Autoboyography

This review is one of the hardest I've ever had to write. So, I'm going for simplicity because I'm still too overwhelmed to articulate more.

My heart ached. My skin prickled. My mind fought.

Christina Lauren are the most incredibly talented writing duo I know. In every page, I knew they'd spent ages researching, reading, listening, and watching. Empathy and understanding coated every page. Every word. Every breath.

Read Autoboyography if you're ready to wear your heart on your sleeve. Read Autoboyography if you're one who loves reading exceptionally wonderful prose. Read Autoboyography if your mind can comprehend and embrace love and forgiveness of all kinds.

Read, love, cry, sigh, and accept. That is my suggestion.

4.5 rainbow loving stars

I don't know how anyone could resist this synopsis. A half Jewish queer (he's actually bisexual) kid moves to Provo, Utah and falls in love with the bishop's son. Bisexuality meets Latter Day Saints...talk about a conflict of interests!

This was such a poignant coming of age story and a great reminder of why I love reading YA books so much. The feelings, ah, the feelings!! Great character development and to me, a realistic depiction of high school expectations, stereotypes, and the harsh reality of what being yourself can truly mean.

In closing, the last two books I have read by this writing duo I have really loved. Their writing just keeps getting better and better!

I listen to this one and loved it!
First time “reader” of Christina Lauren and first time listener of Deacon Lee. I have to say I’m beyond happy for this one to be my firsts with all of them. This book is stunning. And the narration was perfection. It pulled at my heart for Sebastian and Tanner. Tanner has such a beautiful soul. And Sebastian. Gahhh. I too wanted to hug him and build his confidence in himself, like you see throughout the book by some amazing characters. There are so many amazing facts about this book I could go on and on, but the one that had me the most was the ending. It had my heart pounding and tears in my eyes.

This book caught me off guard with how amazing it was. I just randomly thought to pick it up and i'm so glad I did. I love MM books, but i usually do not read coming of age, high school books. This book exceeded my expectations, especially since this is my first book from this author(s). This book had great pacing. Every little detail added to the story. I loved Sebastain and Tanner so much. Their love story really touched me and breaks my heart but so many young people go through it everyday. A definite must read. I'll definitely be looking at their other books as well.

Just astounding. The main character stays relativity consistent throughout the book, but the other boy has MAJOR character development. The parents have interesting back stories, the sister is a nice touch, the love story is incredible. I love that God is important throughout the book, but not in a "I'm struggling with accepting God and myself way." He plays an important part because they know that God loves them and that being gay doesn't change that. Incredible read. Seriously recommend this to all!

I'm not a big contemporary lover but this story was really cute and original. Loved that the author added in religion but not in an 'in your face' kind of way. It was nice reading about it in this perspective.
I also really loved how sweet everything was. The romance was slow but not slow enough to drive you crazy. It was also nice just seeing the main character do things that made him happy instead of worrying what everyone else thought. Sure he went over the consequences in his head but at the end he decided that he should be happy above all else.

This book changed my life. As a young teen in provo, Utah, I was able to identify with the story so much more. This is such an important topic in our modern world, and Christina Lauren perfectly writes the story of one of these examples.

This story moved me so much that I gave a copy to my High School english teacher and fought for this book to be this years required summer reading (we are still working on it ;) )

This book warms my heart so greatly and I think anyone reading this review should buy it.

This book! THIS BOOK!!! I LOVED it! I laughed, I cried, I gasped out loud, I smiled so hard my cheeks hurt. I was having physical reactions to this book that is just so well written that it was as if I was literally IN every moment. I will not list a book summary; other people are and the store will give you one... this book just has to be experienced. No summary will do it justice. Summaries do not have heart...THIS BOOK is all heart... and love... and pain... and wanting.... It will stay with you after you are finished and will be a book you recommend for sure.

I truly believe this book will change people as they read it. That may sound dramatic, but it really is not. There is just such a level of acceptance, and love, and faith that it resonates. Yes, in this world (and book) there is judgement, there is persecution, but, even though it may seem like it sometimes, that is not all there is and this book speaks to that. It whispers that with every page. If it were possible I think every copy of this book would come with a bumper sticker that says "you are perfect and loved just the way you are". Because you are, and nothing should make you feel anything different. Love is love is love is love! And that is this book.

