Summary: Courtney “Coop” Cooper finds himself single once again. And still in love with his best friend, Jupiter Sanchez, who keeps ignoring him to text some girl. Rae Evelyn Chin, the “new girl”, feels right where she belongs with Jupiter and Courtney, with a crush for both of them. Jupiter Charity-Sanchez discovers that the only thing worse than losing the girl you love is losing her to your boy. It’s time for Jup to do something right?

My Rating: 4/5 Stars

My Thoughts:

Nic Stone’s latest release, Odd One Out, follows the perspectives of three teens and best friends, Courtney, Jupiter and Rae. Much like Nic Stone’s Dear Martin, the book features multiple diverse characters.

Like most YA characters, Courtney, Rae, and Jupiter are trying to figure out life. However, what I think makes Odd One Out a standout when it comes to diverse YA stories is its exploration of sexuality, especially in regards to Rae and Jupiter. Jupiter and Rae explore who they are, discovering that labels maybe don’t have all the answers. Aside from sexuality, some of the characters, specifically Rae and Courtney, work through their past and relationships with loss and grief.

If I had to choose, my favorite perspective would be Courtney because he was just so sweet and a really great friend. Plus how many guys do you know who love playing basketball and cheerleading? I found his perspective and story to be the most heart-breaking and heart-warming, I also liked seeing his character development from Rae and Jupiter’s perspectives. I lovveeeed Courtney’s best friends, Golly and Britian, who have some great jokes and maybe or maybe not see some things our three MCs aren’t.

One of the very few things I wasn’t so in love with when it comes to Odd One Out relates to some of the decisions our characters make. While most of them had good intentions, I wasn’t a huge fan of the initial reasoning behind Jupiter’s “move”. It seemed really selfish to me, but looking back, it did help get one of the relationships moving.

Overall, readers will fly through Odd One Out for it’s fantastic characters and unput-downable story. Readers looking for books that explore sexuality will absolutely love this one. I’m looking forward to Nic Stone’s recently announced MG in 2019.

Is Odd One Out on your TBR? Have you read Dear Martin? Share in the comments!