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onceuponanisabel's Reviews (1.48k)
Tl;dr because this got a little long: I'm dropping my rating from 4 stars to unrated because of recent events even though I stand by my enjoyment of the book itself.
So I've kind of been feeling the need to comment on this whole situation, and since I read this book before I made this account, I never actually wrote a review. So here goes.
I want to first and foremost say that Aciman's comments about 12-year-old girls are disgusting and that I will not be buying the sequel or supporting him in any way going forward. Those comments do color the way I view this book now, in retrospect, but I guess I'll get to that.
Reading the book originally, I didn't have an issue with the age gap. I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with a person in their younger twenties being attracted to someone in their older teens. A lot of the issues with these types of relationships (in my opinion, from watching many, many of my high school friends be in relationships with this kind of age gap) lie in the fact that these two people tend to be in very different places in life. We can see this in the book -- although they spend time together, in the end, they both have to go back to their different, incompatible lives.
I thought the book was prettily written and was an interesting examination of a very intense (to the point of unhealthy dependency and obsession) relationship. It felt like a book about an unhealthy relationship that ended because of the age gap. I didn't think that made it a bad or problematic book. I honestly didn't feel like it was trying to say that the relationship was one you, the reader, should think is healthy.
However, now, because of those previously mentioned comments, I can see how this may not have been Aciman's intention. Age gap romance coming from a man who admitted to pedophilia suddenly feels very different. I stand by my four-star rating of the book -- that's how I felt about it when I read it, that's how I analyzed it. If you ask, I'd say I enjoyed it. We can't always know what the author's intentions are in writing a book. Ratings are, 95% of the time, only about our experience of the book.
However, I will be dropping the star rating on this review and making it unrated, because I do not want to be recommending that anyone support this author anymore. I think you can separate the art and the artist, but not if supporting the art means supporting the artist and the harm they cause.
So I've kind of been feeling the need to comment on this whole situation, and since I read this book before I made this account, I never actually wrote a review. So here goes.
I want to first and foremost say that Aciman's comments about 12-year-old girls are disgusting and that I will not be buying the sequel or supporting him in any way going forward. Those comments do color the way I view this book now, in retrospect, but I guess I'll get to that.
Reading the book originally, I didn't have an issue with the age gap. I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with a person in their younger twenties being attracted to someone in their older teens. A lot of the issues with these types of relationships (in my opinion, from watching many, many of my high school friends be in relationships with this kind of age gap) lie in the fact that these two people tend to be in very different places in life. We can see this in the book -- although they spend time together, in the end, they both have to go back to their different, incompatible lives.
I thought the book was prettily written and was an interesting examination of a very intense (to the point of unhealthy dependency and obsession) relationship. It felt like a book about an unhealthy relationship that ended because of the age gap. I didn't think that made it a bad or problematic book. I honestly didn't feel like it was trying to say that the relationship was one you, the reader, should think is healthy.
However, now, because of those previously mentioned comments, I can see how this may not have been Aciman's intention. Age gap romance coming from a man who admitted to pedophilia suddenly feels very different. I stand by my four-star rating of the book -- that's how I felt about it when I read it, that's how I analyzed it. If you ask, I'd say I enjoyed it. We can't always know what the author's intentions are in writing a book. Ratings are, 95% of the time, only about our experience of the book.
However, I will be dropping the star rating on this review and making it unrated, because I do not want to be recommending that anyone support this author anymore. I think you can separate the art and the artist, but not if supporting the art means supporting the artist and the harm they cause.
This was...fine. Deeply similar to every other G-rated contemporary romance complete with a breakup for a stupid reason 85% of the way through and completely unnecessary friend drama to pad the page count
This graphic novel was sort of a mixed bag for me.
Mindy has spent her entire life dealing with disordered eating, and now, in her mid-twenties, she discovers a chocolate bar that, when she eats it, takes her back in time to pivotal moments in her life. Be reliving these memories, Mindy begins to recognize her disorder for what it is and move towards self-love.
