OVEREMOTIONAL: your new queer YA obsession!

Product Information

This is going to be a trilogy and my new obsession. Just trust me on this one guys, it's really good. Pitched to prospective punters as Heartstopper meets Stranger Things, Overemotional follows Stephen, a closeted teenage boy who’s dealing with several major issues in his life – he’s hiding his sexuality, he’s dealing with turbulent emotion-based powers, and he’s just kissed his first boy, resulting in the boy’s head literally detonating due to the aforementioned powers running in reverse (e.g. Stephen destroys when he feels joy, fixes when he feels sadness etc.). As a result of the latter, Stephen flees to the sleepy town of Grunsby-on-sea, pursued by his best mate Freya, herself followed by her boyfriend Marcus and their American classmate Troy, in time for the four to uncover a sinister plot brewing in the depths of the seaside town. Recently, he kissed another boy for the first time and... the boy's head literally exploded. Steven flees to the miserable town of Grunsby-on-Sea, determined not to hurt anyone else with his "Emomancy". With a best friend as determined as Freya, it is impossible to stay hidden for long though, especially when she realises Steven might be in danger after a mysterious organisation called DEMA start asking questions about him. It is a brilliant adventure, with some huge plot twists … and oh, by the way, the main character is gay! I love that this is a queer teen fiction novel, where the characters sexuality is not the main story line and there is no neon beacon over his head, forcing him to come out. This story is different, it is inclusive, funny, thrilling and (despite it being about a kid with superpowers) it’s so very real … but my goodness, it is also so refreshing to see characters from all walks of life who interact together, for no other reason, than the fact that they are all human and they like each other’s company (well most of them do!). Fleeing to the miserable town of Grunsby-on-Sea, Steven is determined to not hurt anyone else - but he doesn’t count on his best friend Freya, her boyfriend Marcus and American friend Troy following him. And when agents from the mysterious DEMA organisation show up talking about “neutralisation”, Steven realises that Grunsby-on-Sea might not be the safe haven he’d hoped for…

Overemotional by David Fenne published by Bonnier Books Overemotional by David Fenne published by Bonnier Books

Shout-out to the Enid Blyton reference, I had read so many of her books as a kid and I finally see her mentioned in a contemporary YA book! When demons take Sephie to the underworld only her sister Icari can save her and keep her dangerous secret. But she will need to summon courage and fight and act against her nature as a healer to grow wings and fly. Compelling themes of love, loyalty and peril are interwoven with Greek mythology to create a uniquely powerful story. The Girl Who Grew Wings is a stunningly realised fantasy adventure that will keep older teens gripped. This book is like "Carry On" meets "The Extraordinaries" meets "The Infinite Noise", and I am not complaining. The close-knit friendship between Freya and Steven and the setting reminded me of Carry On (since both books are set in the UK), the emotional manifestations were similar to those in The Infinite Noise, whereas the awkward/uncertain moments in Steven's life and the overall twists were a lot like The Extraordinaries. These similarities just made me want to re-read all of those books again 😭 It's most comparable to Carry On, not only in terms of that British humour (which I loved), but the fact that it's going to be a trilogy like Simon Snow, and the resemblance to its UK cover is uncanny! Everyone loves a wholesome queer romantic comedy, especially one set in the UK, but what makes this sparkling debut unique, is embedding all that in a brilliantly exciting sci-fi plot.This was an enjoyable read and definitely one I would recommend to younger teenagers. Because I was anticipating something slightly more mature in tone, it didn’t quite meet my expectations, but this is more of a fault on my part for not doing my research. Nevertheless, I think the “wholesome” marketing should definitely come with a few content warnings, especially with regards to the initial relationship (the age gap is concerning when considering the impressionable age of the target audience) and horror content. Though more characteristic of upper YA, I thought the SFF elements were really well executed and perfectly complimented by the light, humorous tone any time they started getting a bit heavy. The characters and setting are so quintessentially British (Grunsby-on-Sea is perfectly reminiscent of how I feel returning to Skegness as an adult) and made even more hilarious by the American POV who is understandably confused by it all. Even when I thought some of the five POVs felt slightly unnecessary, this book was a lot of fun and definitely a “true” YA. This book is advertised as "wholesome", and has no content warnings. Yet this book covers topics such as illegal experimentation on pregnant women, eugenics, creatures and gore fit for horror stories, kidnapping and drugging, sexual assault of a minor, and whatever else is in the part of the book I didn't read.

Overemotional (David Fenne) – Book Review – Set The Tape

That was amazing. Fantastic story with great world-building. I love the idea of magic manifesting through emotions. I was a bit skeptical at first if this concept is strong enough or it'll fizzle out halfway through the book. It didn't. The author clearly put a lot of thought into it an came up with a lot of ideas for it. This snippet of the book is amazing. I did not get bored even once, the world building around the powers is so interesting and new in some way. The format of the book is innovative too, as we have chats, dialogues through telephone, and police reports, and I’m excited to see what else could the book bring us.

Format

Hey did you hear? Steven Percival is a low-budget superhero who might kill you if he laughs too hard." There's a main thread of self acceptance which I think is perfect for the target age range. I can see this positively impacting older teens and young adults. However, there are some intense and surprising topics discussed during the latter half of the book especially and caution should be taken when reading. Where Freya goes, her boyfriend Marcus and American friend Troy soon follow. Together, they are determined to find out more about this organisation and what "neutralising" someone like Steven might mean. By chance, Steven meets a handsome stranger who claims to share his powers and who offers to teach Steven how to control them.