I have been looking forward to reading this book, but I have to say, I was a bit disappointed.

While I was thrilled to see a book about a character that might be bisexual (I say might because the character never chooses to give himself a label), I was saddened to see his cavalier attitude towards cheating.

If this book were about a young guy dating one girl and seeing another girl... people would be all up in arms about him cheating.

Really...what the main character is being is disrespectful.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with experimenting... but be open about it!

I really wanted to like Will. There was a lot going on in his life... things that would challenge anyone. But, the fact that he wasn't being honest with a single individual in his life made it difficult. ( )

Received ARC.
Review on Metapsychology Online. ( )

I have been looking forward to reading this book, but I have to say, I was a bit disappointed.

While I was thrilled to see a book about a character that might be bisexual (I say might because the character never chooses to give himself a label), I was saddened to see his cavalier attitude towards cheating.

If this book were about a young guy dating one girl and seeing another girl... people would be all up in arms about him cheating.

Really...what the main character is being is disrespectful.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with experimenting... but be open about it!

I really wanted to like Will. There was a lot going on in his life... things that would challenge anyone. But, the fact that he wasn't being honest with a single individual in his life made it difficult. ( )

Where to begin? Cut Both Ways is a book that I've been highly anticipating since I read the synopsis. If there's one thing that the literary world doesn't have enough of, it's books that place a spotlight on bisexuality, and how hard it must be to deal with as a teenager. Sexuality as a whole is concept that all teens deal with, whether their parents acknowledge it or not. I can only sit back and wonder what it must be like to realize that there are feelings there, for both sexes, and not knowing what to do about it. Carrie Mesrobian was brave enough to tackle this, and I really wanted to see how it all turned out.

Now, I think I need to premise this whole review with the fact that I strongly believe every reader deserves the opportunity to know what to expect before they get involved in a new story. I always appreciate authors who note trigger warnings and explicit content. Since I didn't know ahead of time that Cut Both Ways was going to be fairly explicit, I want to warn anyone else who has this on their TBR. There is a lot of sex in this story. There is sex between two males, and sex between a male and a female. It isn't always safe sex. There is no mention of the possibility of STDs, although pregnancy is mentioned. In truth, as a reader who reads all age groups of books, I would place this story more in the NA category than in YA. Some of these scenes are described in great detail.

On to characters. Will is truthfully still an enigma to me, even after finishing this book. See, our narrator doesn't actually tell his story. It's more like we're treated to an uncut stream of consciousness as it pours out of his brain. There are times where I appreciate this kind of raw story telling. It's often the best way to express real feelings. Where Will is concerned though, the problem is that he isn't only dealing with his sexuality. He's dealing with an alcoholic father. With an overbearing mother. With a step-father who treats him as though he doesn't exist. Will's thoughts became this huge, tangled mess that I had soon had problems pushing through. I wanted to feel for him. I wanted to understand him. I just couldn't find a foot hold. I felt more love for Brandy and Angus, than I did for Will. The two of them had their own problems, but they at least they had a better idea of what they were striving for.

What really pushed me away from this book though, is the way that bisexuality ultimately ended up being portrayed. I'll be the first to admit that it's easy for the teenage brain to focus on sex. It's fresh, it's new. Most of the time it's taboo. It didn't surprise me at all that Will couldn't separate his feelings for Brandy from the ones he felt for Angus. One he shouldn't want, the other he should, and yet both felt right. The big problem was that there were no actual relationships. Being with both of them, at least from the way that the story was focused, was more about casual sex. Feeling good. None of the work, all of the pleasure. If we're focusing on bisexuality, and trying to push it into the spotlight as being just as important as someone being gay, why trivialize it with casual sex? It makes being bisexual feel like just an easier way to find sex, and that's just not okay.

Apologies for the long review. I put a lot of thought into all my feelings about this book before I sat down to write this, and I'm still not sure I accurately expressed everything that I'm feeling. The bottom line is that I truly believe bisexuality is an important topic. I think it's something that teens need access to, in a way that makes them feel understood. Carrie Mesrobian has the right idea. I just really wish it would have been executed better. ( )

I was excited for this book because hey, we do need more portrayals of bisexuality in fiction, but unfortunately, the way the author chose to portray bisexuality was absolutely dismal and filled with stereotypes, and the author decides not to identify him as bisexual the entire book. I know that people want to avoid labels but this is not helpful for bisexual teens figuring out their sexuality. Mesrobian also stated, in her authors note, that she wanted to explore falling in love with a best friend and how bi teens come to the realization that they're bisexual - well, let me tell you this: you can explore both without resorting to the unfortunate stereotype of infidelity. Consent and communication would have made this book so much better; exploring a bi polyamorous relationship would have been interesting! But, no. He had to cheat.

Both relationships themselves didn't feel developed, nor did the characters in them. Through the entire book it felt like they were only in it for the sex. I don't mind that the book is explicit, but it's the utter lack of any chemistry between either Brandy and Will, or Angus and Will. It's the pregnancy subplot which lasts for all of two chapters to add drama. It's the fact that Will's implied to be cheating on both of them without a word to either for a while after the book. The ending was unsatisfying and cleared up exactly nothing. I felt like I was left hanging, like nothing was resolved, like the climax should have been fifty pages earlier. ( )