Center for Teaching & Learning

Ollie spent the summer at Aunt Linda’s lake house hoping to find love. One fateful day, due to a mishap on the beach with his little cousins, he discovers it in Will Tavares. After a summer of sneaking out and sleeping under the stars, Will and Ollie say their final goodbyes. Promising to never lose contact with each other, the two lovers part ways. At first, Ollie is devastated when Will ghosts him with no explanation. However, a family emergency sees Ollie spending his senior year in North Carolina, thousands of miles away from his hometown in California. Little does he know, his knight in shining armor, Will, goes to the same high school as he will: a real dream come true. But this Will is different. He’s closeted, a class clown, and a bit of a jerk. Ollie wants nothing to do with this new version of Will—but how can he give up on his true love?

In Only Mostly Devastated, Sophie Gonzales does a fantastic job capturing the struggles of a gay high school student in a conservative town. Growing up in a welcoming family and community makes it easy for Ollie to express himself without the fear of being judged or shunned. However, having a homophopic and strict environment creates a much more challenging situation for Will. Even though this book is only from Ollie’s perspective, we are still able to see Will’s personal issues through the dialogue in Gonzales’ novel.

One of the aspects readers will enjoy in this book is the inclusivity. Gonzales created a variety of characters, and each person has a different background and issue they are struggling with. For example, one of Ollie’s new friends, Niamh, is the most beautiful girl Ollie had ever met, inside and out. However, she has always struggled with her weight and will sometimes starve herself. Another one of the girls in Ollie’s class is facing the stress of trying to be perfect and succeed in life, while also secretly trying to pursue a path in music. These secondary characters help readers connect to the novel in various ways.

Only Mostly Devastated was written in the first person, which is a style I prefer. Readers are able to dive into Ollie’s cluttered and confused thoughts, while also following the plot line and twists. By choosing this perspective, Gonzales allows readers to see how Ollie perceives other characters and breaks them down in his own mind.

The genre of this book is romance and realistic fiction. The novel is composed of twenty-two chapters each a length of around ten pages. These short and sweet chapters will make Only Mostly Devastated a quick read for those interested. Gonzales packed every chapter with countless important details, leaving readers on the edge of their seat with the turn of a page.

I would recommend this book to anyone over the age of twelve who enjoys reading a novel filled with humor, an abundance of romance, and a main character you can’t help but love. This novel will rip out readers’ hearts and shove them back, leaving them Only Mostly Devastated. 

Sarah

Wednesday Books, 278 pages