From Barnes and Noble:
Tall, meaty, muscle-bound, and hairier than most throw rugs, Dylan doesn’t look like your average fifteen-year-old, so, naturally, high school has not been kind to him. To make matters worse, on the day his school bans hats (his preferred camouflage), Dylan goes up on his roof only to fall and wake up in the hospital with a broken leg—and a mandate to attend group therapy for self-harmers. Dylan vows to say nothing and zones out at therapy—until he meets Jamie. She’s funny, smart, and so stunning, even his womanizing best friend, JP, would be jealous. She’s also the first person to ever call Dylan out on his self-pitying and superficiality. As Jamie’s humanity and wisdom begin to rub off on Dylan, they become more than just friends. But there is something Dylan doesn’t know about Jamie, something she shared with the group the day he wasn’t listening. Something that shouldn’t change a thing. She is who she’s always been—an amazing photographer and devoted friend, who also happens to be transgender. But will Dylan see it that way?
What I thought: If you’re looking for a calming book, this isn’t it.
It’s not a bad thing or a knock against it; it just has the same feeling of The Female of the Species. A male main character is something that I don’t see a lot on the YA books I read, especially not as the solo POV. Holding up the Universe did have a male as a narrator but it was a split POV.
The main character, Dylan, can best be described as a giant. He is 15 and 6’6”. He is also very hairy, hence the nickname Beast. Kids make fun of him for being so big. He breaks his leg and winds up in self-harm therapy where, of course, he meets a girl, Jamie. They become close and then start to date. He finds out something about her past that makes him rethink things so they split.
I didn’t absolutely love this book, but it’s good. For me, the book is slow to move through.