Autoboyography by Christina Lauren

Narrated by Deacon Lee & Kyle Mason

Synopsis (via Goodreads):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.

But how can I send my heart to him when he's just said, in no uncertain terms, that he doesn't speak its language?

All the smiling hurt my cheeks! I loved being inside Tanner's head and hearing his thoughts. He was adorable, funny, and I thoroughly enjoyed his story.

I cannot imagine being an open bisexual and suddenly having to pretend that I'm not. I understand his parents were worried about him living in a very religious community, but he shouldn't have to hide himself away until it's safe for him to be who he is. Speaking of his parents, I loved how overly supportive they were of their children. When they found out he was bisexual, they told him nothing had changed, and he was free to be himself no matter what (until they moved to Utah and didn't want things to be harder for him). Tanner repeatedly mentions how lucky he is, because most children don't get that unconditional love from their parents, and it was a joy to read about a family that supported rather than condemned. 

Sebastian's parents are not as accepting, and it frustrated the hell out of me when they said or did something that was judgmental of others. I'm not familiar with the Mormon church or their beliefs, but I think the authors (Christina and Lauren are two separate people), did a wonderful job of conveying their ideology. In reality, it's not much different from the religion I grew up with, and it makes me wonder about a lot of things, but that's a conversation for another time.

Sebastian is confused and conflicted about himself, and Tanner is blissfully uncomplicated. I thought the two of them were fun to watch, and it was easy to see how Tanner wrote a book based on his thoughts alone. At times they were poetic and funny, but others had a sadness to them that was hard to hear. The audiobook for this was outstanding! I really wanted more of this story as soon as it ended, but it left me with a smile.

Autumn was an amazing best friend! I wish Tanner had confided in her sooner, but their relationship had its own complications. They haven't known each other very long, but the ease of their friendship was beautiful. You know they're going to stay in touch no matter where they are in life.

Autoboyography had a lot of highs and just as many lows. The ending was a tad confusing because the perspective changes without any warning. We've been in Tanner's head for the majority of the book, but then suddenly Sebastian is getting his thoughts out there. Even when Tanner does pop back up, it's weird. I wasn't in his head anymore, but viewing things from another perspective. I wish the authors had kept things the same, because changing everything really messed up the flow for me.

Overall, this was an incredible story that I loved listening to. Tanner and Sebastian are so very different, but they share something important. It was easy to fall in love with them and wish for the best. A person's identity is important and shouldn't be a secret, but that's hard when your family (the people that are supposed to love you the most) cannot accept the truth of who you are.