Love & Other Curses by Michael Thomas Ford
Review by Lauren
Source: ARC from ALA Midwinter
Official Summary (add to Goodreads): The Weyward family has been haunted by a curse for generations—if a Weyward falls in love before their seventeenth birthday, the person they love dies. Sam doesn’t plan to fall for anyone in the nine weeks before his birthday. He’ll spend his time working at the Eezy-Freeze with his dad; cooking up some midsummer magic with his grandmother, great-grandmother, and great-great-grandmother (the Grands); and experimenting with drag with the help of the queens at the Shangri-La, the local gay club. But when a new guy comes to town, Sam finds himself in trouble when they strike up a friendship that might be way more than that.
As Sam’s birthday approaches and he still hasn’t quite fallen in love, the curse seems to get more powerful and less specific about who it targets. A mysterious girl Sam talks to on the phone late at night and a woman he’s only seen in a dream might have the answers he’s been looking for—but time is running out to save the people he cares about.
Review: Love & Other Curses was a really enjoyable coming-of-age YA novel. It’s also full of magic, drag queens, and quirky family members. Sam’s family has been cursed for many years – if they fall in love before their 17th birthday, the person they fall in love with will die. It’s happened to all his grandmothers – and possibly his father, though they aren’t sure if Sam’s mom is alive or not.
Love & Other Curses by Michael Thomas Ford - YA LGBT+ book review #bookbloggers Share on XIt’s not mentioned in the summary, but I don’t think it’s much of a spoiler to say that the person Sam ends up crushing on is trans. Tom Swift was born in a girl’s body but identifies as a boy. While Sam starts to really like Tom, his new friend is definitely straight, and it causes some friction between the two. I thought Sam’s reactions and thoughts when it came to Tom made sense. You aren’t always going to love the things that Sam does or says – or even the things that Tom does or says – but it felt like two teenagers just trying to figure themselves out in a lot of ways.
I’m not sure what genre you would classify this book as; it reads like a contemporary in many ways, but there is definitely some sort of magic going on and it reveals itself even more near the end of the book. I really loved this aspect of the book – and the second half of the book definitely left me a bit shocked (in a good way)! Also, I would be remiss in not talking about the drag queens who have kind of taken Sam under their wing. These women are phenomenal and they open up the world of drag for Sam so that he can be someone else sometimes; someone more free and fabulous.
Love & Other Curses is full of emotion: joy, sadness, anger, regret. I hope you feel them all right alongside Sam.
Glad to hear the unexpected magic aspect was pleasing, and the story was filled with emotion! I love it when a book makes me feel! 🙂
An interesting topic there and the cover is so much fun!
This sounds pretty interesting and I’m definitely intrigued that there’s magic. Great review!
This sounds *so* good! And magic to boot? Oh yes please!
I am happy you enjoyed this, because it is one on my wishlist. Sounds like something I will really enjoy.
You had me at quirky! I love these type of reads, they are just downright fun!
This sounds amazing! What a fun concept with great representation – I love the direction YA books are taking!
I haven’t heard of this book, but it sounds really good!
Wow. Sounds like an interesting story with a lot going on!
This sounds like a good read for sure. Something different than a lot of the other stuff out there! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Great review. I have seen it around but hadn’t really looked into this one. I’m going to add this to my TBR because anything with drag queens is for me!
Well this sounds fun and I like that it is something different in the YA genre. Glad you enjoyed it.
I’m not usually a fan of magical realism but I admit this one has picqued my interest! Glad you enjoyed it!
Oh I do love quirky characters and coupled with what sounds like a good story (to say nothing of an eye catching cover) this definitely appeals to me
Glad to hear this one was good. It’s on my list to order for my school library next year. I’ll make sure to bump it up! Great review!
This sounds good! I love the premise, but it’s high time to break that curse??!! I will have to read to find out 🙂
Wow this sounds kind of different and interesting! The premise has my interest for sure!
Yay for magic and quirky characters. The cover is adorable!
I love the cover art for this book! It’s so interesting and definitely grabs attention.
This sounds fun and really sweet!
Oh I haven’t heard a whole lot about this book before, but it sounds like the kind of read I’d enjoy! Thank you so much for sharing your review! 😀
I haven’t heard about this one before but it sounds quite quirky and cute. I like the fact that the love interest is a trans guy! I never quite know how to classify books that are mostly contemporary but wish a dash of magic. I feel like there needs to be another term like magical realism (which is reserved for stories by authors of colour) that can apply to stories like these… Glad you liked this one, Lauren!