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.
* * *
I picked up Autoboyography up on a whim because it was available to read and I thought I'd continue with my exploration of Christina Lauren's books! So far, I have read The UnhHoneymooners and Josh & Hazel's Guide to Not Dating. And although so far TheUnhoneymooners is my favorite of the three, I had a good time reading Autoboyography.
"A God worthy of your eternal love wouldn't judge you for who you love while you're here."
Tanner, our main character, is a bisexual senior in high school who is living with his family (the only ones he is out to) in Provo, Utah, a very Mormon town. Because of his mom's past, his family is very anti-Mormon and has specific rules when it comes to him staying closeted while living in Utah because of the religion's stance on members in the LGBTQ+ community. Tanner's best friend, Autumn, convinces him to sign up for this seminar with her that makes you write a book in one semester (which sounds amazing!) and it's there he meets his love interest, the TA, Sebastian Brother. A well known member of the Mormon church in their area who has had success in this class by getting a three book deal with publishers after writing his book. I really like Tanner as a character and he was probably my favorite in this book. I don't think I've experienced a book where the main character is open to their family but not their friends. I found the dynamic to be interesting and although I love seeing such a supportive family, I had issues with how his mom basically forced him to stay closeted to everyone but his family.
I understand the general idea his mom had. Like I said, they live in Provo, Utah, where about 88% of the population is Mormon. It's understandable that she wanted to prevent her kid from being ostracized or bullied. However, I do not understand what the point was of moving to Utah where they know is very religious, something his parents are against. The explanation given is that they moved for Tanner's mom's job opportunities, but it was also stated that she had a good job in California. They force their kid to stay closeted in a town they don't seem to want to be in, when they didn't really have to move to begin with. It seemed selfish and a bit cruel.
Sebastian is a character that is easy to sympathize with because he's been raised on this religion that enforces the beliefs that same sex attraction of any kind isn't okay, and acting on those feelings is even worse. I think his character development was really well done and I loved seeing his growth, but he sometimes treated Tanner like garbage, and it made me like him less. I think the reader may have benefited from getting dual POVs of Sebastian and Tanner, versus mostly Tanner and maybe one or two chapters in Sebastian's POV. Getting inside Sebastian's mindset and understanding where he is in those moments would have made it easier for the reader to empathize. Instead, we get most of the story through Tanner, and because Tanner only knows his experiences some of Sebastian's choices make him seem like a real jerk and maybe even manipulative.
"You are an exceptional human, with depth and heart. Don't let anyone - or anything - dim the light inside of you."
Autumn, Tanner's best friend, is a character that doesn't add anything to the story so it felt pointless having her around. Maybe if we had more scenes of them together, especially once Tanner comes out to her, would have cemented their friendship. But instead we are mostly told they're best friends (he describes her as his rock, his safe space) without really seeing it ever. They have a really good opening scene, and then she disappears for a good chunk of the book. And there's something that happens in their friendship that I absolutely hated. The aftermath was overly dramatic and ridiculous. Also, in the beginning of the book Tanner is worried about how Autumn would react to him being bisexual, but there's no evidence that she'd be anything but supportive. And there isn't any huge character development between then Tanner mentions being nervous about telling her to the moment where he comes out, so I am unsure why he was so nervous. She isn't even Mormon anymore, so that didn't play a factor either. Her whole part in this book seemed mostly like unnecessary drama.
The romance is cute, but overall insta-love. It went from 0 to 100 real quick and although it's obvious that Christina Lauren knows how to write great dialogue and romance scenes, it felt like a lot for a relationship that not only is very new but with so much baggage to sift through. Instead of jumping straight into the more intimate parts of a relationship I would have preferred for Tanner and Sebastian to maybe be more as friends working through their feelings for each other instead of very early calling each other boyfriend. Especially with Sebastian refusing to even admit that he was gay.
"This is your life, and it will stretch out before you, and you are the only person who can make it whatever you want it to be."
Like I said, the writing is really well done when it comes to the dialogue and romance. Christina Lauren is obviously talented in writing romance and it shows through all of the books I've read of theirs. I just think that they're used to writing more adult romances, and although Tanner is 18 and I believe Sebastian is around 20, because of all of the complicated layers to this romance story, I wish it had less make out scenes and more unpacking years of emotional abuse and feelings Sebastian was pushing deep down. One thing I do like is that religion is not bashed in this book. Despite how much his family hates religion, specifically the Mormon religion, Tanner is incredibly open minded and understanding when it comes to Sebastian. He is kind and doesn't make Sebastian feel anything but safe with him and I like that. I like that it's not religion that is criticized but the theme of being closed minded and not accepting change that is called out.
Overall, I think this book would mean a lot to any reader who possibly grew up in a religious household, especially if they are apart of the LGBTQ+ community. I can imagine how relatable Sebastian can be for so many readers, and what his growth could mean for those readers. I think if you're going into this book for the romance, it could be a disappointment, but if you're going into this book to expand on discussions of being gay or bisexual in the case of Autoboyography in a very religious area or household, it's a great one to pick up.
Thanks for reading!
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