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ellejo3's review
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
I had looked forward to reading this because I liked Strangers on a Train and Do Revenge, but I hated it and found it problematic. Neve is very much ~not like other girls~ which I didn’t like. Her bi rep also varied between feeling forced and also reminded me of the harmful trope of a queer character obsessing over a straight character then lashing out after being rejected by the queer phobic straight character. Lastly, what frustrates me the most about this book was the heavy-handed suggestion that girls lie about sexual harassment. This is so harmful, not to mention the fact that research overwhelmingly shows that false claims of this are incredibly low. That this was combined with incest is especially disgusting and problematic when you think of how many incest victims are in the age audience the book targets. While they’re not technically biologically related, they’re still legally siblings. Diane lying about being sexually harassed by her stepbrother when in reality she was actively choosing to be with him just screams of the myth that girls who say they’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted secretly wanted it. No, just no.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Sexual harassment and Incest
Minor: Biphobia
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