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decklededgess's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
trigger warnings: sexual harassment, sexual assault, alcoholism, bullying, vomit, toxic friendships, sexism, racism, misogyny, homophobia, body shaming, mental illness, infidelity, islamophobia
Alright so while this book was written way before the show, this is basically American Derry Girls, maybe a bit more unlikeable than the show. This is about a group of really really messy teenagers dealing with life in high school. Lulu is a messy teenager, friends with a bunch of even messier girls. They're reckless, mean to each other and everyone, but they're still learning and growing so you can't help but wish they do well in life.
They deal with islamophobia, alcohol issues, uncompromising parents, harassment and bullying, and more. Through it all they learn to support each other and it's really nice to see a group of kids learn to accept each others flaws.
Certain parts did bother me though. One of the girls is with a guy who is very racist and sexist. This girl refuses to accept her friends accusations that the guy is horrible despite witnessing the racism first hand slung and her best friend. What does turn the tide is her seeing him spew homophobia. That's just so typical of people to readily protect a white person experiencing homophobia but totally ignore a BIPOC friend experiencing racism. And it's not called out. They forgive and move on and there's no discussion about how harmful that kind of behaviour is. But I'm reading a book way after it was published so we're just going to state it here and move on.
A great if messy read!
Alright so while this book was written way before the show, this is basically American Derry Girls, maybe a bit more unlikeable than the show. This is about a group of really really messy teenagers dealing with life in high school. Lulu is a messy teenager, friends with a bunch of even messier girls. They're reckless, mean to each other and everyone, but they're still learning and growing so you can't help but wish they do well in life.
They deal with islamophobia, alcohol issues, uncompromising parents, harassment and bullying, and more. Through it all they learn to support each other and it's really nice to see a group of kids learn to accept each others flaws.
Certain parts did bother me though. One of the girls is with a guy who is very racist and sexist. This girl refuses to accept her friends accusations that the guy is horrible despite witnessing the racism first hand slung and her best friend. What does turn the tide is her seeing him spew homophobia. That's just so typical of people to readily protect a white person experiencing homophobia but totally ignore a BIPOC friend experiencing racism. And it's not called out. They forgive and move on and there's no discussion about how harmful that kind of behaviour is. But I'm reading a book way after it was published so we're just going to state it here and move on.
A great if messy read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Alcoholism, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Vomit, Toxic friendship, Sexism, Racism, Misogyny, Mental illness, Islamophobia, Bullying, Alcohol, Infidelity, Body shaming, and Homophobia
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