I never thought I would quote Lois Griffin in a book review but “I guess I’m not woke, okay? You win with the gay stuff!” I hate to admit I couldn’t finish this.

I won’t say I was disappointed with this book, but it’s not the sequel I was hoping for after finishing Secrets of the Universe. Frankly, I don’t think it needed a sequel to begin with and it ended on a perfectly content note, but I liked the first book so much I gave this a shot.

And boy, did it miss.

Ari discovering who he really is, is a nice plot point, sure. But I think it was fleshed out enough in the first book. Having him make friends in the town he’s from just doesn’t make sense to me. Not to mention the AIDS crisis sprinkled throughout the book; I understand my queer history and know it fits with the time period of the story. I’m not asking for a fairytale to pretend it never happened, I’m just so tired of seeing it in stories.

Dante wasn’t in the story enough for me to stick around, and I feel like he could’ve added more spark, more life. But alas.

Pick it up if you want. Leave it on the shelf if you adore the first book.