t c: The author reached out to me for a review and provided me with an ARC, All opinions are my own,
WATCHING FOR COMETS by Jordon Greene is a debut YA story about two boys Aidan and Tyler torn apart by the sudden, toosoon death of Tyler's boyfriend and Aidan's best friend Brayden.
The two boys find themselves grieving together, and their former animosity grows into fondness and confusion as they ask themselves, "What if"
Trigger warning for: Homophobia, death, religion/conversion therapy, sexual harassment/assault
If I had to give a star rating which I have my own opinions on, but that's for a different post, this book is a solid.
/. I wouldn't say it's one of my favorites, but it was by no means horrible or even average, I think it depends on what you're looking for and what kind of reader you are,
I enjoyed this story a lot, The chapters are short, and while the subject matter is darker, I would still say it's more lighthearted than the books I tend to gravitate toward, and it's message of moving on and remembering and forgiveness certainly bring up the more somber elements.
For people that want to add more queer authors/stories to their lists, this is a good one,
I didn't have super strong feelings about the style, but it was very streamofconsciousness, and the dual POV was written well enough that you could distinguish who was talking without being told.
I felt like some parts went over my head and were more like selfinsert for the author to talk about things he was passionate about, but for those that like cars/Overwatch/astronomy, you might see these as fun additions.
However, I will make this disclaimer that one of the characters is a Latinx boy, and I cannot comment on the representation as I am not a member of this group.
What really sold me on this story was the ending literally the last page, What my professors might call the "so what" of the book, This is not a buryyourgays or angsty book, Queer people deserve happy endings, period, full stop, But it's a realistic story about taking chances, asking yourself "what if", wondering if you're being cautious or paranoid, and the truly awkward maze it is to navigate your friendships when you date within a friend group/when it goes sour.
Thank you, Jordon, for the eARC!
“Watching for Comets” is a super cute, fun and very gay story about friendships, love and loss and it will make you feel all the fuzzy feelings in the world
Be sure to check it when it comes out December! Actual rating.
stars! I will preface this by saying A Mark on My Soul is going to be hard to beat, One of my favorite books I've read this year that quite literally left marks on my soul, Any book thereafter was going to have big shoes to fill, I loved this book, but it will be hard to top the first installment in the Noahverse,
It fascinates me how tragedy can bring people together in its aftermath, The shared effects of trauma, That was so much of what this book explored, and it was incredibly emotional, I loved seeing how the boys navigated grief and the associated feelings differently, but also how they helped each other heal in ways they may not have been able to do alone.
Both of our main boys were pretty great, Tyler frustrated me to extremes at quite a few points, but understanding that his behavior came from a place of hurt made me empathize with him, Aidan Aidan was a complete angel and I am president of his fan club, He handled everything life threw at him with grace and optimism and I loved his chapters, He was the most caring and selfless human and I just fell in love with him immediately,
Jordon's writing is charged with such strong emotion, and it is balanced perfectly with his ability to highlight moments that are completely magical and adorable as well, The good, the bad, and the ugly, I want ALL of that in a book,
I am so excited to read the next two books in the Noahverse series, Thank you for giving us these beautiful stories, Jordon,
"What if can be anything, and like everything its uncertain, What I do know is that what if had me chasing a comet millions of miles away, when the comet I was looking for was standing right in front of me.
