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dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Buckle up for this one, because let me tell you, I will never—and I mean never—trust BookTok after this one.
There’s spoilers throughout, so here’s the gist if you haven’t read it:
Horrible characters; no real resolution; no real plot; corny, unrealistic dialogue; loaded with misogyny
Now we’re gonna get down and dirty, so SPOILERS AHEAD:
1. The MCs, both male and female, were deplorable. Both horrendous bullies who take out their insecurities on one another and anyone who may be a passerby.
2. Sexual content. The women in this book were treated as mere puppets for sexual pleasure/harassment. Rape is also a common theme, might I add, for no sexual encounter was initiated with consent. Remember, there’s no such thing as “non-consensual sex.” It’s either sex, or it’s rape. This book did a horrible job of acknowledging that, even going as far as romanticizing the latter. Misha practically used sex as a means of gaining power over Ryen, all while being extremely demeaning, which is UNHEALTHY and should NOT BE NORMALIZED NOR ROMANTICIZED. Going over every explicit scene and discussing why it’s bad would take too long.
3. Diversity. Adding one white, cis, gay character as the “token gay” is not diversity, people. PD was probably too busy worrying about how she could have another Misha/Ryen sex scene in a school locker room to worry about diversifying her cast, but hey, whatever floats your boat.
4. Car “sex”, in public, with the supposed prom date (who’s also a misogynistic ass hat) nearby
5. “Sex” with the mother down the hall
6. “Sex” in a school library
7. Breaking into Ryen’s house to have “sex”
8. Licking Ryen’s face and saying she tastes like shit
9. Child-like writing style. This is a reason I despise a lot of newer, well-reviewed authors/books seen on BookTok. The level at which these authors—who apparently win awards for their garbage—is comparable to that of my ten-year-old sister. It’s clumsy, immature, and clearly missed the “show, don’t tell” lesson of sixth grade writer’s workshop. Now, to be fair, I’m just a high school student, but I can differentiate between what should be published in books versus what belongs on Wattpad.
10. The “resolution.” I’m writing this review at least a month after finishing the book, so pardon me for not remembering all the details. Am I, a real, living person who goes to high school, supposed to believe that Ryen just apologized to the boy she ruthlessly mocked, and he accepted it, making all things well? She just sat down with a loner—who’s ostracization is partly because of her—and everything was okay…because that’s definitely realistic. Whatever happened after that was boring and forgettable, then here comes along the epilogue, where Ryen and Misha are all lovey dovey and everything is normal? No therapy, no nothing, just instant success and happiness after all that trauma. What is that? What am I supposed to take away from it?
TL;DRMisha let’s his sister die because he’s too busy looking for a quick fuck, so he goes crazy and bullies his pen pal into his metaphorical bed, all while having unrealistic conversations with shallow, conceited characters. I’m sorry to anyone who read this monstrosity in full.
There’s spoilers throughout, so here’s the gist if you haven’t read it:
Horrible characters; no real resolution; no real plot; corny, unrealistic dialogue; loaded with misogyny
Now we’re gonna get down and dirty, so SPOILERS AHEAD:
1. The MCs, both male and female, were deplorable. Both horrendous bullies who take out their insecurities on one another and anyone who may be a passerby.
2. Sexual content. The women in this book were treated as mere puppets for sexual pleasure/harassment. Rape is also a common theme, might I add, for no sexual encounter was initiated with consent. Remember, there’s no such thing as “non-consensual sex.” It’s either sex, or it’s rape. This book did a horrible job of acknowledging that, even going as far as romanticizing the latter. Misha practically used sex as a means of gaining power over Ryen, all while being extremely demeaning, which is UNHEALTHY and should NOT BE NORMALIZED NOR ROMANTICIZED. Going over every explicit scene and discussing why it’s bad would take too long.
3. Diversity. Adding one white, cis, gay character as the “token gay” is not diversity, people. PD was probably too busy worrying about how she could have another Misha/Ryen sex scene in a school locker room to worry about diversifying her cast, but hey, whatever floats your boat.
4. Car “sex”, in public, with the supposed prom date (who’s also a misogynistic ass hat) nearby
5. “Sex” with the mother down the hall
6. “Sex” in a school library
7. Breaking into Ryen’s house to have “sex”
8. Licking Ryen’s face and saying she tastes like shit
9. Child-like writing style. This is a reason I despise a lot of newer, well-reviewed authors/books seen on BookTok. The level at which these authors—who apparently win awards for their garbage—is comparable to that of my ten-year-old sister. It’s clumsy, immature, and clearly missed the “show, don’t tell” lesson of sixth grade writer’s workshop. Now, to be fair, I’m just a high school student, but I can differentiate between what should be published in books versus what belongs on Wattpad.
10. The “resolution.” I’m writing this review at least a month after finishing the book, so pardon me for not remembering all the details. Am I, a real, living person who goes to high school, supposed to believe that Ryen just apologized to the boy she ruthlessly mocked, and he accepted it, making all things well? She just sat down with a loner—who’s ostracization is partly because of her—and everything was okay…because that’s definitely realistic. Whatever happened after that was boring and forgettable, then here comes along the epilogue, where Ryen and Misha are all lovey dovey and everything is normal? No therapy, no nothing, just instant success and happiness after all that trauma. What is that? What am I supposed to take away from it?
TL;DR
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment
Moderate: Death, Homophobia
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Great book. The type of book to get you out of a reading slump.
Content Warnings
Minor: Rape, Sexual harassment
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Minor: Rape
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Child death, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Grief, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment
Minor: Rape