Straight Expectations by Callum McSwiggan Spoiler Free Book Review
Name: Straight Expectations
Author: Callum McSwiggan
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Contemporary, Fiction, LGBTQ+ Fiction
Trope: Alternate Reality
Representation: Queer Main Character, Queer Side Characters, POC Side Characters
Pages: 331 Pages
Format: Kindle Edition (ARC)
Published On: 2th May 2023
Published By: Penguin
CAWPILE RATING – 7.00/10.00
- Characters – 7
- Atmosphere – 7
- Writing – 7
- Plot – 7
- Intrigue – 7
- Logic – 6
- Enjoyment – 8
SYNOPSIS (From Goodreads):
The brilliant debut novel from author, presenter and LGBTQ+ advocate Calum McSwiggan!
Seventeen-year-old Max has always been out, proud and just a little spoiled. Frustrated by the lack of romantic options in his small-town high school, during an argument with his lifelong best friend Dean, Max lashes out and says he wishes he had never been born gay.
Max gets more than he bargained for when he wakes up to find his wish has come true – not only have his feelings for boys vanished, but so has Dean.
With his school life turned upside down and his relationship with his family in tatters, Max sets out on a journey of rediscovery to find a way back to the life he took for granted, and the romance he thought he’d never have.
A deliciously romantic YA debut that’s What If It’s Us and One Last Stop!
Thank you so much to @The_WriteRead, Penguin Publishers, the Callum McSwiggan and Netgalley for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
SPOILER-FREE BOOK REVIEW:
Before I begin this review I would like you to know
The content warnings for the book are gonna be mentioned at the end of the review, right above my rating. They will be kinda spoilery so beware but there are a few content/trigger warnings in this book so be sure to check them out before you read this book.
The Writing Style…
Callum McSwiggan’s writing style is definitely easy to fall into and follow and also is quite addictive, his writing style is also pretty descriptive and he is able to paint a vivid picture through his writing.
The Plot…
The story has a unique premise to begin with and I am happy to report that it delivered pretty well!
We start the story meeting our main character Max and his closets friends in the real version of the world and we see how everything is for him in the real version of his reality.
The shift to the alternate dimension was not well explained but when we get there we are as confused and as lost as the main character and everything he experiences there is as new to him as it to us.
The take home message of this story is very similar to that of The Midnight Library by Matt Haig, however instead of focusing on a thousand different alternate realities, this book focuses on one and through that it paints a very vivid picture of how sometime people take things for granted and how the current versions of our lives is perfect for us and we need to make most of it!
This for the most part heavily a character focused book and the most of the plot points are majorly focused on making Max come to the right realizations.
This book did what did and delivered what it wanted to very well, it was fast paced and overall a great read.
The Characters…
Max, he is the MC of the story and he starts of the book as a pre arrogant kid who is kinda lost in life, his character arc and his journey is very well portrayed by the author and it was wonderful seeing him not only grow as a person but also learn to appreciate the little things in life.
I do not wanna speak about the other characters here as I do not wanna give away anything but overall I will say this, all the characters are very well written, they pour out of the pages and you feel like you are with them through the course of the story!
There are some characters I definitely wish we had more time with but I definitely did end up loving nearly every character we interacted with through the course of the book!
Overall…
This was a well written book which delivered a powerful message about self-love and acceptance with vivid characters and was a very quick and easy read.
I would recommend this to…
Everyone! This definitely is a book that I think everyone can take some message home from
BUY THE BOOK FROM:
AMAZON | WATERSTONES | BARNES & NOBLE
Content Warning:
Homophobia, Bullying
RATING:
Would you ever like to travel to an alternate reality where a single but key aspect of your personality has been changed?
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