Reviews tagging 'Racism'

A Troca by Beth O'Leary

1 review

beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Full review to come.

I had decidedly mixed feelings about The Switch.

The first third of the book was great - it was well-written, the pace was good, and it was funny and heartwarming. It was pretty predictable and cliched, but at that point, I was enjoying it so much that I didn't really care. I thought that the exploration of grief as a theme was well done, especially in how it affects the family members of those who have died - it was very sensitively written. There were also brief references to domestic violence that were also handled well, I thought.

Unfortunately, all of the above was nearly ruined for me by the author using a trope that I really dislike:

the first boyfriend of one of the narrators (Leena) turning out to be a massive two-timing douchebag, so the new love interest can then conveniently swoop in and save the day

. Ugh.  And the fact that

the first boyfriend's redeeming qualities were basically swept aside

. I also disliked that

the new love interest was basically described as being built like a football/rugby/soccer player, and didn't seem to have much personality beyond that. I know that sounds mean, and I'm sorry - but that's how I felt

.

I also disliked how the author had the characters do things that I found ethically questionable, purely to advance the plot.

To sum up: The Switch is a novel that started off well but turned off this reader by using a nasty trope that authors should really stop using.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death, Grief, Infidelity, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Sexual content, Violence, Racism, and Xenophobia