While sitting in a cafe, mysterious P approaches Jalen and asks them out on a date. And, surprisingly, they hit it off.

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Why this book?: I read Evans’s Ida, and absolutley adored it. After hearing good things about this novella, I decided to jump in without even checking what it was about!

 

 

Hilariously cute

Long Macchiatos and Monsters starts right away with Jalen in their seat at the cafe, studying a poster for a B-rate sci-fi movie. Already, Evans is creating this lifelike and relatable character that anyone would find a piece of themselves in. Jalen felt natural and so much like myself that I knew I had found something that would affect me immensely.

Not long after, P walks in and you get this stunning description that basically sums up P’s character. Evans’s characters are so in-depth and hilarious that you could see the spark between them. Right away, I was rooting for their relationship and their snarky comments and insults.

Even with the little amount of information afforded, Evans managed to send off lots of messages with simple scenes or a simple wording here or there.

Powerful and honest

All I can say about the representation in this book is that I’m still processing it, and it’s powerful. 

Jalen is genderqueer, and says some things that really affected me. I have never read this honest of representation for nonbinary people before, and–let me just say: when people say representation is important, they aren’t fucking joking. I started crying at midnight when I read some of the quotes, because they were just so powerfully me and yelled everything that I had been struggling with as a genderqueer/nonbinary person. I finally felt understood.

I can’t say much about the trans rep, but I loved P as a character. I thought it was unique how Evans decided to reveal that he was trans, because honestly I didn’t realize it until it was revealed.

Both P and Jalen were also described as POC, with dark skin. P also shows to have some depression throughout. Just the effortless and powerful diversity made this one amazing, but it was everything that made it one of my all-time favorites.

Final Rating: ★★★★★

Overall?

Best. Novella. Ever. I will probably reread this one over and over and over again.

Would I Recommend?

YESYESYESYESYES!!!!! If you’re looking for something incredibly diverse, but also cute and entertaining, pick this one up!! (It’s also really cheap on Amazon, so there’s literally NO excuse.)

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Additional Information:

Published: January 28th, 2015

Publisher: Less Than Three Press

Page Count: 44

Genre: Contemporary/Romance

Synopsis: via Goodreads

Jalen, lover of B-grade sci-fi movies, meets the far-too-handsome P in a cafe while deciding whether or not to skip uni again. When P invites them along to a double feature of Robot Monster and Cat Women of the Moon, Jalen can hardly believe that hot boys like bad sci-fi, too. But as their relationship progresses, Jalen realizes P leaves him wondering if they’re on the same page about what dating means, and if that’s what they’re doing.