Debut YA contemporary showcases acceptance and friendship

     In his debut novel, Robbie Couch brings a heartfelt story to life featuring a openly gay student stuck in the middle of small-town Michigan. The Sky Blues is funny, hopeful, and tear-jerking and is sure to be a fan favorite when it’s released on April 6th.
     Sky Baker may be openly gay, but in his small, insular town, making sure he was invisible has always been easier than being himself. Determined not to let anything ruin his senior year, Sky decides to make a splash at his high school’s annual beach bum party by asking his crush, Ali, to prom—and he has thirty days to do it. What better way to start living loud and proud than by pulling off the gayest promposal Rock Ledge, Michigan, has ever seen? Then, Sky’s plans are leaked by an anonymous hacker in a deeply homophobic e-blast that quickly goes viral. He’s fully prepared to drop out and skip town altogether—until his classmates give him a reason to fight back by turning his thirty-day promposal countdown into a school-wide hunt to expose the e-blast perpetrator. But what happens at the end of the thirty days? Will Sky get to keep his hard-won visibility? Or will his small-town blues stop him from being his true self?
     I literally binge-read this book over the span of a day and I adored every minute of it. This book made me tear up, laugh, gasp, and feel all of the emotions! The messages of acceptance, friendship, and being true to yourself are wonderfully expressed in the book.
     Sky’s distinct narration style on top of the engaging plot of the book will have you flipping page after page to see what will happen next! Filled with sarcastic, witty asides, and pop culture references, this book never has a dull moment!
     In addition to the humor laced throughout the book, there are some serious moments such as bullying, homophobia, racism, Islamophobia, and self-acceptance. Sky not only has to deal with a school hacker, but also his own friendships and familial relationships that get caught in the crossfire. However, Couch handles these topics wonderfully and all of them make the story even deeper.
     Any fans of YA contemporaries will fall in love with Sky and his friends and the antics and shenanigans they get up to. It will have you yearning for the nostalgia of blissfully ignorant high school memories and what it feels like to have the world be your oyster as a teenager. This book is just an overall enjoyable read and I can’t recommend it enough. Go buy this book and feel all of the emotions like I did. You won’t regret it!

*I received an ARC via giveaway from Simon Teen.

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