This book had my jaw on the floor for 90% of the read.

I was absolutely hooked from page 1 and would've finished it all in one sitting if I didn't have a job to be at haha.

The plot twist about 5 pages in left me reeling. Honestly, this whole book is simply such a bittersweet and melancholic view at the pressure boys face from a young age to present/act masculine. The fear and self-hatred that comes along with this pressure/socialisation is explored heartbreakingly well.

Important questions are also raised both explicitly and implicitly; I found myself really delving into my own thoughts and comparing these to what I was always taught to believe (including themes of virginity and queerness).

An interesting stylistic method I enjoyed was how all 'swear/inappropriate words' are blacked out. This is later used as a method to explore what the world deems needing censorship, aka slurs and hetero-normative language is okayed but common swear words and queer slang is not.

A lot is explored in terms of what is shown to children as being okay/not okay from a young age that breaches far past basic decency and into homophobic/discriminatory socialisation.

All in all, this is such an interesting and quick read that is definitely worth checking out if these kind of themes interest you.