isabookabel's Reviews (299)

Atmospheric but a bit of a chore to read. I listened on audible and was checking spark notes to see if I'd missed anything - I hadn't there is just a lot of description with not an awful lot going on. Saying that it was creepy at times and a good autumn mood read. Not one I'll be reading again though, as it felt like hard work without much payoff - more one to be analysed than loved.

5 stars for this YA novel. I could hardly stop myself from listening to it and the narration on the audiobook was superb. The characters were fleshed out and diverse and the story heartbreaking and inspiring. I think this book would allow young (and old) people to engage with and deepen their understanding of the issues covered. As an adult it was a very powerful read too.

 3 stars overall. Parts of it missed the mark for me, but I think the book raises many questions which are valid and important in an accessible way. I think this would be a great book club book as I think that the best and funnest way to engage with this book is to discuss it with others. 

While I totally agree we need to ask the question, "What about Men?" I found aspects of this book frustrating. I thought Moran made a lot of generalisations about both men and women, which I didn't agree with. Moran is a different generation to me, which is perhaps why I didn't enjoy much of her humour, instead finding it, and the repeated references to going for a smoke, mildly irritating. It came across as the 'cool girl' who is cool because, while a feminist, she can have bants with the guys, talk about traditional (for women) taboos and smoke up with a beer because she's just 'one of the guys'. I also found it frustrating when she listed facts and then followed up with her own opinion as a statement like it was also a fact. Similarly, there were facts which were touched on at the surface level, which were used to make her conclusions without being explored thoroughly.  Such as school boys being prescribed ADHD medication less often than girls, without mentioning that women are drastically underdiagnosed. Though this may result in an increased likelihood of prescriptions for girls who do manage to get early diagnoses, many more girls are not diagnosed or given any support to manage the condition at all. While much of this is tied up in gender norms and expectations, I felt points like this were too complex to be reduced to a single statement in a list, in order to make her point. 

However, I did think this book was one which would be a great one to talk about with friends. I thought though I had criticisms of it, it would allow men to feel heard and be able to discuss the issues in the book in a way that didn't feel like everyone was against them. I thought that being able to read or discuss the book with male friends or relatives would be a very good way for some to introduce topics which may otherwise be difficult to bring up. Her point about men not having literature to turn to, which discusses these topics, I thought was really powerful. Her discussion of access to porn and its impact on younger generations; will have, I think, introduced many older readers to this issue which they may have otherwise been unaware of. Likewise, the discussion of Andrew Tate and his impact through social media.  I agree wholeheartedly with the point that we must start to address the underlying reasons why he is so popular if we are to improve the future for all. I think this book does do that, and so this is a big plus. 

Though aspects of it missed the mark for me I think the book raises many questions which are valid and important in an accessible way. It wasn't anything groundbreaking for those who read a lot of feminist literature, but it made good and interesting points in a way that others may find more engaging than me. I think the title itself makes it more approachable to men than many other feminist texts which tackle these issues (such as the truly fantastic 'Men who Hate Women' by Laura Bates - A 5 star read that I would highly recommend but one I think could put off some male readers because of its title). 

I think this would be a great book club book as I think that the best and funnest way to engage with this book is to discuss it with others. This critiquing of the book through chatting about it with others would also mean the pros far outweighed the cons. 

 I enjoyed this book and thought it was a fun, absorbing narrative. BUT wanted to add the caveat that there are ways to critique how Jenkins Reid writes non-white characters - while I did appreciate the diversity of characters in the book I felt some were more fleshed out than others. I found reading/watching others thoughts on this interesting when I'd finished. I will be doing the same with any other books I read by Jenkins Reid as if I'm reading her books I do want to understand the critisms and reflect on these myself. I thought the writing was a bit clunky at times and a bit YA but overall it really hooked me in and was a nice easy read. 

I'm so blown away by this book. Truly masterful. Will stick with me forever. 

An accessible, enjoyable quick read which included a range of important themes such as grief, divorce, homophobia, hate crimes and sexual assault. It is heartwarming, funny and the characters are well developed. Nielsen did a spectacular job with the character of Jared and managed to make him horribly believable. The relationship with him and Ashley was very well developed and really captured teenage infatuation. Likewise, the choice to make Ashley actively block out the negatives was very well done.

I did genuinely enjoy this book. However, at times I struggled with Ashley's 'using the wrong word' joke - it felt a bit heavy handed and repetitive - but might be more enjoyable for a younger audience. 

I also felt like there was an excessive amount of attention paid to weight and dieting. Whilst this narrative is written from the perspective of a image conscious, self absorbed teenage girl so is unsurprising, it also means that we don't really get any critique of why this is a problematic mindset and I felt could normalise/perpetuate unhealthy attitudes around weight and body image/diet culture.