My Review:
*blowing a raspberry* because I have no idea how to write this review.

This is a very readable book with a really interesting storyline. I really didn't ever put the book down once I started. These authors know how to write an engaging story. But I just think that maybe a story built around Mormons isn't one for me. Like Tanner, there was way too much happy smiling bs that I just couldn't stand, especially when that happy, accepting nature is hiding real bigotry and hate...to the point of making people outcasts. And I understand that this is a story highlighting how much of that attitude is wrong, but the whole brainwashed aspect of this story hurts to read.

Sebastion hurts to read. He's an automaton spouting the lines he's been told over and over again without the ability to think for himself. So, yeah...

Note: I really try to steer clear from books with religious undertones because I have very strong feelings on the subject, and I will admit there were several times that this book was just too much.

There is VERY little of the book told from Sebastion's point of view and as a result, he has a very plastic/fake feel to his character. He's always "fine" and smiling although he has to be bothered by what's happening. He never shows that...not even to Tanner and it made the whole subject of his religious beliefs just that much harder to take seriously. I understand that is the point of the conflict in the book, but Sebastion's depth of conflict with it is just so shallow. It made it hard for me to feel for him as much as I felt like I should have in this story. Because let's be honest, he's in an awful situation...but he's so unbothered by it. Throughout the book he seems like he can just turn on and off those unpleasant emotions through prayer and positive thoughts about God...and it freaking drove me nuts.

If the book wasn't so good and easy to read overall, I probably would have thrown it away when it came to Sebastion. I feel like his character needed more...so I could at least cheer for his tiny victories. As it is, I'm not sure I can trust him with Tanner. Does he ever learn how to be open and trust his own emotions? He's so emotionally stunted.

So, yes, I felt deeply about the book and I adored Tanner. Him I wanted to hug and protect and steal away from this awful town. It's an easy read. Christina Lauren are an extremely talented pair of story tellers. I think my own hangups came into play a little with reading this book. I did enjoy it. I just felt like it didn't have the emotional depth with Sebastion that it could have had if we'd had more from his point of view.

And another note: Tanner does something towards the end of the book that I simply don't understand. Why? It wasn't needed for more drama. In fact, when it does come up between Sebastion and Tanner, it's a non-issue...again with Sebastion showing NO emotion...so much, ugh. So why even have it in there when that something never happened between them? It just didn't make any sense to me, because there are a lot of people out there who will hate the book for that single action.

So, while this sounds like a negative review, there were a few points about the book that I really didn't enjoy. But overall, I did enjoy reading the book. The authors know how to write and I promise you, you will be engaged in the story. You just may not like what you're reading, but again, I kind of think that's the morale of the story with this one. Brainwashing religion is not a good thing (and note: if you are Mormon, that is not the terminology the authors used. It's just the feel that the book had with Sebastion's attitudes.)

I received a complimentary copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Tanner is self described as a "half-Jewish queer kid" who has now been displaced from California to live in Mormon/LDS populated Provo, Utah. Being bisexual, his progressive parents have warned him of the danger of trusting people there with this knowledge, so he has stepped back into the closet. He is easy-going, smart, and funny. He has a best friend, Autumn, who he loves but is not in love with, and no one has really had a significant effect on him until they end up taking a writing Seminar class.

Sebastian Brother is a writing prodigy from the last semester and is publishing his book, so he is acting as the class TA. He is a Bishop's son from a devout Mormon family with many expectations placed on him. He is a young man of faith and that shapes all of his choices. But he also has his own secrets, confusion, and fear.

When their eyes meet they have a strong reaction. But this is foreign territory for them both. An unexpected crush. Tentative friendship. Forbidden attraction. Stolen moments. Tanner is not sure how to stop wanting to be around Sebastian. And Sebastian does not like labels, and has serious struggles with his own identity.

This is a story within a story. It is a poignant YA coming of age, M/M, first love story dealing with sexual identity and acceptance in the restrictions of religious and family expectations. It's about firsts, friendship, love, self awareness, faith, religious beliefs, trust, and acceptance. It stirs up so many negative feelings of confusion, doubt, fear, disappointment, pressure, anger, frustration, loss, and heartbreak. But also some sweet notions of love, hope, acceptance, support, and humor. The stolen moments where they could just be Tanner and Sebastian without interference warmed my heart. There are many ups and downs, and serious disappointments. They will be forced to face challenges, navigate forbidden feelings, make difficult choices, and determine their own paths.

