The plot is really basic, like it's basically that one Friends episode where Ross has to decide between his girlfriend (Julie) and his friend (Rachel) who he's actually in love with, so he makes a list of pros and cons, and Rachel finds her cons list and it's horrible. So the plot has been done over and over, and this was just not a good rendition of it.
The viewpoint situation did not work for me at all. The story was told from four POVs - Gideon, the nerd; Kyle, Gideon's popular best friend; Ruby, Kyle's girlfriend; and Ezra, Gideon's brother. The POV switched so frequently, it was hard to keep track of who "I" was. The POV would switch in the middle of scenes. I admit this was interesting to an extent, because you could see how multiple people reacted to the same situation while it was happening. But I still found myself having to go back and check which POV I was reading. This might also be due to the fact that the characters' personalities weren't developed enough, so you can't tell whose POV it is just from the writing voice.
Speaking of, the characters were terrible. They did not have personality. Obviously we were supposed to see Gideon as the nerd and Kyle as the one dude-bro who isn't a jerk, but they were both so stereotypical that it seemed really fake. The one character that had some personality was given very conflicting personality traits. On one hand, Ruby was written to seem like a typical ruthless, self-centered mean girl, but then it was like you were supposed to pity her, and then she had this big redemption character development.
Let's talk about Kyle and Gideon getting together. They really just randomly decided they liked each other at the exact same time. I didn't even ship it that much because there was no anticipation. They got together so early on, and there was no chase. Not to mention, it doesn't make sense. Why would they randomly decide they like each other as more than friends? And they both make this random decision at the same time, but without knowing the other's feelings. I can't.
A couple more logistic issues. How do you accidentally out yourself? Like I know that it can happen, but how was Gideon so dense that he literally told his brother "I'm gay" in those exact words, without realizing it? Also: Kyle got mad at Gideon for not telling him he's gay, but was also mad at Ruby for being mad at him for not telling her he's bi? Gideon does call him out on that, but that's an example of how the characters' logic just doesn't make sense.
Also does no one realize how brutal Kyle was to Ruby? Like she's made out to be really mean and superficial (caring about her image), but Kyle screwed her over, and we're just supposed to be okay with it because Gideon and Kyle are cute together and Ruby is a mean girl. I was uncomfortable by some of the horribly blunt things Kyle said while he was breaking up with Ruby. The man has no tact, which is especially conflicting with the fact that he's supposed to be so kind and wonderful.
The cliches in the book were over the top. Things like "I might be a little bit broken", "fall into a fitful sleep", and how groups of kids were stopping in the hallway, pointing and talking about Gideon. This is not Degrassi!!!
Also, the book was supposed to have depth because the characters dealt with some really important issues, like financial problems and Kyle's dyslexia. But these problems are never resolved. They're just name dropped and used as a way to get us to sympathize with Ruby or to get Gideon's list to seem even worse. Another thing - how did a book about gay romance get away with not discussing homophobia at all? I'm not saying it has to be a major issue, but this must be a seriously utopian community they live in, because everyone is SO excited about Gideon and Kyle being together. Maybe I'm jaded that my city isn't like that, but I just honestly don't think it's realistic.
I wanted to give this 2 stars because I wasn't horribly bored or confused by the plot, but the fact is it's just too simple yet also problematic for that.
