The Writing Style…
Callum McSwiggan’s writing style is definitely easy to fall into and follow and also is quite addictive, his writing style is also pretty descriptive and he is able to paint a vivid picture through his writing.
The Plot…
The story has a unique premise to begin with and I am happy to report that it delivered pretty well!
We start the story meeting our main character Max and his closets friends in the real version of the world and we see how everything is for him in the real version of his reality.
The shift to the alternate dimension was not well explained but when we get there we are as confused and as lost as the main character and everything he experiences there is as new to him as it to us.
The take home message of this story is very similar to that of The Midnight Library by Matt Haig, however instead of focusing on a thousand different alternate realities, this book focuses on one and through that it paints a very vivid picture of how sometime people take things for granted and how the current versions of our lives is perfect for us and we need to make most of it!
This for the most part heavily a character focused book and the most of the plot points are majorly focused on making Max come to the right realizations.
This book did what did and delivered what it wanted to very well, it was fast paced and overall a great read.
The Characters…
Max, he is the MC of the story and he starts of the book as a pre arrogant kid who is kinda lost in life, his character arc and his journey is very well portrayed by the author and it was wonderful seeing him not only grow as a person but also learn to appreciate the little things in life.
I do not wanna speak about the other characters here as I do not wanna give away anything but overall I will say this, all the characters are very well written, they pour out of the pages and you feel like you are with them through the course of the story!
There are some characters I definitely wish we had more time with but I definitely did end up loving nearly every character we interacted with through the course of the book!
Overall…
This was a well written book which delivered a powerful message about self-love and acceptance with vivid characters and was a very quick and easy read.
I would recommend this to…
Everyone! This definitely is a book that I think everyone can take some message home from

Another book I didn’t really know what to expect. Opening the first few pages on my kindle and I knew I was going to love it. It instantly it gave me Boy Queen by George Lester and Heartstopper vibes.

Max is loud and proud at school, he has a massive crush on an Oliver Cheng in the football squad but he isn’t brave enough to ask him. He has the best group of people around him and being surrounded by his talented friends Dean and Alicia he takes it for granted. He shines with pride but he’s lost himself along the way and he wants everything to be there for him on a silver platter. He wishes he could have a normal straight life, like they have it easy romantically. His wish comes true in more ways than one when the next day he wakes up in an alternate universe a girlfriend and no best friend. Now his feelings are more mixed than ever, but first to find his way back he embarks of a journey of self-discovery.

I loved every part of this book. It sort of reminded me of a queer Christmas Carol instead of ghosts we had an alternate universe and Cinderella, Max was waiting for the glass slipper to fit. Most of all I loved ALL of the characters, they each brought something to the book, they each formed Max’s personality. I loved Alicia, arty people together. Dean is just hilariously fabulous in every way, he has the most infectious persona that you can’t help but smile. Even to Mrs A the drama teacher that sows the seed to where Max’s journey should start. Oh and there was a librarian called Imraan too. Us librarians stick together.

Calum McSwiggan has a brilliant way of writing that I adore. He really captures the struggles of being a teenager whether that’s finding out who you are, relationships and or the pressure of your future. This is perfect for my students and I would highly recommend this as a librarian/reader. Straight Expectations is a vibrant, comedic, exploration of finding your identity, finding who you are and where you fit in. Read this book with Pride as I did. It’s a loveable book from start to the beginning.

My little contribution to the cause. maybe they’ll find their way into the hand of the rich kid and help a little, but even if not at least they make the library a bit more colourful. – Imraan, Librarian: Straight Expectations
Thank you to Penguin Platform and The Write Reads for sending me a copy in exchange for a review.

I’m not a huge contemporary ya romance reader but I will always make an exception for an LGBTQIA+ novel. 

We meet a lot of characters in this story which I really liked. I loved each and every one of them for different reasons. This is a YA novel so I did find Max to be a bit annoying and whiny at times but that’s a given due to the age range of this book. Dead was a star and I adored him so much. He was fabulous, funny, an amazing friend and not afraid to be himself. I loved all the characters we meet, most LGBTQIIA+ but also a few allies the community which was amazing to see. There is one character that I wish got what was coming to him due to the way he treated those in the LGBT community but it also makes a lot of sense and is very realistic. Unfortunately many people have to go through this treatment just because they are different and most of the time nothing is done in those situations. 

As we move through this story things become very tense. He wakes up and all of a sudden he is straight, his best friend is missing and he has no idea what has happened. I was tense reading this as he made some dumb decisions and kept screwing things up. 

The writing was good. Right away I got pulled into the story. It is very engaging and I loved the humour in the dialogue and also in the inner thoughts of Max.  