My main issue with this was the ending -- I needed one more chapter. It ends abruptly with Mindy deciding she's going to change, but for me, that was a difficult ending to deal with. We see in Mindy's flashbacks that she's tried to change before: she's gone to therapy, she's oscillated between binging and restricting herself. For a story about recovery and learning to love oneself, we don't actually get either of those things. Recognizing an issue and saying "things will be different" is relatively easy compared to actually changing the disordered behavior.
I'm glad that Mindy calls out both her best friend and her parents by the end of the book for their constant commentary on her body. Seeing her disordered eating encouraged because "it's fine if she misses a meal, she doesn't need it" and the perpetual "you'll never find love" was hard, and I'm really glad they were both challenged by the narrative.
All in all, I'd say this graphic novel does a reasonably good job at accomplishing its goals. The art was gorgeous and the colors were so vivid and beautiful (I love the jewel tones).
ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Mindy has spent her entire life dealing with disordered eating, and now, in her mid-twenties, she discovers a chocolate bar that, when she eats it, takes her back in time to pivotal moments in her life. Be reliving these memories, Mindy begins to recognize her disorder for what it is and move towards self-love.
My main issue with this was the ending -- I needed one more chapter. It ends abruptly with Mindy deciding she's going to change, but for me, that was a difficult ending to deal with. We see in Mindy's flashbacks that she's tried to change before: she's gone to therapy, she's oscillated between binging and restricting herself. For a story about recovery and learning to love oneself, we don't actually get either of those things. Recognizing an issue and saying "things will be different" is relatively easy compared to actually changing the disordered behavior.
I'm glad that Mindy calls out both her best friend and her parents by the end of the book for their constant commentary on her body. Seeing her disordered eating encouraged because "it's fine if she misses a meal, she doesn't need it" and the perpetual "you'll never find love" was hard, and I'm really glad they were both challenged by the narrative.
All in all, I'd say this graphic novel does a reasonably good job at accomplishing its goals. The art was gorgeous and the colors were so vivid and beautiful (I love the jewel tones).
ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
** 3.5 stars **
Erin Hahn's books are absolutely a YA version of Taylor Jenkins Reid's celebrity-verse, and I'm not mad at it.
More Than Maybe follows podcaster Luke Greenly and music blogger Vada Carsewell, who both work out of the same club and attend the same high school. There's some intense mutual pining going on (and has been for years), but neither of them has ever acted on it. The two are thrown together for a school project, and bond over their mutual love of music.
More Than Maybe isn't as ambitious as You'll Be Mine, but that doesn't mean it's worse. It feels simpler, it's a more straightforward YA contemporary romance. But it's done well. The side characters are a delight (I would die for Phil. I. Would. Die.), Vada and Luke's banter is fun, and I loved all the music. My dad and I have played the "Name That Tune" game on the radio for years, and Vada and Phil's relationship felt so delightfully familiar.
I honestly don't have a ton to say about this. It's cute, it's fun. If you like YA contemporary romance and music, you'll love this book (And You'll Be Mine). I look forward to Hahn's future books.
(P.S. There's so much good music referenced in this book that I made a playlist here. If you're...idk...interested :) )
ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley.
Erin Hahn's books are absolutely a YA version of Taylor Jenkins Reid's celebrity-verse, and I'm not mad at it.
More Than Maybe follows podcaster Luke Greenly and music blogger Vada Carsewell, who both work out of the same club and attend the same high school. There's some intense mutual pining going on (and has been for years), but neither of them has ever acted on it. The two are thrown together for a school project, and bond over their mutual love of music.
More Than Maybe isn't as ambitious as You'll Be Mine, but that doesn't mean it's worse. It feels simpler, it's a more straightforward YA contemporary romance. But it's done well. The side characters are a delight (I would die for Phil. I. Would. Die.), Vada and Luke's banter is fun, and I loved all the music. My dad and I have played the "Name That Tune" game on the radio for years, and Vada and Phil's relationship felt so delightfully familiar.
I honestly don't have a ton to say about this. It's cute, it's fun. If you like YA contemporary romance and music, you'll love this book (And You'll Be Mine). I look forward to Hahn's future books.
(P.S. There's so much good music referenced in this book that I made a playlist here. If you're...idk...interested :) )
ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley.