Every Word You Never Said (3) (A Noahverse Story)

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I adored Sky's adopted parents! An example of parenting at it's finest! The massive focus on friendship was also really uplifting. The way the main characters and side characters supported each other was so heartwarming. Jacob Walters′s dad has worked to make his son′s life a living hell. But when the cute new transfer student suffers his father′s wrath, Jacob must make the hardest decisions of his life.

Jacob is self-conscious about his appearance (although it only comes up when it’s related to Skylar being into him… okay). Don’t get me wrong: I totally understand disliking the way you look (I do too lmao) but in this book the issue is never actually explored. Jacob just whines about being “too pale and skinny” for Skylar to ever like him (as if skinny white e-boys aren’t the beauty standard in 2022 🥴). It’s not really body dysmorphia, and he isn’t even unattractive (he’s literally always described as super hot!!!). It honestly just felt like Jacob was throwing himself a pity party. Sometimes those stories are happy. Sometimes angry. Sometimes sad. And sometimes, those poems are stories we wish we didn't have to tell. And for about 80% of the book, it nearly did. Jacob and Skylar were well written, well crafted, characters. Both have minor issues, both have wonderful personalities, and both have positive and supportive friends. If anything, for the first 80% of the book, I thought I was in for a pleasant, no drama beyond what we see coming, type of story. I enjoyed the presentation of the language barrier between the two protagonists. And, although I think of myself as an old gay cuss, I loved the crossing of the gender line with regards to how we all are free to dress how we wish. So far so good.

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Poetry is such a personal experience on what will impact us when we read the words and what won't. We all view things differently and this is one reason I love to read poetry. I enjoy seeing how others piece together what they are experiencing and how it brings some insight into my own life. Some words hit harder than others, some collections work and some don't. For me, Every Word You Cannot Say completely worked and there were a few times tears stung my eyes. This was a bit of a slice of life plot, with the “clothes are for everyone” and religion theme as the main focus. It’s a very slow burn romance, which I liked a lot, because these two were inexperienced and firstly even needed to find a way to communicate with each other. But it somehow made this book drag a little from time to time and for me it could have been shorter or more action filled.

And my mind is going full speed again. It's Skylar. It needs to stop, but it's all Skylar. His little short self, big hazel eyes that I think are more green than brown, and little hands. He's just cute. Like, too cute." How does this e-boy know about Vic Fuentes and a bunch of emo bands but has never even heard of My Chemical Romance??? Bullshit.Firstly, the amount of pop culture references. It’s realistic that teens bring these things up in conversation, but honestly they served no purpose and just seemed cringy. The collection is about not only learning to love yourself and the things you cannot change but also to forgive yourself. The latter being far more difficult in some circumstances. It's about reaching for kindness and trying to see the world through the eyes of others. Jacob has Ian, straight, funny, and sarcastic, but supportive and has a sensitive side, even if he’ll never admit it. There is also Eric or ‘Ted’ funny and supportive but not featured as much. Poetry means different things to different people. Hell, it can even mean literally nothing at all to you. That's the beauty of what it is as a medium. It can be that connection, that feeling of "Someone else finally understands. Thank the stars. Thank the stars. I'm not alone." I really wanted to like this but unfortunately it was a struggle just to finish. The entire book would have really benefited from sensitivity readers. It was nice to see non-verbal rep but it was riddled with ableist rhetoric, and not just from the bullies.