Robby Weber

The Publisher Says: In this hilarious and heartfelt debut novel, an aspiring screenwriter learns sometimes love has its own script.

Harry wants nothing more than to write Hollywood screenplays. He knows the first step toward achieving that goal is winning a screenwriting competition that will seal his admission into the college of his dreams, so he’s determined to spend his summer free of distractions—also known as boys—and finish his script. After last year, Harry is certain love only show more exists in the movies anyway.

But then the cause of his first heartbreak, Grant, returns with a secret that could change everything—not to mention, there’s a new boy in town, Logan, who is so charming and sweet, he’s making Harry question everything he knows about romance. As he tries to keep his emotions in check and stick to his perfect plan for the future, Harry's about to learn that life doesn't always follow a script.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: Debut YA/NA novels don't get much easier to devour than this. The genre tends rowards the the digestible, after all; its intended consumers aren't yet very experienced readers. Nuances? Not many. Lessons? Indeed, by the carload. I suspect that having Harry, our MC, aspire to be a screenwriter evolved out of a need to distance the Lessons from the story...they slid down fairly painlessly.

The Lessons that Robby Weber taught are, thank goodness, very much ones I support and can attest are urgent for young gay guys to learn: Be present; be mindful of others' presence and feelings; be flexible to get ahead of your failures, which are inevitable; embarrassment is not fatal; secrets are only toxic while you keep them. Respecting his audience by making the Lessons part of the stakes of the book was a good idea.

The most deeply affecting parts of the read are, as expected, the moments we're with Harry. The structure of the chapter/script excerpt/chapter again is not greatly to my taste. It works well enough, I just found it less than smooth because it was repeated so often.

That, however, is a rising-seventy-year-old speaking. It will, I expect, feel very different to one decades younger and a trillion trees farther behind in pages consumed. The point of my reading a book like this is, for my own sake, one of celebration. The fact that this queer-boy romantic comedy exists, and came from a major publishing house (albeit from a now-shuttered imprint), and that it's very clearly meant to make a positive self-image impact on its readers, is a joy.

This is what the book-banners and reactionaries can not allow. The way to see yourself in any kind of a future is for that to be available in your cultural orbit. Libraries and bookstores, in that they serve the public, will always have to have battles about books like this one. The idea that someone they dislike is being nurtured and supported for being their honest, authentic self is intolerable to these kinds of hatebags. So, of course, being deeply intolerant of intolerance aimed at people like me, I say: go forth and buy copies of this and similar books to donate to your local library.

And, not coincidentally, support a young gay author as he starts his writing career. Your consumer dollars can never be better spent. show less

This is a perfect summer book! It's the kind of book I would take to the beach, and read while enjoying the sun! This is a Young Adult/ New Adult rom-com with some cute characters and charming moments. I would give the disclaimer that I'm not a teen and I still really enjoyed this. I'm not one of those people who think that YA is just for teens!

Harry is facing down an important summer. He's got a job, he's getting over a breakup with a boyfriend who didn't even tell him he was leaving town show more and there's a deadline for a screenwriting scholarship looming.

There are three young guys in Harry's life. Grant, the ex who broke Harry's heart has reappeared, still adorable and charming, and still with a father who has connections in Hollywood. A new guy named Logan is playful and sweet and definitely catches Harry's eye. Foster is also on the sidelines, a laid-back surfer dude that Harry once hooked up with and now seems to be showing there is more to him than meets the eye.

What I liked most about this story was that it sank me back into my summer memories. Summer is different than any other time of year when you're young. It's full of promise, tricky decisions, spur of the moment choices. It's packed with first kisses, lingering crushes, learning what truths to tell, losing people and meeting new people. All of that is in this book, and I enjoyed it.

I loved how the author really fleshed out the relationships in this book. Harry is working out a lot of things and I really found his brain entertaining. Sometimes life isn't straightforward and we make mistakes before we really see them coming. No one in this story is perfect and I liked that.

Definitely would recommend it to fans of Robbie Couch, Phil Stamper, and Brian Zepka. show less

All the classic romcom references were a lot of fun, and the main characters were, too. I liked that no one in the story was a "bad guy", including the ex, and the characters in the love triangle were well fleshed out—however very few of the characters beyond these 3 were, the worst being the best friend, who I felt had little to her beyond jumping in every once in a while to yell at Harry and make him have various crises of confidence.

I have received an Advance Reader's Copy of this book through a giveaway hosted by the publisher. This has not affected my rating or review in any way.

I Like Me Better by Robby Weber is a sweet contemporary romance between two high-school boys- Zack, a soccer player and Chip, a seaside conservationist. It has elements of comedy and enemies-to-lovers (one of my favorite tropes of all time) as well as discussions on environmental and sealife conservation.

I liked Weber’s writing style, and show more the characters were well-developed, entertaining, and enjoyable. I particularly liked Zack, I found him to be a great main protagonist. I also liked Zack’s love interest Chip and his friend Meyers.

The plot of the novel was very well balanced with the romance- a problem I typically have with contemporaries. If you know me at all, you probably know that I’m not the biggest fan of contemporaries as I find them having an imbalance between the romance and the actual plot of the novel, or even lacking plot entirely. However, this was one of those contemporaries where I did not have this problem! I was also really happy about all of the Taylor Swift and marvel references. This was a great mellow, summery novel.

I Like Me Better is a short, fast-paced contemporary romance I highly recommend this to fans of the Heartstopper novels by Alice Oseman! show less