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gigireadswithkiki's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I wanted to like this book so badly, but in the end I almost ended up DNF-ing. In Boys I Know, June Chu navigates her complicated relationship with family and boys while also juggling the heavy decision of college applications.
I really loved June and her whole matriarchal family line. Her mother and sister felt authentic in their bold assertions on June's life and I enjoyed the depth they added to the story. June's perspective on topics from pregnancy scares to constant indecision to the Asian American diaspora identity crisis felt so real and nuanced. Though the plot felt extremely fast paced, I appreciated the notes of June's life the reader gets to experience.
However, I could not get over June's *high school* friend Candace and Candace's relationship with *a twenty three year old man* named Dom. Yes, June and Candace get into an argument about her relationship but the issue is brushed aside with June's "I don't know what's best for my friend and I should back off" attitude, when this is VERY much an issue that teenage girls should not take lightly, and in the end there is no resolution to how Dom is looking to control Candace's life. It felt massively uncomfortable and creepy to have a full grown man grooming a high school girl as one of the elements of this book, when the book itself is framed as a semi-feminist story. For this, I cannot in good faith recommend this book.
I really loved June and her whole matriarchal family line. Her mother and sister felt authentic in their bold assertions on June's life and I enjoyed the depth they added to the story. June's perspective on topics from pregnancy scares to constant indecision to the Asian American diaspora identity crisis felt so real and nuanced. Though the plot felt extremely fast paced, I appreciated the notes of June's life the reader gets to experience.
However, I could not get over June's *high school* friend Candace and Candace's relationship with *a twenty three year old man* named Dom. Yes, June and Candace get into an argument about her relationship but the issue is brushed aside with June's "I don't know what's best for my friend and I should back off" attitude, when this is VERY much an issue that teenage girls should not take lightly, and in the end there is no resolution to how Dom is looking to control Candace's life. It felt massively uncomfortable and creepy to have a full grown man grooming a high school girl as one of the elements of this book, when the book itself is framed as a semi-feminist story. For this, I cannot in good faith recommend this book.
Content Warnings
Minor: Pedophilia
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