book review│cinnamon toast and the end of the world by janet e. cameron

Cinnamon Toast and the End of the World by Janet E. Cameron 

Hachette Books Ireland, September 2nd 2013

387 pages

ISBN-13: 9781444743975

Rating: 5/5 stars

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I just don’t know how to write this review in a way that will carry across how much I love this book. Cinnamon Toast follows seventeen year old Stephen Shulevitz at the end of the world- AKA when he realises/accepts that he’s in love with his best friend, Mark. And this is just the first chapter. What follows is a look at Stephen’s life as he graduates from high school and starts college/university, with a large part of the book centring around Stephen’s struggle with sexuality.

First off, I loved Stephen. I related to Stephen on a level I had no idea I would when I started (I struggled a bit at the start to get into it), and this meant that I felt twice as much about him as a character. His experiences and fears were something I could connect a lot too, and the projection of his fears came in the form of self harm, both external and internal- so if you’re triggered by self harm and depression, this is a lot more heavily relevant at the start of the novel. I just felt myself caring about Stephen, more than any other character in a book pretty much ever, and that really did affect my reading experience.

I loved the plot. I loved that this was so heavily centred around coming to terms with sexuality while also not being about that- a lot of this book follows Stephen in social situations and finding out about his experiences growing up. I know loads of people complain about LGBT+ books being mainly around coming to terms with sexuality, but it’s just such an important struggle for so many people, both young people and adults alike, and this is a really good book about this struggle. It shows what it’s like to be seeking safety but being constantly afraid that your safe spaces aren’t as safe as you first thought, that anyone who knows about your sexuality- or anything about you that you’ve got some internalised fear of- will just tell everyone about it.

The last part of the book once Stephen goes to uni seems very rushed but I loved that writing style. One of the big things I took away from this book is that things go quick, that big changes to your life happen because of several small events and encounters, and the last part being rushed really just shows how quick life is. Cameron’s writing is just beautiful, and made me love this book even more.

I know I haven’t said a lot about this to completely justify my five stars and my overwhelming love for this book and Stephen, but it’s really just the way Cameron wrote such a wonderful main character, a wonderfully simple yet hard hitting plot, that made me love this so much. I recommend this with all of my heart, and it’s without-a-doubt a new favourite.