). If anything they made him into a believable teenager.

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 Meanwhile, as things with Ollie's family get tougher and tougher to deal with, Will's on-again, off-again feelings become a challenge for Ollie, too. He understands what it's like not to be ready to share your sexuality with others, but Ollie doesn't deserve to be an afterthought. But how many times can he be the butt of a joke from Will's friends or, worse, Will himself? How can he stand by and watch as Will pretends to be someone he's not at Ollie's expense? It was late afternoon, on the very last Wednesday of August, when I realized Disney had been lying to me for quite some time about Happily Ever Afters. Finally, I loved the theme of the book which is that everyone processes events and emotions at their own pace in their way. That's something that everyone should keep in mind. Only Mostly Devastated is one of these feel-good, wonderful contemporaries I’ll still think about fondly in a couple months and years, I think. This story perfectly juggled with all the emotions I’m looking for in a contemporary: endearing, heartwarming, swoony moments, friendships and romance, family and heartbreaking moments, too.Ollie isn’t going to pine after a guy who isn’t ready for a relationship. But as school life repeatedly throws them together, from music class to the lunch table, Ollie finds his resolve weakening. Ollie!: OMG if it wasn't because he was gay I would totally fall in love with Ollie! He was so amazingly sweet, adorable and awkward, he had my heart from the first moment! I was rooting for him right from the start! Only Mostly Devastated is full of POC characters, bi characters, gays, friendships, family love, happy moments, sad moments, sappy moments, cute af moments, moments that will make you want to tear your hair out in frustration, dramatic moments, and flawed characters but real and authentic ones. Ollie and Will both learned from their mistakes and realized how selfish they were both being to each other. They both tried to understand each other's side of things and it was pretty great. For me, this is what made their relationship work and be perfect in their own way. But, seriously, Lara's character growth is one that I loved so much. I could not stand her in the beginning of the book, but she eventually learned from her mistakes and became a better person.