#Blaine for the Win

[lady-asteria]

If you like Legally Blonde, read Blaine for the win.

Blaine, our sweet main character, wants to prove his (ex) boyfriend he can be serious by running to senior class president.

I gave it 4 out of 5!

[haveyoureadthisqueerbook]

[thepeculiarbird]

Spoiler-free review : Blaine for the win by Robbie Couch

trigger warnings: anxiety, depression, close family member's death.

I spent my new year's eve finishing reading that book. I had already read The Sky Blues by the same author so I knew what to expect (even tho I was a bit wrong). I really like the writing style of Robbie Couch, it focuses a lot on the other plot like for this book where Blaine wants to get his ex back by becoming the school president or for The Sky Blues where an homophobic post is published about the main character , Sky. (these are not spoilers, it's written at the back of the book) Anyway, as I was saying, the other main plot is well developped and there is a good understanding of the character's feelings that makes them more like real people.

All this rambling to say this book is really good and I'm really glad to have finished 2023 with this one.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

[wahlpaper]

Blaine for the Win Review

Blaine for the Win by Robbie Couch

CW: Unemployment, Depression, Anxiety, School Stress, Sabotage, Overworked Parents, Remembrance of a Dead Parent, Break-Up, Manipulative Parents, Money Problems, Gaslighting

4.5/5

If you're a fan of Legally Blonde, Robbie Couch's Blaine for the Win is a must read! I love both the movie and the musical, so I borrowed this book from the Libby app as soon as I saw it. It was absolutely worth it, so I'm surprised that there wasn't a waitlist for the audiobook. Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, of course, but Couch's bibliography deserves to be popular enough for me to be put on a holds list. He is a skilled writer, which shows in the way he took Legally Blonde and turned it into a brand new story. This is a story that can be enjoyed even by those who have never seen Legally Blonde.

In Blaine for the Win, Blaine gets broken up with during his 1-year anniversary dinner. His now-ex, Joey, doesn't think that Blaine is serious enough and would rather be with someone his parents can approve of. Blaine enjoys painting murals around his neighborhood to help store owners out, but he decides to take a break from this to prove Joey wrong. Blaine wants to win class president. Blaine and his campaign team quickly prove to be what the people want, a change to the status quo, but is it really in Blaine's best interest? What about the murals he's abandoned and what of his self image?

Blaine for the Win is to Legally Blonde as Only Mostly Devastated (by Sophie Gonzales) is to Grease. It takes just enough elements to be paying homage to the classic film, but recreates the story into a thing of its own, a tale starring queer teenagers. One of my favorite elements of Legally Blonde is that Elle Woods becomes friends with the girl her ex left her for. It's not as prominent of a plot point, but I'm happy to report that it's kept in there! The most important element to change was that Blaine was running for class president instead of working to become a lawyer. These two goals do not take similar steps to achieve, which gave Blaine for the Win the space to blossom into a unique story. For the fans of Legally Blonde, you'll be able to spot other references should you read the book and ponder over what was left out/changed.

Despite drawing inspiration from a well known movie, Couch avoided or subverted some major tropes. I am not secretive about my love of tropes, but I enjoy when someone turns away from them as well. The first one is that homophobia doesn't make its way into the plot, even to make an example of it. It's mentioned that life can be harder for those in marginalized communities and Blaine does make a Closet joke, but this book serves as a safe space from that negativity. Another is that the Big Fight happens between Blaine and his best friend, not Blaine and his love interest. The love story is more of a thing that happens along the way than the main plot. Do not be discouraged, though, it is a well written courtship. This story comes with more than one happy ending.

The only problem I found was the pacing, which was difficult to keep track of. However, this was likely due to one of the best features of the story, the point of view. Being told in first person, Blaine's narrative could be seen as unreliable, but I prefer to label it as "transparent". It's easy to figure Blaine out even before he figures himself out. I could tell what he was about and that made me root for him, even when he was making mistakes. His inner voice was a delight to get to know. It was also heartbreaking at times. Blaine deals with depression and anxiety, which would make his focus on time different than reality. I could tell that Couch knew exactly who this character was.

If you like to read about queer teens making changes for their community and falling in love along the way, check out Robbie Couch's Blaine for the Win. Help make this book as popular as it deserves to be!