My heart was hurting, feeling their pain and disappointment, and seeing no easy solution. Sebastian was truly bound to his personal faith, religion, God, duty, and family. While Tanner just wanted to be chosen and loved, and had a family that just did not want to see him get hurt. There are internal struggles, emotional situations, external pressures and expectations that kept robbing them of hope. It is not an easy story to read and makes you feel the emotional turmoil of the characters.

Can love be enough to go against everything you have ever believed in? And if someone truly loved you would they ask you to?

This was told predominantly in Tanner's point of view as he lived and wrote his story, but it also provides some chapters in Sebastian's. It started out a bit slow for me, but these two gradually wormed their way into my heart and I found myself invested and staying up to finish it. This is totally different than any other Christina Lauren book I have read. But it still has some of that underlying humor and emotion I have come to expect from them. But this has so many important messages that need to be expressed and issues that need to be challenged. It gives enough of a resolved ending, but these characters are still young and I wonder if we might ever see a follow up story.

If you are looking for a smutty erotica tale which Christina Lauren does so well, this is NOT it, but what it is is SO much better. It's by far my favorite written by this author and though I didn't _love_ the ending, I'm hoping it means there will be a sequel! I got so invested in the story and had couldn't put it down. Forbidden love, heartache, rites of passage. Good stuff, Christina.

The romance here is very cute, and there's so much awkwardness (I lost count of the times I put the book down for a minute out of secondhand embarrassment), but that all felt real.

The family dynamics in Tanner's family are great, and so is the friendship between Autumn and Tanner.

Variations on "more than friends" occurred a handful of times, especially in the first half of the book.

This coming of age book was such a wonderful read.
Are you judgey and love can only be found in a biblical directive? Don't read.
Are you looking for a wonderfully romantic story that will make you get the feels with laughter and nervousness and excitement and sadness and hope? With rich characters navigating real lifechoices where making some happy will break others with all the heart of a great writer?
Well duh... Get this book! It's amazing.

You should read this book if you have at least one of the following:

- an appreciation for YA
- a fondness for coming-of-age stories
- a sense of humor
- an affinity for innocent love
- an open mindedness concerning religion
- a healthy respect for sexualities that may differ from your own
- a big, swishy heart

It'll move you. It'll soften you. It'll make you nostalgic. It'll give you hope.

As for the audiobook... Deacon Lee is EVERYTHING.

Enjoy!

This book made me cry, laugh and want to go off on Sebastian's parents. It truly has opened my eyes about how parents react to when their child comes out on his sexuality. This book is about two boys who come out, fall in love. Sadly one has to stick by his family's rule living in the LSD community. Great read. Will be recommending this book to a lot of people. Thanks once again ladies for writing great books.

Wow, a major eye opener for me. I don't have much experience with anyone who is lgbqt or Mormon for that matter. But to read about it in this way, it astounds me. I love these boys, and Autumn, sweet Autumn! The characters, the lives that were created for them, as well as their loved ones were all truly amazing and inspirational. Loved it!

Wow! Couldn't put it down. Beautiful story about the current struggles of a Mormon gay and bi couple and the realities they must face as they fall in love and figure out how and if they can be together. Just wow. You must read this book!

I normally don't read YA books but.....Christina Lauren. Once I started this book I couldn't put it down. As always with CL, the story was so beautifully written. I felt so many emotions as this love story unfolded--the joy, the pain and the heartache but I also felt sadness because of all that Sebastian and Tanner went through because of their love. This book was just...WOW.

I wasn't really sure what to expect when I started this book. I'm glad to say I'm completely blown away. This story has so much heart. I experienced so many emotions while reading it. I caught myself smiling and then tearing up the next chapter. The writing is phenomenal. I loved this book so much!!!

I never write reviews. Full disclosure: I know and love the authors. I have read every book they have written, some I loved and some I liked.

This book is so special. It is important and necessary. The story is lovely and heart breaking. I won't give much more detail because honestly, you need to experience it for yourself. But please, read it, feel it, and then give a copy to a school or a kid you know who needs it.

It needs to be out there.