I really enjoyed the plot of this novel. As I said previously I’m not the biggest ya contemporary romance reader but the little bit of a sci-fi twist had me hooked. I love the discussions that also took place in this book. Max’s friends are people of colour and Max is white so I appreciate his friends pulling him up on his privilege as being a white gay man. Yes he is still discriminated against for being gay but he has the privilege of being white. 

The synopsis of this novel really intrigued me and I needed to know what the heck happened and how Max is going to fix all of this. 

Max is a teenage boy and some of the decisions he makes are really dumb which annoyed me as we moved through this story but again he is a teenager and a lot of the time they don’t think clearly so I have to give it to the author for portraying a teen very well. 

I had a fun time reading this book. I’d highly recommend it to an older teen audience as it would give them insight into the LGBTQIA+ community.

Eighteen year old Max is one of the few openly gay kids at his school, there’s him, his best friend Dean and his crush Oliver. When he finally plucks up the courage to ask Oliver out and gets no response, it gets to him. He begins to wish he was “normal”, that he didn’t miss out on experiences like other teenagers because of his sexuality and he takes his frustration out on his closest friends claiming he wish he’d never been their friend. However, sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for because when he wakes up the next day with a girlfriend and no Dean, he finds himself navigating a parallel reality he never wanted too.

I liked the Freaky Friday esque energy of this book, it was easy to follow along with and I really enjoyed watching Max come to the realisation that what we expect certain situations to be is not always the reality. Max throughout this book does grow a lot. At the start I couldn’t really warm to him but as the story continued and we got to see him realise what he actually valued, I definitely grew to enjoy his character. Like a lot of YA books, the side characters definitely made the book more worthwhile.

Oliver was perhaps one of the more interesting characters in this book. While we got to know him a fair amount, I would’ve loved a bit more time spent with him and Max getting to know one another before the reality shift happens. Dean and Alicia also are true friends because I don’t know if I would’ve been so forgiving of Max’s temper if I was them 😂

Overall, I really enjoyed this read. It’s been a while since I’ve read a YA book and enjoyed it this much so I’d definitely recommend it to fans of the genre ☀️

This is a fun, charming young adult book that has a strong characters and a sweet romance. I was rooting for it to happen.

I also really enjoyed how it highlighted how important friendship is, especially queer friendships and found family. It's vital to queer people and this book shows it.

It will never fail to amaze me seeing queerness celebrated like it is in Straight Expectations.

This book is a celebration. A celebration of queerness. A celebration of camp. A celebration. of being who you are. A celebration of friendship. I'm so glad teenagers have books like this today.

This was a fun read with an interesting concept. I have never read a book with the freaky Friday trope but really enjoyed it! I grew to love Max as the book went on. I found it an interesting vehicle to explore white gay privilege. Callum’s writing style was very readable and the side characters were well developed. This was a fun read and makes you think about the impact of our decisions.

Straight Expectations has a great premise that had me hooked. I mean, Freaky Friday-esq but from gay to straight? Bound to have both funny and profound moments.

There were moments that had me smiling; I liked how the cute romance played out, particularly that rooftop date! Oliver was also the character I liked most besides the librarian Imraan, because of how nice and genuine Oliver was. Towards the end, there's most of the genuinely funny and cute moments. However, most of the story was a little too lacklustre for my taste.

The author clearly aimed for a profound look at identity, privilege, and such themes but the execution failed to deliver. I felt that the structure of the story and writing style made it difficult to establish likable characters, particularly Max the main character, before the change happened. Honestly, most of the characters felt too stereotypical and it hindered the exploration of the themes. Also, the setting felt very generic. The story takes place in a town in England but other than few British words it felt like it could almost be describing an American town. I guess I had hoped for something similar to Alice Oseman, who's brilliant at creating the right atmosphere.

I think many will love this. It is a YA romcom that has a great premise and many will undoubtedly love the cast of characters.

Would recommend this to fans of Simon James Green and George Lester!

This was such a fun read! It's super hot today, and I wanted a light book to read in one sitting, and this perfectly delivered.

I've talked about this before, but I have a soft spot for books about time travel and parallel universes and things like that. Most authors go with the Groundhog Day trope, which is very fun, but this was a refreshing alternative! This would make for a super fun YA romcom movie.

I like how this book discusses a lot of things about privilege and community in a really lighthearted and accessible way. I was a little hesitant about changing a character from gay to straight, but I thought this was done well and with a lot of care.

Even though I loved the movies Freaky Friday and 13 Going on 30, I found this book that sounded like a promising and fresh blending/reinterpretation of said movies to instead fall a little flat.

