“You never have to prove yourself to anyone who doesn’t accept you for who you are.”
Couch’s debut follows 17-year-old Sky Baker, who may be openly gay in his small town but still is oppressed by the people in it. Kicked out by his mother on Christmas, he’s living at his best friend Bree’s house. But, instead of letting the circumstances ruin his senior year, Sky decides to make an epic splash: he’s going to pull off the gayest promposal in history and ask his cuter-than-cute crush Ali. All he has to do is come up with the perfect plan – in less than thirty days. When his secret promposal plans get leaked to the entire school, Sky’s friends and classmates band together to find the culprit. As his personal vendetta turns into a viral school trend and a hashtag, Sky’s hard-won visibility won’t be the only thing he’ll be getting once his promposal countdown runs out…
Couch manages to strike a good balance between heavy topics and fun moments in this debut. Sky comes with a lot of baggage as he’s been kicked out by his mother, has a strenuous relationship with his brother, retains a big burn scar from an accident, and has adjusted his mannerisms to not be ‘too gay’ at school, e.g. not flaring his hips while walking. Not to mention the blatant homophobic treatment he has to endure at school from bullies. Nevertheless, Sky is an excitable, genuinely goofy and caring character that readers will deeply relate to. Throughout the book, I was rooting for him and invested in what would happen to him next. I also loved to see how he began his promposal ideas because he wanted to live life out and proud, to leave something of a legacy behind before escaping from his small home town but ended up in a much better place emotionally and mentally.
Let’s talk about the extended cast of characters for a moment because they deserve the spotlight. From Sky’s difficult relationship with his best friend Marshall (around whom he thinks he can’t act ‘too gay’ lest he won’t want to be friends anymore) to his soul-mate relationship with his best friend Bree (whose family deserves all the awards for inclusiveness and being a support system for Sky), I really just loved the dynamics of them on their own but also together. The secondary characters that appeared quite a few times like Dan, Teddy and Ali were really dynamic and I loved the casual diverse and queer rep and the reminder that just because you’re part of the LGBT+ community doesn’t mean you won’t sometimes get pronouns or sexual orientations right. But like Sky does in the book, the best way is to apologise and then move on, vowing to do better – we’re all human, after all, and mistakes are normal.
Also, hats off to all the characters that were connected to Sky’s late dad. I really enjoyed how all the different plot strings were brought together. There are hints at something bigger happening and the foreshadowing to those people’s connection to Sky was well done. I loved that ‘aha’ moment I had just before everything was revealed because it was quite clever.
I have to admit that even though I could tell who was going to be the love interest, I would have wished for more fleshing out of that process since Sky pretty much skips all emotional reactions and just goes from being head over heels in love with Ali to fixating on this new love interest, without much explanation beyond suddenly feeling butterflies. It came off as a sort of insta-love-coping-mechanism, so I wasn’t entirely on board. However, I still immensely enjoyed the love interest and really loved his frequent appearances and his genuine connection with Sky.
The only (small) complaint that I have is that there were a few missed opportunities when it came to character growth for Sky. Scenes that could have potentially shown another side of him or make the reader relate more, for example during a beach scene with his friends where Sky is about to reveal a burn scar to them, were skipped and relayed afterwards, somewhat taking out the immediacy of the situation. Still, the plot was very well paced and I understand why the story ended where it did.
All in all, this was a pleasant surprise. I’m always excited about new authors and Robbie Couch knows how to write snappy sentences and keep readers engaged without dragging scenes on. Taking on a plethora of topics from body dysmorphia to mental health and being queer in a town that doesn’t like anything straying from the norm, Couch delivers a nicely done story of loss and longing, and finding your way through it all, as long as you have your friends by your side.
With an endearing, relatable protagonist and a school-wide investigation that would make Veronica Mars proud, The Sky Blues is a promising debut, perfect for fans of Date Me, Bryson Keller and What If It’s Us.
The Sky Blues is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of April 6th 2021.
Will you be picking up The Sky Blues? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
Sky’s small town turns absolutely claustrophobic when his secret promposal plans get leaked to the entire school in this witty, heartfelt, and ultimately hopeful debut novel for fans of What if it’s Us? and I Wish You All the Best.
Sky Baker may be openly gay, but in his small, insular town, making sure he was invisible has always been easier than being himself. Determined not to let anything ruin his senior year, Sky decides to make a splash at his high school’s annual beach bum party by asking his crush, Ali, to prom—and he has thirty days to do it.
What better way to start living loud and proud than by pulling off the gayest promposal Rock Ledge, Michigan, has ever seen?
Then, Sky’s plans are leaked by an anonymous hacker in a deeply homophobic e-blast that quickly goes viral. He’s fully prepared to drop out and skip town altogether—until his classmates give him a reason to fight back by turning his thirty-day promposal countdown into a school-wide hunt to expose the e-blast perpetrator.
But what happens at the end of the thirty days? Will Sky get to keep his hard-won visibility? Or will his small-town blues stop him from being his true self?