Tanner is self described as a "half-Jewish queer kid" who has now been displaced from California to live in Mormon/LDS populated Provo, Utah. Being bisexual, his progressive parents have warned him of the danger of trusting people there with this knowledge, so he has stepped back into the closet. He is easy-going, smart, and funny. He has a best friend, Autumn, who he loves but is not in love with, and no one has really had a significant effect on him until they end up taking a writing Seminar class.

Sebastian Brother is a writing prodigy from the last semester and is publishing his book, so he is acting as the class TA. He is a Bishop's son from a devout Mormon family with many expectations placed on him. He is a young man of faith and that shapes all of his choices. But he also has his own secrets, confusion, and fear.

When their eyes meet they have a strong reaction. But this is foreign territory for them both. An unexpected crush. Tentative friendship. Forbidden attraction. Stolen moments. Tanner is not sure how to stop wanting to be around Sebastian. And Sebastian does not like labels, and has serious struggles with his own identity.

This is a story within a story. It is a poignant YA coming of age, M/M, first love story dealing with sexual identity and acceptance in the restrictions of religious and family expectations. It's about firsts, friendship, love, self awareness, faith, religious beliefs, trust, and acceptance. It stirs up so many negative feelings of confusion, doubt, fear, disappointment, pressure, anger, frustration, loss, and heartbreak. But also some sweet notions of love, hope, acceptance, support, and humor. The stolen moments where they could just be Tanner and Sebastian without interference warmed my heart. There are many ups and downs, and serious disappointments. They will be forced to face challenges, navigate forbidden feelings, make difficult choices, and determine their own paths.

My heart was hurting, feeling their pain and disappointment, and seeing no easy solution. Sebastian was truly bound to his personal faith, religion, God, duty, and family. While Tanner just wanted to be chosen and loved, and had a family that just did not want to see him get hurt. There are internal struggles, emotional situations, external pressures and expectations that kept robbing them of hope. It is not an easy story to read and makes you feel the emotional turmoil of the characters.

Can love be enough to go against everything you have ever believed in? And if someone truly loved you would they ask you to?

This was told predominantly in Tanner's point of view as he lived and wrote his story, but it also provides some chapters in Sebastian's. It started out a bit slow for me, but these two gradually wormed their way into my heart and I found myself invested and staying up to finish it. This is totally different than any other Christina Lauren book I have read. But it still has some of that underlying humor and emotion I have come to expect from them. But this has so many important messages that need to be expressed and issues that need to be challenged. It gives enough of a resolved ending, but these characters are still young and I wonder if we might ever see a follow up story.

If you are looking for a smutty erotica tale which Christina Lauren does so well, this is NOT it, but what it is is SO much better. It's by far my favorite written by this author and though I didn't _love_ the ending, I'm hoping it means there will be a sequel! I got so invested in the story and had couldn't put it down. Forbidden love, heartache, rites of passage. Good stuff, Christina.

The romance here is very cute, and there's so much awkwardness (I lost count of the times I put the book down for a minute out of secondhand embarrassment), but that all felt real.

The family dynamics in Tanner's family are great, and so is the friendship between Autumn and Tanner.

Variations on "more than friends" occurred a handful of times, especially in the first half of the book.

This coming of age book was such a wonderful read.
Are you judgey and love can only be found in a biblical directive? Don't read.
Are you looking for a wonderfully romantic story that will make you get the feels with laughter and nervousness and excitement and sadness and hope? With rich characters navigating real lifechoices where making some happy will break others with all the heart of a great writer?
Well duh... Get this book! It's amazing.

You should read this book if you have at least one of the following:

- an appreciation for YA
- a fondness for coming-of-age stories
- a sense of humor
- an affinity for innocent love
- an open mindedness concerning religion
- a healthy respect for sexualities that may differ from your own
- a big, swishy heart

It'll move you. It'll soften you. It'll make you nostalgic. It'll give you hope.

As for the audiobook... Deacon Lee is EVERYTHING.

Enjoy!

This book made me cry, laugh and want to go off on Sebastian's parents. It truly has opened my eyes about how parents react to when their child comes out on his sexuality. This book is about two boys who come out, fall in love. Sadly one has to stick by his family's rule living in the LSD community. Great read. Will be recommending this book to a lot of people. Thanks once again ladies for writing great books.