[wcnderlcnding]

"All I ever wanted from you was a new aloe vera plant, Blaine Bowers. And you had to go and do this..."

Blaine For the Win, Robbie Couch

[bookbaran]

So I really liked Sky from The Sky Blues and I thought the romance was very sweet, but the way the story wrapped up just left me unsatisfied, which kept it from being a favorite, but I think on it fondly anyway.

I liked the way the plot of Blaine for the Win played out, but I had a lot of trouble with Blaine. He could be so careless with other people's needs. Also, his romance with Danny was barely there. Yeah, they were hanging out a lot, but there was nothing to show they had any chemistry until they were suddenly declaring that they liked each other.

I guess this just goes to prove once again that my reading doorway is character because I liked The Sky Blues better.

[the-final-sentence]

Before we turn the corner, he takes a final glance up at the smiling Mrs. Nguyen, surrounded by color and laughing in the sunshine.

Robbie Couch, from Blaine for the Win

[biblionerdreflections]

ARC Mini Review - Blaine for the Win

Today I'm reviewing Blaine for the Win by Robbie Couch, which was a delightful read with great LGBT and mental health rep. Thank you to #NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing for a copy of the book! #booktwt #bookblogger

Hello, everyone! Today I’m reviewing Blaine for the Win by Robbie Couch. I’ve seen wonderful things about Couch’s first book, The Sky Blues, all over Twitter. I actually have it on my shelf but haven’t had a chance to read it yet. So, I was excited to be approved for the ARC of this book and push it to the top of my TBR. (more…)

[tendersky]

Blaine for the Win book review | Let's talk

Blaine for the Win book review | Let’s talk

Blaine for the Win by Robbie Couch 336 pages publishes April 12th, 2022 After being dumped so his boyfriend can pursue more “serious” guys, a teen boy decides to prove he can be serious, too, by running for senior class president in this joyful romp from the author of The Sky Blues. High school junior Blaine Bowers has it all—the perfect boyfriend, a pretty sweet gig as a muralist for local Windy…

[kinziethings]

REVIEW: Blaine For the Win by Robbie Couch

REVIEW: Blaine For the Win by @robbie_couch is a wonderful #YoungAdultRomance with a loveable supporting cast #queerfiction #YABooks

After being dumped so his boyfriend can pursue more “serious” guys, a teen boy decides to prove he can be serious, too, by running for senior class president in this joyful romp from the author of The Sky Blues. High school junior Blaine Bowers has it all—the perfect boyfriend, a pretty sweet gig as a muralist for local Windy City businesses, a loving family, and awesome, talented friends. And he…

[lgbtqreads]

August 2020 Book Deal Announcements

August 2020 Book Deal Announcements

Adult

Farhad Dadyburjor‘s THE OTHER MAN, an urban gay rom-com about love and longing in Mumbai, dealing with the crazy pressures of family expectations, the staunch traditions of Indian society, and how the power of love can change everything, to Chris Werner at Lake Union Publishing, in a very nice deal, in a pre-empt, for publication in fall 2021, by Priya Doraswamy at Lotus Lane Literary…

[thepeculiarbird]

I went to Cultura (again) !

I bought some books , they're not really famous so you probably won't know them but I saw something that made me happy .

So there's a book display in the novel area with all the "popular" or books that many people buy like "My dear F- Prince" , "Ashes falling for the sky" ect. and guess what ? I saw Mphfpc on that display ! I don't know , it just made my day .

[yourpeaceofminds-blog]

and

only a deaf would say that 'it's not unusual' is unquality. i agree that murphy's being silly with the one blaine show but the boy is talented 

you're so dumb for denying it and stop faking it too

darren bb you're preshhhh

[bookbaran]

Whenever Blaine doesn't mention something it means he purposely hasn't done it. So the fact that he STILL hasn't mentioned the mural he left unfinished for months makes me nervous.

[bookbaran]

When Blaine is friendly and kind to his campaign opponent, it makes me go : )

But then he follows it up with being selfish and cruel to every other person in his life and it makes me go : (

[bookbaran]

Aunt Starr telling Blaine he's no quitter when he's quit every single thing!