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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
There's a lot to like about this (rather lengthy) LGBTQ modern/historical fiction. Abby is our modern main character, a DC high school senior who becomes obsessed with lesbian pulp fiction of the 1950s. She's also low key obsessed with her ex-girlfriend/best friend, and with avoiding stressful impending life events. Alternating chapters feature Janet, a plucky 1950s DC high school senior whose life path takes a turn when she realizes she is one of “those girls”, and what that might mean. There are also significant chunks of (fictionalized) “excerpts” from both lesbian pulp fiction and the book Abby is trying to write for her senior project.
The author clearly did a lot of research about the 1950s and some of the realities for queer women. The Endnotes shed additional light on where she blurred the lines between reality and fiction. (I would have appreciated even more about her research and sources, but what she had was a start.) The Lavender Scare still isn't exactly mainstream content in high school classes, and this book could open a lot of eyes to the overlooked history.
Could Pulp have been edited down a little from its 406 pages? Yes. Abby's self-centered-ness got a little repetitive, while most of her friends remained two-dimensional, but that's not unusual. It was still an enjoyable book that I learned from.
The author clearly did a lot of research about the 1950s and some of the realities for queer women. The Endnotes shed additional light on where she blurred the lines between reality and fiction. (I would have appreciated even more about her research and sources, but what she had was a start.) The Lavender Scare still isn't exactly mainstream content in high school classes, and this book could open a lot of eyes to the overlooked history.
Could Pulp have been edited down a little from its 406 pages? Yes. Abby's self-centered-ness got a little repetitive, while most of her friends remained two-dimensional, but that's not unusual. It was still an enjoyable book that I learned from.
emotional
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
More of this, please.
Educational, emotional, and enlightening. This book grabbed me right from the beginning and kept me hooked with mystery, constant development and conflict, and two POVs in two different time periods. I feel like I need to do more research about pulp fiction (lesbian and otherwise) and the Lavender Scare after reading this. This feels like one of those books that will stick with you for awhile after reading it.
Full review: https://picturethisliteraturecom.wordpress.com/2020/01/22/pulp/
Full review: https://picturethisliteraturecom.wordpress.com/2020/01/22/pulp/
I had it paused for two weeks since I had more interesting audiobooks to listen to. In all this time I didn't feel like going back to it, I kept forgetting that I even had it there, paused. It seemed more like a chore to go back to it, so... time to dnf it.
Nothing particularly wrong with the book, just boring for me.
Nothing particularly wrong with the book, just boring for me.
I sat down with this book twice and finally determined it's not for me. Since I abandoned it after only a couple of chapters, I don't feel I can fairly give a star rating.
I really enjoyed this book it gave me a glimpse into the past. The book was split between two points of view. One was a teenager now and the other was a teenager in the 1950s. Both are gay. It really helped me understand how dangerous it would have been back then for anyone who was part of the LGBTQ+ community. I think Abby was a bit over dramatic about her home situation especially since she was researching about how people were killed for being gay. But other than that it was really good
"She hadn't needed a permanent, fairytale love to make it worth living. She was strong enough to be happy on her own terms."
This wonderful novel about lesbians both now and in the 1950s is one of the most original and fascinating LGBTQ stories I've ever read. I cried and laughed and was just generally really damn emotional about this book. Thanks Robin.
[Side note: I have no idea if this is a 4 or 5 star book for me but because I just can't decide I rounded up.]
I was absolutely sucked into both Janet's and Abby's lives and I so desperately wanted to know if Abby figures her (love and everything else) life out and if Janet manages to be with Marie without endangering myself.
Of course, nothing was solved easily. Both girls go through a lot and they develop so much over the course of this book.
Pulp fiction - especially lesbian pulp fiction - is a very interesting topic and one I did not know a lot about. It is very obvious to see that Robin Talley researched this topic a great deal and Janet's life in the 50s feels exactly as vivid and real as Abby's in 2017.
In parts, the novel slowed down a bit too much for my part and I sometimes wished it could be a bit more fast paced, all in all, I really enjoyed both plot and characters. The plot is enganging and original but especially Janet's story seems to be about things that really happened to a lot of people in the 20th century and I wasn't exactly aware of them I learned so much from this book.
Abby and Janet are very believable characters with their own flaws and complications. Abby's relationships with friends and family were so relatable and Janet's naiveté amplified the differences between her upbringing and Abby's just so much. A lot has changed in the past few decades and this is obvious in very different and interesting ways in this book.
I really liked how - as this story is told in alternating chapters by the two girls - the plot kind of flows together and each chapter reveals something about the past we don't know yet, even if it's Abby's turn. It made the story quite mysterious and I loved that.
Pulp is a very interesting and fascinating book and it really shows how much changed since Janet's time (not everything 100% positive).
I received a copy of this book via Harlequin Teen/Edelweiss.
This wonderful novel about lesbians both now and in the 1950s is one of the most original and fascinating LGBTQ stories I've ever read. I cried and laughed and was just generally really damn emotional about this book. Thanks Robin.
[Side note: I have no idea if this is a 4 or 5 star book for me but because I just can't decide I rounded up.]
I was absolutely sucked into both Janet's and Abby's lives and I so desperately wanted to know if Abby figures her (love and everything else) life out and if Janet manages to be with Marie without endangering myself.
Of course, nothing was solved easily. Both girls go through a lot and they develop so much over the course of this book.
Pulp fiction - especially lesbian pulp fiction - is a very interesting topic and one I did not know a lot about. It is very obvious to see that Robin Talley researched this topic a great deal and Janet's life in the 50s feels exactly as vivid and real as Abby's in 2017.
In parts, the novel slowed down a bit too much for my part and I sometimes wished it could be a bit more fast paced, all in all, I really enjoyed both plot and characters. The plot is enganging and original but especially Janet's story seems to be about things that really happened to a lot of people in the 20th century and I wasn't exactly aware of them I learned so much from this book.
Abby and Janet are very believable characters with their own flaws and complications. Abby's relationships with friends and family were so relatable and Janet's naiveté amplified the differences between her upbringing and Abby's just so much. A lot has changed in the past few decades and this is obvious in very different and interesting ways in this book.
I really liked how - as this story is told in alternating chapters by the two girls - the plot kind of flows together and each chapter reveals something about the past we don't know yet, even if it's Abby's turn. It made the story quite mysterious and I loved that.
Pulp is a very interesting and fascinating book and it really shows how much changed since Janet's time (not everything 100% positive).
I received a copy of this book via Harlequin Teen/Edelweiss.
2.5. Abby was so annoying and got more annoying toward the end. I trudged through the last 6 hours, I wish I could have sped the book up to 2.5 or 3x speed. The history was interesting, I knew things weren’t good for LGBTQ+ folks or non-cis, not white people in general but it was interesting and heartbreaking to see how bad it actually was. I’m sure it’s because I’m not the target audience for this but idk if I’d have liked it as a teen, since I never had those “adults don’t understand me” feelings.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced