But I Hate Him coming August 25th, 2026 from Roaring Brook Press; 304 pages
Content Warning: Fire, mild injury, dysfunctional families
About the Author: “Page Powars is the New York Times, USA Today, and #1 Indie bestselling author of But I Hate Him, And They Were Roommates, and more gay books for both teenagers and adults. He was raised by video game lore that requires stringboard analyses to understand. He lives in Brooklyn with his partner” (Bio from author’s website).
Find Page Powars on the following platforms:
Rory Prince is the living marketing campaign for Prince List, his parents’ profitable and prestigious tutoring company. From childhood he has followed his parents’ expectations in the form of The Plan, beelining towards acceptance into Harvard armed with stylists, dermatologists, and a list of Seven Deadly Distractions he must never succumb to in order to complete his image as Prince List’s mascot. Unfortunately, one person has been throwing a wrench into The Plan for the last three years: Luca Melendez, Rory’s most formidable academic rival and endlessly charming hockey star. When a public meltdown goes viral on social media and threatens Rory’s future, he sets his sights on a summer camp called BRAIN, one of the most ruthless academic competitions in New York and the only one left that can save The Plan. Desperate to win, Rory pulls out all the stops imaginable to beat Luca—including breaking his heart.
Honestly, what impressed me most reading this book was how skillfully Powars utilized character voice in narration. Rory’s perspective is full of astronomy-based similes, academically-minded soliloquies, and occasional excited rambles of physics equations or star phenomena. Readers fond of STEM subjects will definitely get a kick out of it! The drip-feed of information felt natural, like Rory himself was thinking of information that he felt relevant in the moment rather than character exposition. The tension of the competition at BRAIN had me glued to the pages, between plenty of teenaged drama pulling teammates apart and pushing others together, I got enough glimpses into Luca and the other cast members to keep me curious about each of them. The teammates of Cabin Omega were an absolute riot of academic competence being undermined repeatedly by angst, sabotage, and the occasional escaped rat. The dynamic between Rory and Luca is funny, warm, and occasionally heartbreaking in all the right ways. I loved watching Rory slowly grow out of his corduroy pants and color-restricted cardigans into someone he wants to be, and I think writing with trans representation in particular benefits from exploring the idea that, sometimes, the journey to becoming comfortable in your own skin extends beyond the medical end of transition into breaking the mold of forced expectations. I walked into Powars’ book out of curiosity. I walked out satisfied by the drama of an academic rivalry and romance arc which fed each other seamlessly, all gift-wrapped in heartstring-pulling narrative paper.
But I Hate Him releases on August 25th, 2026.
Pine Reads Review would like to thank NetGalley and Roaring Brook Press for sending us an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change before final publication.
Julia Smith, Pine Reads Review Writer and Editor