I'm a mom in my 40s reading these with my 12y/o. I have no emotional attachment to this series whatsoever, I'm only reading them so my kid and I can have our little Book Club discussions. 

That being said, what in the gender essentialist, heteronormative fuck did I just read?! It's like the author has heard of Girl Power and decided it's inherently misandrist. Especially gross and harmful when you consider that this is a Middle Grade series. I'm glad my 12y/o saw through the bullshit on their own, but JFC. 

I was barely hanging on after the first book, and probably won't be reading any further after this one. My kid has already moved on to the third book, so I will get the verdict from them on whether it's worth continuing.