I can certainly see what the author was aiming for with this novel, and it did have a strong foundation of ideas with some moments that genuinely did make me smile (the rooftop date, the school production, most moments with Dean), I just feel the execution landed a little lacklustre.

The characters fell a little too deeply into stereotypes, and while there was a strong narrative of Max having white privilege, I expected a lot more to come out of his journey that leaned towards that, but instead we got a couple of sentences. I'm also still struggling to see how Max really showed any deeper development than that of deciding something that was already pretty obvious to begin with.

It could just be a me thing as I can absolutely see others loving this book, but I was personally left feeling a little underwhelmed on this occasion.

A fun YA romance where the mc is constantly called out for his gay white privilege and yet he doesn't seem to notice until its not there. It makes him realise what he does have and what he can do to help everyone else. Really interesting book.

What a debut! This was funny, made me think and had a tenderness to it. I wanted to hug the characters. The cover is adorable.

This coming of age book is a rollercoaster of emotion. We say things we don't mean when angry and wish for something we never wanted.

But sometimes when such a wish comes true, we realise how wrong we were from the very start and this is what happens with Max. His argument with his best friend Dean resulted in his wish to "blend in" come true.

I love the friendship shown here. Dean and Max are so cute. The casting and writing was brilliant. It shows what defines and makes us.

It is not always romance that is important but other things too and amidst everything the support we have of friends, family and people who are part of our journey. This is perfect for teens finding out their place in the world, exploring and identifying themselves.

These can happen only when you have a strong support system otherwise people don't dream, they try to adjust and let go of their passion and wants, It gets toxic and ultimately dims out a person.

The author has amazingly portrayed these in Max's journey and I enjoyed every bit of reading it. I highly recommend this for everyone even though you aren't a teen as it would help you resonate and share with others.

This is a sweet YA romcom-fantasy, very in line with the likes of Freaky Friday and Big. A gay teen wishes himself straight and gets what he asks for, and in the process learns more about his relationships, sexuality and himself. There's a cast of likeable characters and McSwiggan grounds the magic in real emotions and relatable scenarios.

This book just wasnt for me to be honest, I didnt really like the writing and I found all of the characters so god damn annoying so yeah just not for me but I hope others get more out of it

I have had a run of books that have been fairly heavy on emotional turmoil recently, and Straight Expectations was just the book I needed to lighten the mood and get me smiling again. It is warm, and funny, and utterly charming. I love a good body swap comedy film – Big, Freaky Friday, 17 Again, 13 Going on 30, Vice Versa, I have seen them all, and I say with absolute confidence that Straight Expectations would make a brilliant addition to this list! As I was reading, I could just picture Max and co in all their glory on the big screen.

McSwiggan’s characters are relatable in so many different ways, and while some of Max’s behaviours could come off as him being spoiled (and maybe he is a little), to my mind it was more a case of him just being in a really scary place in life where his friends all have big plans and he has no idea what comes next for him, or where his place in the world is.

While Straight Expectations inevitably tackles the subjects of homophobia, racism, and bullying, the standout topics for me were about learning to be comfortable in your own skin, and the power of true friendship, and in this regard it feels like a really empowering book. It has its emotional moments, and there was one particular part that moved me to tears, but overall it just feels like a celebration in book form.

This book is so hecking cute and fun to read. I was wishing the work day away so much just so I could get home to read more. Apart from a bit of a slow start, I ended up falling head over heels in love with Max’s story. I was thinking about it every minute of the day and I just love that feeling you get when a book is all you can think about, and I really did get that feeling with Straight Expectations.

Max is such a fun and lovable character along with his other friends we meet throughout. He goes through a thought-provoking yet heart-warming journey of self-discovery, friendship, and identity that I just loved. It is so entertaining and definitely touching to be put in Max’s shoes of a gay high school student who suddenly wakes up straight one morning. Max and Dean’s friendship was probably one of my favourite things. They have such a good bond and the two of them always had me laughing.

Overall, Straight Expectations is such a cute and fun book, with an incredible diverse mix of characters and a wholesome story about self-love, self-identity and friendship. It is such an easy read and definitely not one to miss

I really enjoyed the BIG vibes of this, wishing for something that you don’t really want, just because you think it will be easier and the lesson you learn in be careful what you wish for, Max is gay and when he wakes up straight, it’s not the only thing that has changed in his world. I liked the fact Max doesn’t change who he is, but rather how he perceives the world. No spoilers to what happens but if you love BIG/Freaky Friday type themes you’ll love this

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Straight Expectations is a really fun and sometimes funny YA contemporary about Max who wishes to be straight after a fight with his best friend Dean. Well… I was always warned as a child to be careful what you wish for because you don’t know how it will come true, and Max certainly gets a dose of that reality in this book! Max himself is a quirky, over the top main character who grabs your attention and holds it from the very first page. He’s definitely the kind of character that wants his name up in neon lights. I was kind of endeared to him from the start (even though at time he can be a little bit irritating).