" Tyler and Aiden have both lost someone, . . in fact, they lost the same someone, You would think that might give them a starting place for a friendship, a way to support each other, . . but it's more complex than that,
Tyler lost his boyfriend, Brayden, Brayden was in a car accident that Tyler feels partially responsible for, Weeks have passed and Tyler is still dealing with his guilt, his grief, and how to move forward, He's pretty convinced that Aiden was more than just Brayden's best friend, Oh, he was confident in his relationship, but he always had the impression that Aiden wanted more,
Aiden has lost his best friend and it hit him hard, He was sure that he and Brayden would be heading off to college together, starting their lives for real, And maybe, he would have liked to have been the one in a relationship with Tyler, . . but Tyler clearly liked Brayden more, Tyler doesn't even like Aiden, . . so Aiden has tried to put that behind him,
These two young men have another person in common, They are both friends with Kallie, She's an amazing young woman outspoken brash, funny and loving, I absolutely loved the relationship between these three friends, They're the Scooby gang that everyone wants! Kallie might be the only girl most of the time but she doesn't have any trouble holding her own, In fact, both Tyler and Aiden turn to her when they need help, advice, or someone to tell them "Like it is",
As these three friends navigate their final years of high school and the lingering grief over losing Brayden they begin new phases of their lives,
One night, when things are too much for Tyler he heads out to a place that he used to watch the and comets with his boyfriend, Astronomy isn't really his thing but Brayden loved it, . . so Tyler did. That's the spot at which his path crosses with Aiden's once more, They are both upset missing Brayden and manage to actually sit together and talk for once,
As time goes by Aiden realizes that he still has feelings for Tyler, . . maybe he's never gotten over them, But he can be Tyler's friend, right Being someone's friend is hard when you have feelings for them and it's even harder when they were dating your best friend, Add to that the fact that Tyler is processing grief that is all mixed up with guilt over the death of Brayden and you've got a mess,
I really enjoyed the way that Jordon Greene captured the way that grief is so fluid, There are times when the characters are happy, thinking about moving on and there are other times when they are stuck and feel the full impact of the loss, I also thought that Tyler and Aiden were great foils for one another in their differences,
Tyler doesn't have the support of his parents as they are extremely religious so losing his boyfriend feels like things are truly sliding backward for him, Combined with Tyler's guilt over possibly causing his boyfriend's death, the lack of support makes him shaky and confused,
On the other hand, even though Aiden is still dealing with the loss of his friend, he's attempting to work through his grief and get on with his life.
He has a pretty clear vision of what his friend would have wanted and he embraces that as he tries to befriend Tyler,
Without Kallie, these two boys would be lost, . . and I loved that about this book, But, the truly wonderful thing is that it doesn't matter how much Kallie thinks that she knows, . . the future for Aiden and Tyler rests with them, If they can't get past their issues, move on, . . grieve and learn to be friends or perhaps more, . . then that's where their story will end,
This was a lovely book, I liked that Jordan explored some really heavy issues but handles them with the authentic sounding voice of young people, They don't really have all the answers about their lives and their futures, . . and they shouldn't. I really like that about this book,
Please be aware that the exploration of grief in this novel is very authentic and visceral, Please consider that before choosing to read the book, But, I think that most people will find this story to be uplifting and sweet,
“Its
hard sometimes knowing which feeling to trust, which one is leading you to your best life and which is just fear keeping you from all the beautiful things life has waiting for you.
”
There are so many things I want to highlight about WFC, it was difficult to choose a quote to start this review with, But this one, I would say, is the storys biggest morale, aside from something that really defines both Aidan and Tylerthe doubt, the emotiondriven decisions enthusiasmdriven in Aidans case, and feardriven in Tylers.
“I guess sometimes forever is a lot shorter than you think its going to be, ”
In WFC we meet Aiden and Tyler, two grieving boys, Brayden, Aidans best friend as well as Tys boyfriend, died in a car accident two months ago, and although the most visceral part of the pain has subsided, things are still rough.
Although they used to be friends, Tyler suddenly stopped talking to Aidan one day, and it seems like they will be worlds apart forever Until a fateful night, in which Aidan comes across Tyler as he cries and offers him support and company.
The boys slowly rebuild their friendship, but when something more is born inside each of them, things start shaking and threaten to collapse again,
“God, please let Brayden know I miss him, Tell him its not fair I have to do this alone, that I have to go to college alone, But tell him I know its not his fault, ”
One of the first things I would like to highlight about this book is the approach to grief, Let me make this clear, and please trust my Psychology degree for once: there isnt a single, universal way to experience grief, There just ISNT. Emotions are completely subjective, and each person experiences a situation and reacts to it in a different way, Two months after Brayden died, Aidan and Ty are still coming to terms with it, each in their own way but both past the stage of endless crying and rage.
