Autoboyography

I grew up a queer kid in a non-accepting Christian household. It wasn’t Mormonism, but it was close. Sebastian’s character is one that I resonated with so much it made me cheer, cry, and gave me anxiety as I swiped through each page. I also see myself in Tanner. It’s such a validating book. The experience of reading it is one I’ll cherish

this book had me invested from the beginning. the author created the perfect love story. lauren really showed that pros and cons of being in a Igbtq+ relationship while also battling religion. the characters are really likeable. touching. captivating. heartfelt. this is a must read for and romance lover!!!

Great read!

This book is one of the most relatable things I have ever read. It was beautifully written and filled with emotion. I recommend it to anyone who is struggling with who they are.

Great story !

Christina Lauren have created some of my favorite characters and storylines. I passed this book over because coming of age books aren’t always my favorite but THIS book was great. They did an amazing job with this story and setting.

I’ve had this book on my shelf for about a year, but never wanted to read it. I picked it up last night, and was shocked at how much I loved it. Tanner and Sebastian’s love for each other was so wholesome, and it had such good moments representing how hard it is for someone to grow up in the LGBT community while being a Mormon. I cried four times, and it really took my breath away. If you’re looking for a book with the most adorable protagonists, a way to see how hard it is to grow up queer (and to then cry about it) or just want two characters to fall in love, then I would recommend to you this book. You won’t regret reading it.

I read this book in one day I could not put it down

This book is, in fact, truly amazing. It shows the struggles of one character struggling with their sexual orientation, though he isn’t the main, main, character, I truly connected with him on many levels. The two main characters (Tanner, & Sebastian) have a very different family life and culture, though they find each other and fall in love. I love this book so much and recommended it to people who love a good LGBTQ+ book and a coming of age novel. ❤️❤️

*This review was originally posted to my blog, {Books She Reads}. Autoboyography explores the challenges of two young men as they fall in love. One family is loving and accepting of their bi-sexual son, while the other is a devout Mormon family that accepts no relationship beyond that of a man and woman, no exceptions. The entire time I read about Tanner and Sebastian growing closer together, I was waiting for it to all fall apart. I knew it was coming; it was only a matter of when. Tanner and Sebastian are opposites in many ways, setting them up for failure right from the start. Sebastian is the son of a Mormon bishop, and Tanner has a mother who slides gay pride postcards into his pillowcase as often as possible. Tanner is confident in who he is and can’t wait to leave the small-minded Mormon town and take on college, proudly bi-sexual. Sebastian has his future mapped out for him with his Mormon mission and his expected place in the church; he must hide who he is or risk losing everything he has. While Sebastian is not the main POV character of the novel, it was him that I found myself connected to the most. Truthfully, I didn’t even like Tanner for like half of the book. Tanner’s attraction towards Sebastian is strictly physical and a bit concerning. “I need to have him or I won’t be okay.” Blah! Tanner is referring to Sebastian like he is a limited edition collector’s item. Sebastian is a PERSON, not an object. Tanner cannot HAVE Sebastian. At this point in the book, Tanner doesn’t even know Sebastian, he only knows OF Sebastian. It gets worse when Tanner becomes an internet stalker, downloading pictures of Sebastian he finds on the internet to create his “Spank Bank folder”. “I’m ready to start the Sebastian Brother Spank Bank folder.” Ugh!…again…Sebastian is a person who should not be objectified and stalked online to obtain photos of him. I don’t find this mindset flattering at all, and these two moments happen before page fifty. So yeah, not the best first impression of Tanner. The author spends a significant amount of ink on explaining the LDS church’s belief in same-sex relations and the extremes that were/are used to “fix” those who were attracted to the same sex. Most of the opinions are negative, and the words “Mormon” and “LDS” are used with negative intonation. Most of these explanations occur within the first 100 pages of the book, and it felt a little strong and negative. I became a bit turned off to the novel with all the “LDS is bad” talk. In hindsight, I understand why the author spent the first 1/4 of the book explaining the LDS church; it puts into perspective the inner battle of Sebastian and why he must be so careful in secretly pursuing a same-sex relationship. Tanner’s parents are supportive and accepting of his sexuality. However, every parent worries about matters of the heart for their child and Tanner’s mom is well versed in the strict mindset of the LDS church. Tanner’s parents express understandable fear for their son and what might happen if others knew of the relationship between Tanner and Sebastian, and the effects of having to keep his relationship with Sebastian a secret. My heart broke for Sebastian over and over again. His love and admiration are divided between his parents, church and Tanner; with two forbidding the one. Falling in love shouldn’t be this painful, Sebastian shouldn’t have to risk losing his family to follow his heart.