patchworkbunny reviewed All of the above by Juno Dawson
Review of 'All of the above' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
James Dawson is back on form with All of the Above. Warm, real and funny characters you can’t help but love. Poking fun at high school drama tropes, check. A diverse cast of realistic characters, check. Parents that seem like real people, check. Laughter, check. Tears, check.
You’re still learning about who you are as a teen, and that means you don’t have to stick with the first label someone assigns you, or any label at all. You don’t need to know who you are or who you want to be. First loves don’t have to be forever-loves. It’s a lovely positive message to a book that covers plenty of issues.
Without ruining the anti-labelling vibe of the novel, I’d like to at least point out how well it portrays bisexuality. It shows clearly how you can fall in love with the person on the inside and it’s nothing to …
James Dawson is back on form with All of the Above. Warm, real and funny characters you can’t help but love. Poking fun at high school drama tropes, check. A diverse cast of realistic characters, check. Parents that seem like real people, check. Laughter, check. Tears, check.
You’re still learning about who you are as a teen, and that means you don’t have to stick with the first label someone assigns you, or any label at all. You don’t need to know who you are or who you want to be. First loves don’t have to be forever-loves. It’s a lovely positive message to a book that covers plenty of issues.
Without ruining the anti-labelling vibe of the novel, I’d like to at least point out how well it portrays bisexuality. It shows clearly how you can fall in love with the person on the inside and it’s nothing to do with gender. A kiss with a same sex friend isn’t made into a huge deal, it doesn’t define you unless you want it to.
Toria has an online presence as well as her real life friends. It’s probably the first time I’ve seen this acknowledged in YA where it wasn’t an integral part of the plot. It all just helps with making these characters seem like real, well-rounded people.
I liked the seaside town setting; I thought it hit the nail on the head with the fact that so many teens just don’t have anywhere they are welcome or stuff to do outside of school. And every seaside town has a dubious crazy golf. If it wasn’t tourist season here right now, I’d be down there in tribute of the group.
I get the wanting to escape a dead-end town, but do we need to keep holding London up as the Promised Land? It’s becoming more and more inaccessible for the average person to live there, without resorting to living in an actual cupboard. There are plenty of other vibrant, diverse towns and cities you can go to, honest.
Review copy provided by publisher.