Who's ready a book that has some great representation for disabled teenagers? We all are.



Lights, camera—all Maeve needs is action. But at eighteen, a rare form of muscular dystrophy usually stands in the way of romance. She's got her friends, her humor, and a passion for filmmaking to keep her focus off consistent rejection...and the hot older guy starring in her senior film project.

Tall, bearded, and always swaying, Cole Stone is everything Maeve can't be. And she likes it. Between takes, their chemistry is shockingly electric.

Suddenly Maeve gets a taste of typical teenage dating life, but girls in wheelchairs don’t get the hot guy—right? Cole’s attention challenges everything she once believed about her self-image and hopes for love. But figuring this out, both emotionally and physically, won't be easy for either of them. Maeve must choose between what she needs and what she wants, while Cole has a tendency to avoid decisions altogether. And her failing lungs might not wait for either.

 


This Is Not a Love Scene was one of my most anticipated reads of 2019. Fortunately for readers who are looking for some thought provoking spring-summer reads that feature disabled representation, This Is Not a Love Scene is here to lead you int the right direction. Of course, with many of the plots in this novel being what they are, there are a few trigger warnings that come with it.

Including talk of suicide and self harm. So, as always, proceed with caution if these topics are at all triggering to you. This Is Not a Love Scene has other triggering topics that are featured to a degree and I definitely recommend looking into what those topics are before reading.

That being said, Megale's prose impressed me. It was very easy to read; packed with questions and emotions and a main character who acted exactly like a teenager should. Maeve is truly the type of character that is necessary for YA. She's full of life and all the complexities of it. Further, she is a thoughtful one--questioning not just feelings for boys (there are two) and other coming of age elements, but her disease and the probable shortness of her life.

I think that Megale has a pretty good balancing act when it comes to the heavy topics and the more basic ones. This should be applauded. Maeve, and her development, are what makes this novel all that it is. This Is Not a Love Scene wouldn't be half as strong without a character like Maeve.

There's a lot to be said about the novel and what it will mean to some in terms of representation. This makes it all the more appealing to readers. This is the first book that I've read that tackles muscular dystrophy and I hope it's not the last.

For me, there were a lot of things that I enjoyed about This Is Not a Love Scene and there were a lot of things that I didn't. The good outweigh the lesser points and I think that is the most important thing I can give you when you walk away from this review. It is a novel that will have varying opinions on but its importance is still very much so necessary and worth noting.

Flawed, but still quite enjoyable. Definitely something that readers should give a chance.