Like a Love Story

Books | Young Adult Fiction / Romance / LGBTQ

4.4

(665)

Abdi Nazemian

Stonewall Honor Book * A Time Magazine Best YA Book of All Time"A book for warriors, divas, artists, queens, individuals, activists, trend setters, and anyone searching for the courage to be themselves.”—Mackenzi Lee, New York Times bestselling author of The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and VirtueIt’s 1989 in New York City, and for three teens, the world is changing.Reza is an Iranian boy who has just moved to the city with his mother to live with his stepfather and stepbrother. He’s terrified that someone will guess the truth he can barely acknowledge about himself. Reza knows he’s gay, but all he knows of gay life are the media’s images of men dying of AIDS.Judy is an aspiring fashion designer who worships her uncle Stephen, a gay man with AIDS who devotes his time to activism as a member of ACT UP. Judy has never imagined finding romance...until she falls for Reza and they start dating.Art is Judy’s best friend, their school’s only out and proud teen. He’ll never be who his conservative parents want him to be, so he rebels by documenting the AIDS crisis through his photographs.As Reza and Art grow closer, Reza struggles to find a way out of his deception that won’t break Judy’s heart—and destroy the most meaningful friendship he’s ever known.This is a bighearted, sprawling epic about friendship and love and the revolutionary act of living life to the fullest in the face of impossible odds.

Young Adult

Historical Fiction

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More Details:

Author

Abdi Nazemian

Pages

432

Publisher

HarperCollins

Published Date

2019-06-04

ISBN

0062839381 9780062839381

Community ReviewsSee all

"Let's start with the things I liked. The character felt realistic, facing real challenges and facing them like real people; the writing was beautiful and not annoying all the time... but still. It did get me to cry, so extra points. Now, let's get to the not-so-good part. I don't think this book got into how annoying Art was even before and after fixing his relationship with Judy like he made his problems everyone else's problem. The scene with Reza and him at the movies was something else. Like imagine talking to and over someone you say you love like that and how his gayness trumped everything that was a problem in this book like people dying, the also rudeness of wanting Reza to have sex with him without thinking about Reza's true feelings about it was actually disgusting. If you can look past some of the things with Art and see him from Reza and Judy's point of view, it gets better. And let's be honest; there are better LGBTQ+ books. Just read some more."

Jada

"THIS BOOK HAS MY HEART AND I DON'T WANT IT BACK. ❤️‍🩹 It's educational, romantic, heartbreaking, and emotional. When I was 11 or 12 I saw it in a bookstore and bought it. My parents told me I had to wait for 2 or 3 years until I was allowed to read it. I kept it next to my bed all those years until I was finally old enough to read it, so by that point my expectations were set extremely high. The amazing part is, THEY WERE MET. This book takes you on an emotional rollercoaster and I highly recommend to anybody because it really puts you in the shoes of someone who is living in that time frame when AIDS first became well known. A wonderful story. I give it a 8/10 but only because I don't really like the ending, but everything in between was wonderful. 🥰"

Ash C.B.

"very touching novel about being gay, loving those who are gay, and watching history as it happens. a little oddly-paced and clumsy at times, but really speaks to its reader and pulls them in to tell the story it needs to tell "

Bennet

"THIS BOOK RIGHT HERE! IT WAS AN AMAZING READ. Definitely recommend "

Doodoo profusely

"This book is a gem! While I loved this book throughout, it really wasn’t until the very last chapter where I thought to myself “this book is a 5/5 easy!” There are so many things I loved about this book! The time/setting, the characters - and with that the usage of multiple POV’s (I felt this really added to the story and was great to see) and just all the history that’s told beautiful throughout the novel. This book *chef’s kiss*"

Kelly Sarna

"This book is so inspirational! I got so attached to the characters, and it's so Ohmygosh! It such a good read for those struggling with genders, love, and family related issues. Plus if you are looking for a little history, this book has that too!"

Phoenix The Lizard

"THIS BOOK IS AMAZING!! <3"

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finnick / finnster

"This is an extremely difficult book to rate for me. I thought the overall story was beautiful, a celebration of love and anger and fighting for a better life, but the three main characters annoyed me so much that parts of the book were a slog. Reza spends the first half of the book constantly spinning his wheels through internalized homophobia, which while realistic means the reader is subjected to the same story beats multiple times. Judy's reaction to finding out that Reza is gay and dated her out of fear is awful and left largely unexamined by the narrative. Art spends the second half of the book trying to pressure his boyfriend into sex he isn't ready for. Also the weirdly detailed scenes of teens having sex might be off-putting for some. I did love most of the side characters though (at least, the ones intended to be likable) and most of the writing about ACT UP was great. A solid neutral rating from me."

awesome_user_984860

"Great young adult LGBTQ+ novel. Mixed with romance and comedy - also very modern! I loved it as a adult but really anyone can enjoy. "