this was a little grueling to get though; there were moments which piqued my interest but it felt unnecessarily drawn out. BUT the chapter on “the story of a generation in seven scams” was very well done. It is reflective and critical of the systematic problems underlying the economy, performative feminism, social media, and consumerism. 

the chapter on rape culture within universities and the greek system forced me to reflect on my own experiences and complacency within a flawed system. in a culture rife with sexism and gender bias, entrenched in “tradition,” there is an immense need for change, and i don’t think this essay necessarily hit the core of this issue. 

it’s clear that this was written during the trump era, and there is much more trump family discourse than i expected (or, that i as a canadian care for). melanie and ivanka are placed in the same realm as strong and powerful women throughout the book, and i think that including trumps weakened the arguments that jia tolentino tried to make. 

tldr: the book overall isn’t worth your time, but i do recommend reading just the chapter called “the story of a generation in seven scams.”