And I really liked how Jordon showed this next phase of griefthe phase in which some days youre feeling and doing better, some others you cant stop thinking about it and feeling a void, sometimes you allow yourself to feel good and sometimes you beat yourself up for feeling something besides sadness.
It wasnt your mainstream, stereotypical depiction of grief, and thats precisely why it felt real to me,
“Its not that hard to treat me like a normal person and stop acting like Im some Satanist simply because God made me gay, Its not that I dont believe in God, I do. Just not the way they do, ”
Something else I deeply enjoyed was Tys being both Christian and gay, Many times it seems like you cant be both, Theres pressure from both very conservative sectors of Christianity and the queer community to “choose” surely you cant be a believer in Christ and feel nonheterosexual attraction! This book defied that, and I was so happy to see my own experience reflected in Tylers.
Of course you can be both, Each of those labels is a part of your identity, that does not define the other, Youre so much more than just “gay”, or just “religious”, and you can be both, one, or neither!
There were also characters that reflected very realistic experiences that come with being both.
Tys father does not accept the fact that his child is gay, and hes convinced that through manly activities, conversion camp, or simply prayer, he can go back to normal.
And heres the beautiful thing: he isnt a psycho, Hes simply a man worried about what he believes homosexuality will mean to his son, And Tyler knows that. Tyler goes beyond the “you MUST accept and celebrate who I am” pose, and understand why his father is that way, He understands that hes genuinely worried about him, that hes sticking to a very literal interpretation of the Bible, and that he still loves him, Even if he cant accept or agree to his orientation, Theres no major fighting scene over it, no sudden change of heart in Tylers dad, and that was actually a very realistic depiction of how things work in these situations.
When a certain attitude is part of someones core beliefs, you cant just change that suddenly, Just as they cant change you, The way they seemed to accept that things were the way they were with each other was really well done,
“You know, if you wanted to be on top of me so bad, all you had to do was ask, You dont have to make it look like an accident, ”
And now that my TED talk is over Read this book, period, It was just soooo cute! And made me feel so much! Have you ever watched “readers react to” TikToks and reels I went through so many of those reactions, Sometimes Aiden made me feel such secondhand embarrassment in a good way, ofc, I had to look away and make a weird face just to deal with it, Sometimes the boys, or Kallie, would say something sassy as hell, and Id have to try not to laugh the way a sea lion would choke in the middle of the night.
Because: yes, this book kept me up at night, The characters were so easy to love, and their dynamic was so good! I would SO read more books about Tydan being cute together! Because GUYYYYS THE PINING, THE SLOW BURN, I WAS SO DEDD
“You should be flattered.
Its not every day you say something worth repeating, ”
If I had to highlight something I didnt love as much, maybe I would go for two things, First of all, sometimes Kallie could be a little too pushy, Shes worried about her best friend Ty, and she simply wants to help him move on, Many times, when shes being histrionic, you can see how shes just trying really hard to be there for both boys, and to make them smile again, But a few times she overstepped, Thats something that happens IRL, too, with people who desperately want to help their friends, but usually the latter tell them not to do that and the intrusive attitude is adressed.
“It feels like forever, him and me, ”
Something else I wouldve enjoyed wouldve been a scene in which Tyler explains to Aidan why he, at first, couldnt stand him, Although he does talk it through with Kallie, Aidan doesnt really get to hear from him the reason why he hated him, Considering that hes explicitly wondering about that in the book blurb, I wouldve enjoyed a scene in which he finds out,
“God, please let Brayden know I miss him, Tell him its not fair I have to do this alone, that I have to go to college alone, But tell him I know its not his fault, ”
All in all, this book was delightful, and earned a solid,/from me rounded up to five, because in this house we love, respect, and amplify OwnVoice authors! Will most probably reread it in the future Now, though, I have a problemI just NEEEEED to get and read Jordons previous book, “A Mark On My Soul”, soon!
Diversify Yo Bookshelf bingo,/! Free choice.
I chose an LGBTQ M/M book with a religious main character, and a Latino one, .