Introduction:
This literary critique is on "You're A Mean One, Matthew Prince," an M/M enemies-to-lovers trope. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, and it was definitely an easy, quick read for those who are looking to get out of a reading slump. In this review, we will be discussing the book's plot, themes, characters, and our concluding thoughts.
Unraveling the Plot:
"You're A Mean One, Matthew Prince" is a a tale of gay romance novel narrated from the perspective of Matthew Prince, the protagonist. Matthew Prince is a young NYC socialite with two famous and very wealthy parents who are married to their careers, allowing them to create a dynasty for themselves. Similar to other trust fund children, Matthew can be categorized into a few boxes where he lacks the value of money, is self-centered, and suffers from severe anxiety.
Due to one of his shenanigans, he was exiled to his grandparents' place in hopes to "grow up" and have a sense of responsibility. While he is there, Matthew meets one of his grandfather's students, Hector, who needed a place to stay. The story focuses heavily on how Matthew and Hector learn to coexist in a small room with a bunk bed. This leads to Matthew's growth as a person and learning about self-worth.
Important Themes and Messages:
This book touches on few key themes that are very important in our current society.
- Concept of Acceptance - Acceptance is a gray area for most queer people as we always fear that we won't be accepted by the people we love. Wind River is a small town, but everyone is very characterized by its embracement of diverse identities. This typically isn't the case in real life as most small towns in the middle of nowhere tend to be conservative.
- Visibility in Mental Health - Matthew goes on to discuss his struggles with anxiety and how it impacts largely on how he behaves. The novel also shows how the protagonist uses his struggles to help that community succeed. I thought this was super important as someone who struggles with mental disorders; seeing how one isn't afraid to talk about it. If we don't talk about it, then we can't fix the perception.
- Impact of Lies & Deception - The plot goes into the domino effects of a few characters' lies to each other.
- Friendship - It was very wholesome as all the characters his age from Wind River (not in the beginning due to his mother) treated him like he's already their friend. The book goes on to show the stark difference of a surface vs. true friends.
Conclusion & My Thoughts:
It's a cute book for anyone who wants a wholesome love story between two men from completely different worlds. The plot is very easily predicted from the start as it very much resembles the TV show, Schitt's Creek. This would have been a solid 4-star book if it wasn't for the first 25% of the book. I was not a fan of how the author took almost 70 pages to describe his annoying personality. The characters tethered a little close to POC stereotypes, which made me question the book a bit too. However, once Hector and Matthew's romance truly developed, this is when the book truly shined. Their relationship is very wholesome and is captured from the perspective of an over-thinker, like me.
If you want to read more books like this, check out my Goodreads for books I've read. Or for recommendation, please check out the TBRs.
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