Ugh.
Content Warning: This book deals with (possible) date rape, pictures being taken and uploaded without permission (including while drugged), lack of consent. So I started this book because I thought it would be interesting - a take on the blackmail, I-didn’t-take-those-pictures, he-said-she-said epidemic that has been raging through schools with the advent of cellphone cameras and the over abundance of oversharing on social media. Okay, that makes me sound old. But you know what? I’m super glad that none of the CONSENSUAL pics I ever sent anyone made it onto social media. I’m glad that social media and it’s shame-machine weren't prevalent when I was young. I know things still happened; I know I got lucky and wasn’t slutshamed; I know I have a privilege here. But I’m still allowed to be glad about that. PSA: If you want to send nudes OF YOURSELF, that’s ok! (NB: Except in some places where it is classed as child pornography, if you’re under the legal sex age. CHECK THESE THINGS BEFORE YOU SEND.)If you DO choose to send nudes OF YOURSELF, pest practice is not to have your face or any identifiable features (tattoo, odd or unique piercing, birthmark) showing. Even if you’re okay with your body, and okay with showing it off, you never know who might see them. Everything online is there forever - think potential work colleagues/managers; grandma; your future children. IT IS NEVER OKAY TO SHARE PHOTOS (showing a screen OR forwarding the pics) OF SOMEONE WHO IS NOT YOU, WITHOUT THEIR EXPRESS AND ONGOING PERMISSION. Okay. Rant (mostly) over. Back to the book review, on the assumption that this is why you came here. Meh. That’s my main sum up of this book. I think the main plot had some promise, but it wasn’t well executed. It’s never a good sign when the best thing you can say about a book you’re reading is that it’s “exciting that the print is blue!” People kept asking (because I kept complaining I was bored) why I was persevering with this book. I was hoping there would be a twist. I was hoping there would be a show of decent humans standing up for one another. I was hoping we would see people realise that what was going on was wrong, and WHY it was wrong. I’m over halfway and none of that is happening. The book is written from the point of view of 4-6 teens. Three have major recurring chapters; one has one chapter; the other two are in text message conversation every few sections. I found it hard to read, because none of the characters had a particularly strong or defined voice. Nikki and DeShawn in particular - I had to check which section I was reading, to figure out who was talking. Marcus - I get that he’s a pompous ass who thinks he’s better than he is, and uses big words because I’m A jOuRnAlIsT, but he just comes across as hard to read and really really annoying. Names were another thing I found hard to follow. I get annoyed with myself when I have two characters with the same first initial, let alone two with similar names. Here, we have DeShawn, (Tarkin) Shaw (why make a weird first name and only refer to them by the last name (which sounds like another characters name?)); Marcus and Mason (Shaw). A little convoluted to me, but maybe I’, just picky. Aside from DeShawn (more on him later), none of our characters are particularly likeable. Nikki, Ani, and Lydia are mean and ice-queens - even when we are reading from their point of view. Marcus - see above. Even our victim (Suze) is hard to find any sympathy for; purely because she is so briefly introduced and has ZERO development. I wanted her to get justice for the crimes committed against her, but I want justice for all the nameless people who suffer this kind of atrocity. Her having a name made no difference. DeShawn was lovely. I really enjoyed the perspective from inside his head, when Suze goes to his house. His anxiety felt super real and on point for me (qualifications - have anxiety), and I was pleased to see a) good rep, and b) MALE rep. On the other hand….. having him be the ONLY one who got in trouble and arrested at school BECAUSE HE WAS BLACK, felt a little too “diversity quota”. It was touched on so very briefly that it just felt like it was added to make us aware that the author could add people of color. I know that it’s real, I’m 100% not denying that, and if you have issues with this paragraph, PLEASE REACH OUT TO ME. I know we need to raise awareness of the difference in treatment of people; particularly young, male POC; but this didn’t feel like the way to do that. The “friendship” between the four girls felt… somewhat real. The speed at which they turned on the victim without giving her a chance to apologise was not great, and to me it didn’t feel like they ever truly made up for that. The “boys will be boys, dress so you don’t provoke them” was DEFINITELY not a theme I expected in a book with this topic; it was stated by one of the main characters’ father, and while our main character was upset by it, it was never decried or even particularly argued by her, let alone anyone else. If you’re going to include that mentality, be annoyed by it but not actually explain/fight against it, don’t bother? Seems like it re-enforces the mindset more than anything. So in conclusion, I wasn’t a fan, and DNF this book about page 240. Also, formatting was not great. I was always taught to minimise the number of words that need to be hyphenated because they cross the end of a margin (and this isn’t the authors fault but the publisher/editors), but this book had 2-3 of these per PAGE, and not just once. There are more issues I made notes of, but I think I’ve rambled enough for now. Content warnings: implied rape/sexual assault (may be in more depth after I stopped reading, unsure), slut shaming, date-rape, drugs, false allegations, false allegations of suicide, language (maybe?), descriptions of nudity. Overall Rating: 1 star (for DeShawn)
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DNF at about 25%, I only persevered as log as I did because I thought the plot sounded like it had promise. Sadly, the bad grammar was too much for me. This book felt as though it had never been touched by an editor, and the best plot in the world isn't enough to make up for constant tautology and sentences which simply make no sense.
My template says to start with a brief summary of the book. Well, seeing as how I DNF’d it at about 15%? Less so.
I was turned off by this book for a number of reasons. The first thing that stood out to me was that the main character was dressed as a Native American for Halloween… and carrying a teddy that she referred to as Baby Sacagawea. I’m not Native American, but I would be super uncomfortable if someone dressed up as one of my Maori ancestors (let alone carrying a TEDDY as a substitute for a legitimate person who was named and important) for Halloween! So that was a huge nope from me. But I persevered… but not for long. The writing is vague, except when it comes to great detail about how the MC is “not like other girls” and about how “It takes SOO much effort to look as naturally beautiful as she does”. I don’t know. I get either men-writing-women vibes, or I'm-looking-in-the-mirror-and-describing-myself. Either way, not my fave type of writing. Also, being as this was 2018, I thought we were moving past all the above awkwardness in YA? Also, I simply couldn’t get on board with the MC. She was annoying and felt that she could do no wrong. Ugh. The reason I persevered at all was because of the description, and that’s the only reason I’m going to give it two stars. The premise sounded really good, and for all I know, if I could look past the parts I really didn’t like, maybe it would have been a good story. But I couldn’t. |
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