{Book Review} Autoboyography by Christina Lauren (@ChristinaLauren @SimonTeen)

​Fangirl meets Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda in this funny and poignant coming-of-age novel from New York Times bestselling author Christina Lauren about two boys who fall in love in a writing class—one from a progressive family and the other from a conservative religious community.

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.

Tanner Scott is just fine with who he is and his family couldn’t be more proud of him. He still has to be careful about who he allows close because being bisexual in Provo, Utah isn’t exactly as accepted as it was where he grew up. 
 
His best friend, Autumn (Love that name!) has been his saving grace and now going into their final semester of high school, she’s once again talked him into going along with one of her wild ideas.  The Seminar is the class that everyone at Provo High wants to get into but only a select few are granted access. Participants in the class must complete a full-length novel by the end of the semester and your final grade depends it. 
 
And on the very first day of class, Tanner knows that he will never be the same again.

Although I’d been working up the nerve to come out to her, after she said this, I changed my mind. Auddy’s words twanged that dissonant chord inside me, the inner conflict about what it means to be bisexual. There’s the devil on one shoulder, the ignorant perception that I get from all sides, both inside and outside the queer community, who say bisexuality is really about indecision, that it’s impossible for bisexuals to be satisfied with one person and the label is a way to not commit. And then there’s the angel on the other shoulder—who the queer-positive books and pamphlets encourage me to believe—saying that no, what it means is I’m open to falling in love with anyone. I’m happy to commit, but the specific parts don’t matter as much as the person.

​Sebastian Brother is the famed Seminar student whose novel was handpicked up for publication.  Not only is he the TA for the class this semester, he’s a gifted student at BYU, totally gorgeous and the very embodiment of Mormon virtue.
 
He can’t seem to ignore the instant connection he feels with Tanner and when he’s assigned to work one on one with him to shape the idea of his novel, he finds himself daring to fall for a boy who isn’t afraid to hold his hand under the stars.
 
Will their love give him the courage to live the life he has always dreamed of even when he stands to lose everything?

“Guilt is sort of a sign that I’m doing something wrong,” he says, “and when I feel peaceful, I know God approves of what I’m doing.”

 I open my mouth to reply, but turns out, I have no idea what to say to that.

“Sometimes I wonder whether it’s God or the church that feels the strongest about these things.”
​
“My opinion?” I say carefully. “A God worthy of your eternal love wouldn’t judge you for who you love while you’re here.”

​Autoboyography is one of those rare books that completely engulfs you – heart and soul. With characters that you will make laugh and then make you cry, it’s a quirky and poignant romance that mirrors the world as it is and as it should be. 
 
Christina Lauren shine a bright light of hope into a dark universe and they do it with all of their signature swoon and humour to make this one of my favourite books so far this year.  And I’m still smiling long after turning the final page…

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