Autoboyography by Christina Lauren Review
5 Smooches
Synopsis
Three years ago, Tanner Scott’s family relocated from California to Utah, a move that nudged the bisexual teen temporarily back into the closet. Now, with one semester of high school to go, and no obstacles between him and out-of-state college freedom, Tanner plans to coast through his remaining classes and clear out of Utah.
But when his best friend Autumn dares him to take Provo High’s prestigious Seminar—where honor roll students diligently toil to draft a book in a semester—Tanner can’t resist going against his better judgment and having a go, if only to prove to Autumn how silly the whole thing is. Writing a book in four months sounds simple. Four months is an eternity.
It turns out, Tanner is only partly right: four months is a long time. After all, it takes only one second for him to notice Sebastian Brother, the Mormon prodigy who sold his own Seminar novel the year before and who now mentors the class. And it takes less than a month for Tanner to fall completely in love with him.
Review
Autoboyography completely grabbed my attention and touched my soul. Tanner and Sebastian’s story was full of pain and hurt, but also full of young love, self discovery and the joys of coming into your own. The story is a young adult coming of age story about the pain of having to remain in the closet while wanting to scream to the world your love for the one person you aren’t supposed to fall for.
‘His voice is both low and quiet, and it has this hypnotic rhythm to it. I wonder whether someday he’ll give sermons with that voice, whether he’ll throw down judgment with that voice.‘
This book took me back years when I spent most weekends wrapped in blankets on the couch watching the movie, Latter Days, with my two best friends on repeat. Much like this book that movie touched something deep inside me. While the two stories are vastly different the subject matter is quite similar. This reminder of my past warmed my heart and had me in tears. Sadly over five years ago I lost one of those friends to depression. He was unable to deal with the pain that comes from being gay in a society that wants you to be straight.
Reading this story in a day took me through a myriad of emotions. I laughed out loud, had tears streaming down my face, and a sense of joy when it all came to an end. I was left with an epic book hangover and it is going to take something special to pull me out of it. This was a top read for me and I highly recommend it.
~miranda
