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clairadise's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Wow… I’ve never seen myself in a book as clearly as in Joy. Everything from her POV could’ve been me last year. I totally understand her body issues and her unrequited love and trying to make a home for someone who doesn’t love you. And then Annie… her situation with Jason reminded me a lot of mine in the past… “he’s not kind.” Yes, I know….
mangofraiche's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Sexism, Abandonment, Body shaming, Sexual assault, Fatphobia, Eating disorder, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence
hannahfred's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Maybe I should feel very lucky to say this but I did not find the women in this story relatable in the slightest.
anotherreaderaccount's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
What a desperate book.
Note to self: even if a book has ‘love’ in the title, that doesn’t guarantee happy endings or beginnings or middle-ings.
God this book was sad. But realistic in that way you wish it wasn’t. One sided love stories, mostly women being fucked over this way and that, settling for men whose intentions are always questionable, or at least half-assed. These women…you want to root for them but it’s so hard when they don’t even believe in themselves or recognize their own worth in the mirror. Annie has a boyfriend she constantly tip toes around and modulates her responses to just so she doesn’t set him off, which usually happens anyway. And worse yet, he doesn’t even seem to particularly enjoy being around her despite them moving in together and him promising his love for her, in a non-proposal moment.
Then we’ve got poor poor poor thing Joy, who is anything but. Hopelessly in love with her roommate, her whole personality and mindset are taken over by everything he is and everything she is not. Namely, his girlfriend. Honestly I think he sees her as his lovable dog for all the signals he misses from her. And she’s happy to just get belly rubs and pets on the head too in forms of oddly intimate movie nights and emoji reactions to her texts. When he comes home with a supermodel of a girlfriend however, that’s when things really spiral. Ode to Joy… wouldn’t it just have been better to tell him how you feel instead of these games you play where no one wins? Or even notices a game’s being played?
Speaking of the supermodel girlfriend, even that one’s got issues. Being perfect on the outside only causes a whole lot of wreckage and self doubt on the inside. Perfection chases perfection. And hates herself for wanting it, needing it almost. I’ll never envy the girls who are the apple of every man’s eye. What a sad existence to be desired but never loved. “Stopping men statue still, how could that be seen as anything but power, and how could that feel like anything but wonderful? But it did… What if there is no power to begin with? What begets what then?”
Ultimately it doesn’t matter if other people don’t love you. The main goal is for you to love yourself. And that’s what all these women have forgotten.
So again. What a desperate book. Heavy sighs all around.
avaehab's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
ortizaluen's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ltoshinskie's review against another edition
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book is partially just reductive and filled with cliches about women (introduces us to each character by telling us what they hate about their bodies), and partially filled with poignant truths (socialization of women for male validation, etc.). Very readable though.