Review: This Book is Not Yet Rated by Peter Bognanni

Title: This Book is Not Yet Rated  

Author: Peter Bognanni 

Publisher: Dial Books

Publishing Date: April 9th, 2019

Pages: 336
Audio Length: 7 Hours and 54 Minutes

Genre: YA Contemporary 
TW: N/A

Series: Standalone

Source: Audio

 

The Green Street Cinema has always been a sanctuary for Ethan. Maybe it's because movies help him make sense of real life, or maybe it's because the cinema is the one place he can go to still feel close to his dad, a film professor who died three years ago. Either way, it's a place worth fighting for, especially when developers threaten to tear it down to build a luxury condos.
They say it's structurally unsound and riddled with health code violations. They clearly don't understand that the crumbling columns and even Brando, the giant rat with a taste for sour patch kids, are a part of the fabric of this place that holds together the misfits and the dreamers of the changing neighborhood the cinema house has served for so many years.
Now it's up to the employees of the Green Street Cinema--Sweet Lou the organist with a penchant for not-so-sweet language; Anjo the projectionist, nicknamed the Oracle for her opaque-but-always-true proclamations; Griffin and Lucas who work the concessions, if they work at all; and Ethan, known as "Wendy," the leader of these Lost Boys--to save the place they love.
It's going to take a movie miracle if the Green Street is going to have a happy ending. And when Raina, Ethan's oldest friend (and possible soul mate?), comes back home from Hollywood where she's been starring in B-movies about time-traveling cats, Ethan thinks that miracle just may have been delivered. But life and love aren't always like the movies. And when the employees of the Green Street ask what happens in the end to the Lost Boys, Ethan has to share three words he's not been ready to say.

What made me pick this book up: 

The cover caught my eye, and then the title. 

What did I like about the cover: 

I love the bright colors and how it does look like a movie theater. 

What made me read this book: 

I've been crazy into contemporaries lately and this one made me think of Rayne and Delilah's Midnite Matinee, which is my favorite book of the year. 

What did I like the most: 

I think my favorite part was the place to call home and the friends. I love the idea of the old movie theater that you can watch old movies at and just hang out. 

I've always wanted a hang out place like that and it made me happy reading about it.

I loved the relationship the MC had with his friends as well. I've always wanted good friends like that.

I loved the writing. It made it feel realistic but also was a book I could escape into. 

I also felt like I could actually be friends with these characters. I felt like I can relate to them, even just a little bit. 

What didn't I like: 

It seemed a little bit slow at parts. And I really didn't like Raina. 

And the ending made me sad. I kind of felt like the whole thing was a waste of time for them. And I guess that's a little realistic but still. 

Would I read the rest of the series/more from this author?
I think so, Things I'm Seeing Without You looks really good.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. 

Peter Bognanni is a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop. His debut novel, The House of Tomorrow, won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for first fiction and the ALA Alex Award and has been adapted into a feature film. He teaches creative writing at Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota.