Book Review: Autoboyography by Christina Lauren – ‘Cute’ Doesn’t Absolve This Book of Its Problems

Text: Autoboyography, Christina Lauren. Image depicts the silhouettes of two boys, holding hands, standing on the spine of a book; the background is blue and filled with stars.
Synopsis:

Three years ago, Tanner Scott’s family relocated from California to Utah, a move that nudged the bisexual teen temporarily back into the closet. Now, with one semester of high school to go, and no obstacles between him and out-of-state college freedom, Tanner plans to coast through his remaining classes and clear out of Utah.

But when his best friend Autumn dares him to take Provo High’s prestigious Seminar—where honor roll students diligently toil to draft a book in a semester—Tanner can’t resist going against his better judgment and having a go, if only to prove to Autumn how silly the whole thing is. Writing a book in four months sounds simple. Four months is an eternity.

It turns out, Tanner is only partly right: four months is a long time. After all, it takes only one second for him to notice Sebastian Brother, the Mormon prodigy who sold his own Seminar novel the year before and who now mentors the class. And it takes less than a month for Tanner to fall completely in love with him.

My review:

When I read reviews for Autoboyography, I had expected a cute and fluffy story that would melt my heart. Autoboyography follows Tanner, a bisexual teen, who enrols in a class to draft a novel in a semester and meets Sebastian Brother, a Mormon prodigy, and is about the undeniable attraction the two boys share. A queer romance that was hyped up to be adorable and heart-melty and lovely? I was on board immediately.

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