Blog Tour: The Sky Blues by Robbie Couch + INTL. Giveaway

Thank you so much to Turn the Page Tours, as well as the author and publisher for giving me a copy of ‘The Sky Blues’ in exchange for an unbiased, and honest review!! This is my stop for the tour, and you can click the banner below to view the full schedule, and explore other posts!!

Title: The Sky Blues
Author: Robbie Couch
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Romance, LGBTQIA+
Series: None
Publication Date: April 6, 2021
Final Rating: 4.5 stars

Synopsis (via Goodreads):

Sky’s small town turns absolutely claustrophobic when his secret promposal plans get leaked to the entire school in this witty, heartfelt, and ultimately hopeful debut novel for fans of What if it’s Us? and I Wish You All the Best.

Sky Baker may be openly gay, but in his small, insular town, making sure he was invisible has always been easier than being himself. Determined not to let anything ruin his senior year, Sky decides to make a splash at his high school’s annual beach bum party by asking his crush, Ali, to prom—and he has thirty days to do it.

What better way to start living loud and proud than by pulling off the gayest promposal Rock Ledge, Michigan, has ever seen?

Then, Sky’s plans are leaked by an anonymous hacker in a deeply homophobic e-blast that quickly goes viral. He’s fully prepared to drop out and skip town altogether—until his classmates give him a reason to fight back by turning his thirty-day promposal countdown into a school-wide hunt to expose the e-blast perpetrator.

But what happens at the end of the thirty days? Will Sky get to keep his hard-won visibility? Or will his small-town blues stop him from being his true self?

BUY // SHELVE NOW: Goodreads | Amazon (US) | Barnes & Noble

What I liked

The supportive, healthy (and relatable!!) friendships. Something that really stood out to me in The Sky Blues was all the friendships. Seeing how much their little friend group genuinely cared about each other was SO heartwarming. What I loved though, was that even after Ali comes to know about Sky’s promposal plans, and even though he isn’t gay, he doesn’t act all “weirded out”, but instead reaches out to Sky after his public humiliation, to make sure he’s doing okay. Little things like this is what made the read so special, and something I loved.

The natural diversity. I feel like in a lot of recent contemporaries, all the diversity feels forced, and not very natural (like how it’s supposed to feel). Something I also appreciated was how the author uplifted all these marginalized voices, and that the on-page representation he showed was always positive. Through his text, it showed that he genuinely believed in equality. The Sky Blues also shows how being from a specific ethnic minority can impact your identity, and your actions. It shows us how deeply ingrained racism is in our society, and how a person of color, a queer person, or a disabled person just doesn’t have the same freedom and safety as a straight, white, fit one. The Sky Blues tackled so many real-life issues high-schoolers face, such as misgendering, and basic shaming because of the minority they come from without looking back.

The Found Family. The supportiveness between them, and how much they cared for each other made me emo 🥺 Need I say more?

The characters. I loved the characters. I loved all their development. Although the book was centered around 4-6 main characters, it was so amazing to see how the side characters words and actions impacted the way the story continued. Each of the character ARCs were so great, because you could SEE the growth from page 1. What was even better was that I felt an emotional connection with almost all the characters in the story. I cared about what was going to happen to them, and I wanted to give them all a huge hug and make sure they’re okay. Also I love Winter. Sorry I just need to put it out there.

What wasn’t my cup of tea

Too many side characters. I know earlier I said I loved the characters (which I still do), I just felt too many were introduced. We got to know the names of practically every student in their newspaper class, and it just felt like a lot. I think we could have been alright with only knowing the names of maybe half the class, because though I loved all their personalities, and all their little roles, it got confusing after a while, and I had trouble remembering who was who, what they did, and why they were important.

Overall!

Overall, The Sky Blues is a hard-hitting contemporary novel that deals with themes present in today’s society such as homophobia, racism, and just bullying as a whole. After both sobbing and completing tissue boxes whole, as well as laughing until I got hiccups, I can (from experience) tell you that this book is a wild ride (in the best way possible). Seeing found family, and great, loving, supporting friendships was one of the best parts of this book. But what really stole the show for me was the natural diversity. Through this novel, so many marginalised voices are uplifted, and it shows us how being from a specific ethnic minority can impact your identity, and your actions. It also shows us how deeply ingrained racism is in our society, and how a person of color, a queer person, or a disabled person just doesn’t have the same freedom and safety as a straight, white, fit one. The Sky Blues tackled so many real-life issues high-schoolers face, such as misgendering, and basic shaming because of the minority they come from without looking back.

About the Author

Robbie Couch is the author of the young adult romantic-comedy novel, The Sky Blues. His work has been published in HuffPost, Upworthy, and O, The Oprah Magazine, among other outlets. Originally from small-town Michigan, Robbie now lives in Los Angeles, where he remains in constant fear of aggressive birds and on the prowl for his next bowl of noodles.

AUTHOR SOCIALS:
Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

FOR THIS TOUR, WE HAVE TWO (2) SEPERATE GIVEAWAYS! UP FOR GRABS, WE HAVE ONE (1) FINISHED COPY OF THE SKY BLUES BY ROBBIE COUCH (AVAILABLE TO US ONLY), AND ONE (1) DIGITAL COPY OF THE SKY BLUESBY ROBBIE COUCH (AVAILABLE TO INTL ONLY)!
ENTER THE GIVEAWAY ➡ HERE!

Have you read The Sky Blues yet? Is it on your TBR? What are some other books you love with natural diversity, supportive friendships, and the found family trope?

Advertisement