Rating: 4.75/5 Stars

My Thoughts:
I liked this book a lot. The deaf representation ( I am not deaf) was amazing. My only real note for that aspect of the writing was how sometimes, well, most of the time, sign language was written on the page in a way that described the hand movements, which I found annoying as a reader. But otherwise, I liked the inclusion of a deaf love interest. I understand why some people find the characters unlikable. Still, they are teenagers, figuring out their identity and who they want to be, so obviously, they may come off as complete assholes sometimes. Personally, I related to Nathan's experience with pushing away love and relationships to the point that I felt both seen and simultaneously called out while reading this book. To sum it up, I loved this book and its imperfect characters, which made it more relatable to my experience in high school and with love as an adult. ( )

1.5

This was so not epic at all! Tired of these stories that glorify cheating and make it look romantic!! Also they're 16, study first y'all!!! ( )

***This review and more can be found on my blog Love at First Write***

I was given a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Book Rep: Deaf (elaborate ASL use and detailed descriptions of signing), POC, LGBT (obvious via relationships but no labels are used)

You know that special kind of magic that happens when you read a book at the perfect moment for you? This is what happened for me with This is Kind Of An Epic Love Story. It’s not EPIC-epic, but cherishes the great and fabulous occurrences in normal relationships. If you’re looking for a meet-cute couple that struggles a bit with navigating physical intimacy and potential long-distance, this is the book for you!

Nate is a junior in high school, trying to figure out his relationship with his ex-girlfriend and best friend, while also realizing he has feelings for the new guy in school that Nate already has a bit of history with. As someone who’s tried staying friends with their ex, I really felt what Nate was going through. I’d recommend this for anyone who’s experienced similarly, and/or have been in a complicated romantic dynamic.

An added layer to the story is that Nate is interested in the creative arts as a career path- Screenwriting in particular. This needs extra work (projects, summer classes, etc.) to get into any good colleges, and it was so nostalgic to read his experiences prepping for summer applications and pulling all-nighters to get his script ready in time. Many of my friends had gone through similar process while we were in high school, and I could easily place myself in Nate’s shoes.

The most emotional part of the story was Nate’s views on relationships. He’s a bit of a pessimist, and thinks happy endings only happen in movies. Watching him being scared to commit to multiple relationships, and struggling between expressing his emotions and trying to avoid getting hurt, was so powerful. He was so caught up in the future, that he wasn't paying attention to how happy he could be in the moment, and that no matter what the future was perhaps the present would be worth it. As someone who is about to leave my home for 6 months and am about to enter a long-distance relationship myself, this book couldn’t be more inspiring.

But the book doesn’t simply revolve around Nate’s romantic relationships! We are also given dramatic scenes where he discovers how to be more emotionally available to his friends and his family, and honestly is was so cute. ( )

I really enjoyed the fact that the two main characters of this book are bi/pan - but that's not the focus of the book! Its a typical teenage romance/coming of age where the LGBTQ part of it is just that - one small part of their lives. ( )

Dit is best wel een episch liefdesverhaal. Door: Kacen Callender.

Eén van de eerste boeken uit de geweldige Glow-reeks van Querido; een reeks bedoelt om queer-boeken in de schijnwerper te plaatsen.

Dit debuut van Callender is queer én zit boordevol diversiteit. Maar nog belangrijker is dat het een verslavend goed verhaal is. Waar queer zijn een belangrijke rol in speelt, zonder dat het ooit echt een rol speelt. Snap je?

DIBWEEL vertelt het verhaal van Nate, filmfan, maar niet van die met een happy end. Hij zit in de put sinds het uit is met Florence, die hem heeft bedrogen met Lydia. Als een tijdje later Oliver James (terug) in zijn buurt komt wonen groeit de verwarring en onrust alleen maar.

Zoals de titel al zegt is dit best wel een episch liefdesverhaal, maar dan zoals het in het echte leven meestal gaat: met misverstanden, onnodige ruzies, spijt, pijn en veel onzekerheid.
DIBWEEL is een hartverwarmend, realistisch, romantisch verhaal dat schreeuwt om een verfilming. Ik ben fan! ( )