aftereliza's Reviews (946)

Clever subversion and imagining of a dystopia where gender roles are reversed and the role of power in its different forms is explored in many ways, heart wrenching at times. 

Rooney's style of prose is captivating and immersive, but while she creates 3-dimensional characters from very common stereotypes that can be found around universities circa the mid to late 2010s, I found them more like antiheroes than relatable. However I like that her plot is more based on emotions and interpersonal relationships between the characters than an action driven plot; she focuses more on building the tension. I very much liked the open ending she had - very reminiscent of the endings of French films.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading the book and I would highly recommend it to anyone!

It felt a bit same-y but still hammered her message home. 

The book was captivating, I could not put it down. It took me a little while to be sympathetic to the narrator but when I did, I was hooked. 

The writing was good, but the dialogue and character development would have been more refined. I feel like some of the scenes were written like a screenplay instead of a novel. 

Vanessa’s writing always manages to take my breath away, transport me far from where I am reading and she describes familiar and unfamiliar experiences in such a visceral way, I feel like I’m there.