Title: Spin Me Right Round
Author: David Valdes
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Publication date: January 3, 2022
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Summary
Luis’s school claims they’re progressive. So, Luis figured there would be no problem in him bringing his boyfriend to prom. When he’s told that he can’t, he’s determined to find a way for him and his other LGBTQ+ friends to be able to have fun at prom, too. After all, it’s 2021. How is Luis still at a school where he can’t fully express himself with his boyfriend?
The reason Luis can’t bring his boyfriend to prom is because of the death of Chaz Wilson back in 1985. Because he was gay. When Luis hits his head hard while setting up his prom, he finds himself back in 1985. With his parents. And Chaz Wilson. Now might be his chance to change the future. For both him and for Chaz.
Review: Spin Me Right Round
Thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury for an advanced copy of this to review! I know this was originally supposed to come out in December, but the publication date now got pushed back to January. But you’ll still want to keep this Back to the Future retelling on your radar for after the holiday season!
Let me start by saying I loved the concept of this book. A queer re-telling of Back to the Future with characters of color? Sounds like a fun adventure. And it was! The basics of the plot, at least for the present, were also realistic. It’s 2021, and I’m sure there are still high schools that don’t gay couples go to prom. Especially considering all of the book bannings that are currently happenig around the United States. On mostly LGBTQ books. But anyway! I digress.
What lessened the reading experience for me was the voice of the main character. It makes sense that he’s supposed to be selfish and naive at the beginning, but I didn’t see much growth in him throughout. He didn’t really think about the consequences of his actions, which is also a typically teenage thing to do. But by the end of the book, it didn’t feel like he had learned anything from what happened. Most of the outcomes were good, or things ended up okay. Which is fine! However, as a coming of age kind of story, more growth was needed.
All in all, at the surface, this was a fun story that I think just needed a little more character growth. But if you’re looking for a fun time travel story, definitely check this out out!
3/5 stars