2.5/5
Only Most Devastated is a quick chick-lit read that I finished in a day. I enjoyed the casual tone, which made it easy to breeze through, and also makes it a good novel to pick up if you're looking for a light read. But if you're looking for more high-quality plot and writing, I would suggest looking elsewhere.
My main problem with Only Most Devastated is Ollie's complete lack of spine. He is a reactive rather than proactive protagonist. I suspect that his pushover personality is there to emphasis character development, but his character growth didn't show up until late in the novel and didn't achieve the extent I'd hoped it would. I found the dialogue to be acceptable at first but became glaringly unrealistic by the end of the novel. This is especially clear in the Lara's character and in Ollie's reaction to tragedy.
On to the good-- I liked that near the end of the novel Sophie Gonzalez showed us more of what the other characters were going through and enabled us to change our sympathies. Gonzalez also captured complex relationships well and the way these relationships shift.
Overall, Only Most Devastated is an average read. Becky Albertalli's Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda and Casey McQuiston's Red, White, and Royal Blue both did much better jobs at capturing teen angst and the hardships of coming out.
On to the good-- I liked that near the end of the novel Sophie Gonzalez showed us more of what the other characters were going through and enabled us to change our sympathies. Gonzalez also captured complex relationships well and the way these relationships shift.
Overall, Only Most Devastated is an average read. Becky Albertalli's Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda and Casey McQuiston's Red, White, and Royal Blue both did much better jobs at capturing teen angst and the hardships of coming out.
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