We all deserve to experience the highs and lows of young love, even when it’s complicated, and might require bravery we don’t know we have.

Amen to that.Īlthough it starts to sound like a platitude, love is love. Ultimately, Autoboyography is a wish put out into the universe with the hope that one day same-sex relationships will be recognized and not regarded as a sin. What’s really striking is Christina Lauren isn’t passing judgment on either side. Watching Sebastian wrestle with his feelings, and with his family, makes for some hand-to-heart sad moments. Though Tanner is temporarily re-closeted, his confidence and joy in knowing who he is juxtaposed with Sebastian’s struggle is heart-rending. What if one of them had been gay or bisexual? As an individual, how do you resolve the conflict between the belief system that informs your identity and instilled some key values in you, when it doesn’t make room for who you are completely? That’s what Sebastian is up against. That kind of, “Ohmygod, I like him so much,do you think he likes me?He’s so cute,did you see how his sleeves were rolled up,do you think he noticed me?”Īutoboyography also made me think a lot about some neighbors we had years ago, a Mormon family with 3 boys. Although Tanner doesn’t run off at the mouth, there’s definitely that “just can’t shut up about your crush” vibe. The attraction is complicated by the fact that Sebastian is Mormon.Ĭhristina Lauren approaches this story with sensitivity and compassion, while capturing all the angsty joy of first love. Tanner meets and ends up falling for Sebastian, who sold his Seminar novel the year before. As he wraps up his senior year of high school, he opts into a Seminar program in which students have four months to write a book. With the move, he also goes back into the closet on his bisexuality. In Autoboyography, Tanner Scott and his family have moved from the Bay Area to more conservative Utah.

Autoboyography goodreads