Spin Me Right Round by David Valdes (Review)

Thank you Bloomsbury USA Children's Books for sending me an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!

Two Second Review

★★★ ½ ☆ // 3.5 s t a r s

In the most basic sense, Spin Me Right Round is a Back to the Future inspired novel about a gay teenagers who goes back in time to both give a closeted student from the past the prom of his life and also happens to have to try and save his life.

The Book

Trigger Warnings: homophobia (and related violence), teacher-student relationship

Release Date: November 2, 2021

Publisher: Bloomsbury YA

Genre(s): YA, LGBTQIA+, Sci-Fi, Contemporary

Series?: no

Page Count: 352

Premise:

All Luis Gonzalez wants is to go to prom with his boyfriend, something his “progressive” school still doesn't allow. Not after what happened with Chaz Wilson. But that was ages ago, when Luis's parents were in high school; it would never happen today, right? He's determined to find a way to give his LGBTQ friends the respect they deserve (while also not risking his chance to be prom king, just saying…).

When a hit on the head knocks him back in time to 1985 and he meets the doomed young Chaz himself, Luis concocts a new plan-he's going to give this guy his first real kiss. Though it turns out a conservative school in the '80s isn't the safest place to be a gay kid. Especially with homophobes running the campus, including Gordo (aka Luis's estranged father). Luis is in over his head, trying not to make things worse-and hoping he makes it back to present day at all.

Review

This book was honestly a whole mood. LIke, if you're one who needs a book with a relatable character who even though is (kinda) self-centered you can't help but love because he just so happens to be thinking everything you're also thinking? This one's for you. Also, to all my contemporary lovers who want more than the high school romance, we've got time travel so, exciting! (It honestly is making me want to find a book that's completely set in the 80s [or such] with a really radical MC best friend, because how interesting would that be? Having that mindset and stuff.)

Okay, honestly everything you need to know about the summary I explained in the Two Second Review section of this post, like I honestly don't think any other information is necessary, so I'm not going to go into the details about the plot here.

We're doing a character paragraph and worldbuilding in this one, just so you're aware (I wish I could sound formal in these reviews and not like I'm literally talking, so annoying). Anyway, Luis Gonzalez (literally had to check the summary for his last name, did they ever say it in the book…? They prolly did, my memory sucks). Describe him in three words you ask? Cuban, queer, confident (there are better adjectives, say "loud" or "this dude talks too much", but it didn't vibe the same and we know I'm all about the vibe [if I was extra enough an *eye roll emoji* would be here right now]). But seriously, just about everything our boy Luis uttered was a huge mood, and a better type of MC that was traveling into the future could not be asked for. What more could you need than someone who absolutely does not fit into the 80s to be thrown into the 80s, of course.

Chaz Wilson. The gay boy in the 80s that definitely was not born is the right family as far as acceptance, and definitely was born in the wrong century (or at least place). He's super charismatic and seriously the type of guy that if he was alive now, all those jock dudes would be like "Oh, but I'd be gay for him."

Okay, one word explanation of four random characters, go. Gordo (aka Luis' homophobic dad) — barf. Maria Elena (aka Luis' mother) — magnificent. Ms Silverthorn (aka Luis' English teacher) — radical (af). Mrs. Somboon-Fox (aka Luis' principal and top-tier flower lady) — (try-hard) rebel. That's all. The struggle it was to only write one word that I really went out of my way to add parenthesis to make it look like I did *eye roll emoji again*.

Worldbuilding, whoop dee doo. Good. I liked it. That's all that needs to be said. David Valdes really captured how a school made certain changes as time went on, showed how horrible those conditions were back in time, and then showed how much more changes were possible (with a little help from Luis, obviously). I think Valdes actually showed it really well in the short time that Luis was in his previous actual time, and in the even less time that he was in his new actual time (that sounds very confusing but I don't know how to reword it, oops).

❝ And as we step out onto the lawn, the sun leaning late in the sky,

two gay boys in fabulous attire, it hits me… ❞

(Searches up "In Conclusion" synonyms…) In closing, Spin Me Right Round is the gay Back to the Future book we all didn't realize we needed, but are definitely glad we now have. So read it. Now. Well, I guess not now, but in a month!

Tropes…

— back to the future (it's like it's hardwired in our brain to say that now, but basically boy goes to the past [to save a gay])

— forbidden love (not really the way you're thinking, but it's technically an actual trope, and it's technically present in this)

— coming out (Chaz not Luis, that's already established)

Read…If You Liked…

• One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston (before starting this, this is the first book that came to mind once i read the summary, and obviously the contemporary time-travel aspect is the same, but they're actually both pretty different, but both pretty great)

• Summer of '69 by Todd Strasser (not my fav book, but it has the back in time vibe if you're craving that after this book)

• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (not totally sure why i thought of this one, but, a lot of Spin Me Right Round is a guy from the future navigating the past, and a lot of Fahrenheit 451 is about a really weird society that was written a long time ago but has super weirdly creepy futuristic things going on, so)

Watch…If You Liked…

• Back to the Future (bc duh [that's my favorite thing to say at this point])

• Space Jam (bc what's not to love)

ADD SPIN ME RIGHT ROUND TO YOUR GOODREADS SHELF

random q to drop comments <3

What's a trope you absolutely love in books?

(my fav has got to go to either childhood friends to lovers

or found family, they both hit so dif i can't even)