Dean and Max’s friendship is the bed rock of this story and what, for me, drove a lot of my enjoyment. I loved their relationship in the first few chapters. It felt authentic and realistic and made me laugh more than once. For me, although this is marketed as a YA romance, the strongest part of this book was the friendships throughout the story. This idea of friendship doesn’t just include Max and Dean, but a whole cast of interesting and individual characters that each have their own identities and quirks and bounce off each other in a really enjoyable way.

There were some times that I found myself sighing as there are a few elements of this story that come across as quite cliché and stereotypical, especially in the way that Max thinks about the people around him. I wish the story felt deeper than it is and explored some of the themes that it hints at a bit more in the story. However, I thought this was a super fun easy read that looks at the importance of self-identity and being yourself. If you love YA contemporary romances (with a Freaky Friday twist) I’m sure you’ll love this book!

What an absolutely delightful read! A wonderful exploration into sexuality and its stereotypes. It was packed with an absolutely fantastic cast of characters.

I love a sweet love story and this delivered just that. Max is absolutely magnificent and Dean! Don’t even get me started on Dean, I absolutely adore him! The cast of characters were varied and felt filled out in their own ways and I think this was done particularly well. I also really loved the parents and their relationships with their children and their friends. I love happy and sweet queer stories and I am beyond thrilled that more and more are being published.

One particular quote really struck my heartstrings: “Committing to someone? Making the decision to put the work in? That is romantic. You’ve just gotta ask yourself whether you love the person enough to do it.”

Overall this book was so fun but also though provoking and I would recommend it for sure.

Thank you for a copy of the debut novel in exchange for an honest review.

“Shirtless Zac Efron, is there too, but now it’s like I barely even notice him. Can you imagine? Looking at Zac Efton and not being turned on?!”

Freaky Friday with a twist. What happens when Max, an openly proud gay boy, has an argument with his friend Dean and wishes he had never been born gay. Sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for. The next morning Max woke up finding it had come true. Not only has he woken straight, he has also lost his best friend Dean. What does Max have to do to fix everything and rediscover himself?

A fun and fast paced book which I struggled to put down! Calum's debut novel is such a delight to read. I really enjoyed each character, the things Max has to go through in the alternate world really made him grow as a person but I think my favourite character was Dean! He is fabulous. I did also have a soft spot for Mrs A! Everyone needs a teacher like her in school.

Filled with romance, friendship and finding yourself, I loved going on Max’s adventure with him. Making me laugh out loud!

4 STARS

Sometimes a book comes along at just the right time for you to read it and I was hoping for something fun but unpredictable and that is exactly what I got with Straight Expectations. I was really intrigued after reading the premise and was looking forward to seeing how the author approached the switch, whilst it could have taken a purely comedic route I was hoping for something that really explored how Max would handle this massive change, thankfully it had the right balance of funny and serious moments.

Max was a very relatable character, I remember being a bit lost with what I wanted to do after high school and all the obsessing over crushes. He seems very sure of himself one minute and then a bit more vulnerable the next and whilst he had his very selfish and slightly out-of-order moments I liked that he was a well-rounded character, he had flaws but that gave him the chance to grow throughout the book.

I loved Dean and Alicia, they were both so sure of what they wanted at the start of the book and it was good to see how the changes in Max’s life affected theirs too, it definitely highlighted how amazing it is to have a stable and supportive friendship group at that age. I also love the Queer community that Max and Dean have helped to build at the school and that the book doesn’t shy away from showing how the lack of that safe harbour for LGBTQ+ teens can lead to a very different experience.

Something I loved about this book was how well all the relationships worked when Max was being more true to himself but were not doing so well when he wasn’t, to me that highlights that we relate better to those around us when we are being genuine. Straight Expectations is full of positive messages like this it promotes self-acceptance and shows how you can still be your authentic self in any situation. Another thing I loved was that whilst there was a romantic relationship it was Max’s friendships that were the main focus of the story and what he was trying hard to save, the romance was just a fun bonus.

I am also very jealous that my school never got to put on such wonderful sounding theatrical productions, don’t be surprised if you suddenly have the urge to see Little Shop of Horrors.

This book was a lot of fun, there was some romantic drama and some cute romantic scenes but what really stood out was the friendships, believe me when I say you can only come out of this book with pure joy.