Wow, a major eye opener for me. I don't have much experience with anyone who is lgbqt or Mormon for that matter. But to read about it in this way, it astounds me. I love these boys, and Autumn, sweet Autumn! The characters, the lives that were created for them, as well as their loved ones were all truly amazing and inspirational. Loved it!

Wow! Couldn't put it down. Beautiful story about the current struggles of a Mormon gay and bi couple and the realities they must face as they fall in love and figure out how and if they can be together. Just wow. You must read this book!

I normally don't read YA books but.....Christina Lauren. Once I started this book I couldn't put it down. As always with CL, the story was so beautifully written. I felt so many emotions as this love story unfolded--the joy, the pain and the heartache but I also felt sadness because of all that Sebastian and Tanner went through because of their love. This book was just...WOW.

I wasn't really sure what to expect when I started this book. I'm glad to say I'm completely blown away. This story has so much heart. I experienced so many emotions while reading it. I caught myself smiling and then tearing up the next chapter. The writing is phenomenal. I loved this book so much!!!

I never write reviews. Full disclosure: I know and love the authors. I have read every book they have written, some I loved and some I liked.

This book is so special. It is important and necessary. The story is lovely and heart breaking. I won't give much more detail because honestly, you need to experience it for yourself. But please, read it, feel it, and then give a copy to a school or a kid you know who needs it.

It needs to be out there.

Omg this book...THIS BOOK!!!
This book has ended me in the best possible way!! T.T
It was the cutest thing I’ve ever read! The characters were so relatable and perfectly imperfect! They were so many quotable moments that really resonated with me and it’s just one of the best books I’ve read in a long time!
I almost wish they could make this into a movie *fingers crossed*

The writing duo known as Christina Lauren tell a fun—and sometimes heart wrenching—story of love, friendship, and the art of growing up. They tackle hard conversations of sexuality and religion in an honest and open way. If you're a fan of YA romance, this is a must-read.

I read this in two days, and it pained me to put the book down for even a few hours. My heart felt full when I finally finished it and I wished Tan and Seb were real so I could hug them.

A well-deserved 5 stars.

I would normally be afraid that a boy with this premise would be overly dramatic, but it isn’t. This book treats the relationships of its characters with equal respect to how difficult and complicated their situation is and how utterly normal and simple.

Tanner's sheer refusal to be anything less than himself, even in the ultra-conservative town of Provo, Utah, is one of the reasons this book is so great. I've never read a love-at-first-sight, forbidden love story like this! It's one of my top reads of 2017.

I immediately fell for this book!! I loved this book so fiercely and with so much passion that I could not bring myself to put it down more than once!(true story) and so I as it ends up I finished it the day after I picked it up. The ONLY flaw that I had found within the book was that I NEEDED MORE!

First let me just say that up until Hating You , Dating You , which I was thoroughly disappointed by I absolutely loved and never questioned the best writing pair of all time.So every book by Christina Lauren is a automatic pre order download without hesitation, until now .This book is complicated for me, and it had absolutely nothing to do with the sexual orientation of these characters, it had everything to do with the storytelling and the whole Mormon lifestyle that I just can't relate to and really wasn't curious about . I was at the 25 percent mark and I was just bored, I knew it was a YA read and truly they are my least favorite because of the immature level in a YA book and this book was immature, there is a part that goes on for endless pages about these friends going and playing laser tag in such detail that I just couldn't of cared less.I could tell this book was a experience by one or both of the author's because it was so focused on the LDS community, and it took me a few minutes to figure out what the heck those initials were for , but the focus is so strong on the Mormon background that I felt this was autobiographical for either Christina or Lauren but it just wasn't a read it was going for , or really feeling .I know how to play laser tag well if the opportunity ever presents itself but it just wasn't a" suck you in " read for me. The characters were just kids getting through senior year in a Mormon town and it just didn't give me the feels that I was personally hoping for .I made it to the 30 percent mark and DNF, which I hate to do , seriously hate to do .The writing and the whole LDS community thing was not enough to keep me invested .I'm sorry to the author's because I don't want to stomp on their own emotional journey , I'm only reviewing the book and this is not personally aimed on their past experience but just for my reading taste this book just didn't grab and hold me in ,and if I'm not invested by the 30 percent mark I know that this is a off read for me and this is what this read was for me , a off one.