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beforeviolets's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Thank you so much to Candlewick Press for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
I don't remember giving A.R. Capetta the rights to my biography??
This book follows a fat, queer, Jewish girl who moves to NYC to pursue theatre but ends up being manipulated and abused by a narcissistic and misogynistic director. (Like hello??? How is this not my life story??) Also the MC flirts by quoting Macbeth and mentioning God of Vengeance. I think I’ve been cloned.
Through the narrative of a theatrical murder mystery, this book takes a hard look at the misogyny and manipulation that occurs within theatre spaces, often by male directors and often to young women. It discusses grooming, sexual exploitation, fatphobia, and manipulation. It fantastically illustrates the way that most male directors use their role to exploit their power and traumatize others for the sake of their own artistic integrity. They convince young actors that theatre should be “uncomfortable” and train actors to gaslight themselves into silence, making them believe that they have to choose between their careers or their boundaries.
The specific villain of this story was SO well-written, because I literally know this man. I have known directors that have said some of his lines almost word for word and done some of his actions almost beat for beat. And I’ve known directors that have said and done even worse. I constantly found myself SCREAMING at the text about its terrifying accuracy.
Some of my favorite lines about this:
“He keeps changing the story so she won’t know what to believe - except for him.”
“It’s one thing to know what he’s done, and another to try to get people to believe. So many would find a way to ignore it. To put it in a little compartment in their minds and say, yes, he was a monster, but he made such beautiful things.”
“There’s an emptiness at the heart of his work. He has no idea how to tell a true story. He’s just following the pattern. That’s why he needs his actors to be hollow, to be his. He’s made a little set of puppets to play with, and he uses them to tell the same tired stories over and over again.”
It reminded me greatly of If We Were Villains in the way that it utilized theatrical tropes to emphasize the heightened reality that exists within the arts and to criticize the roles that people are forcefully placed into by those in power so that their role in reality is synonymous with their role as an artist. There is a lot of misogyny and homophobia and racism still very much present in theatre nowadays and this book felt like the perfect anthem to my rage.
The only thing I did not like about it was that I felt that after bringing up these issues and centering the story so much around them, they were essentially dropped at the end for the sake of wrapping up the murder mystery. I had been really hoping for a final message about the empowerment of women in theatrical spaces or a call to action but alas, I was left a little lackluster. However, the time that we did spend on them was MUCH appreciated.
Plus, did I mention it was sapphic?
TW: murder, death, violence, blood, grooming (on-page), adult/minor relationship, r*pe (past, mention), suicide (near attempt, on-page), suicidal thoughts, sexual harassment, emotional abuse/manipulation, drug use, underage drinking, fatphobia, sexism, misogyny, creepy male directors (cuz this should be a TW), sexual content (brief, on-page), grief
I don't remember giving A.R. Capetta the rights to my biography??
This book follows a fat, queer, Jewish girl who moves to NYC to pursue theatre but ends up being manipulated and abused by a narcissistic and misogynistic director. (Like hello??? How is this not my life story??) Also the MC flirts by quoting Macbeth and mentioning God of Vengeance. I think I’ve been cloned.
Through the narrative of a theatrical murder mystery, this book takes a hard look at the misogyny and manipulation that occurs within theatre spaces, often by male directors and often to young women. It discusses grooming, sexual exploitation, fatphobia, and manipulation. It fantastically illustrates the way that most male directors use their role to exploit their power and traumatize others for the sake of their own artistic integrity. They convince young actors that theatre should be “uncomfortable” and train actors to gaslight themselves into silence, making them believe that they have to choose between their careers or their boundaries.
The specific villain of this story was SO well-written, because I literally know this man. I have known directors that have said some of his lines almost word for word and done some of his actions almost beat for beat. And I’ve known directors that have said and done even worse. I constantly found myself SCREAMING at the text about its terrifying accuracy.
Some of my favorite lines about this:
“He keeps changing the story so she won’t know what to believe - except for him.”
“It’s one thing to know what he’s done, and another to try to get people to believe. So many would find a way to ignore it. To put it in a little compartment in their minds and say, yes, he was a monster, but he made such beautiful things.”
“There’s an emptiness at the heart of his work. He has no idea how to tell a true story. He’s just following the pattern. That’s why he needs his actors to be hollow, to be his. He’s made a little set of puppets to play with, and he uses them to tell the same tired stories over and over again.”
It reminded me greatly of If We Were Villains in the way that it utilized theatrical tropes to emphasize the heightened reality that exists within the arts and to criticize the roles that people are forcefully placed into by those in power so that their role in reality is synonymous with their role as an artist. There is a lot of misogyny and homophobia and racism still very much present in theatre nowadays and this book felt like the perfect anthem to my rage.
The only thing I did not like about it was that I felt that after bringing up these issues and centering the story so much around them, they were essentially dropped at the end for the sake of wrapping up the murder mystery. I had been really hoping for a final message about the empowerment of women in theatrical spaces or a call to action but alas, I was left a little lackluster. However, the time that we did spend on them was MUCH appreciated.
Plus, did I mention it was sapphic?
TW: murder, death, violence, blood, grooming (on-page), adult/minor relationship, r*pe (past, mention), suicide (near attempt, on-page), suicidal thoughts, sexual harassment, emotional abuse/manipulation, drug use, underage drinking, fatphobia, sexism, misogyny, creepy male directors (cuz this should be a TW), sexual content (brief, on-page), grief
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, and Sexism
Moderate: Rape, Suicide, Sexual content, Drug use, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Fatphobia, and Grief
crunchycrystals's review against another edition
dark
tense
2.75
i listened to this on audiobook and was really caught off guard by the constant pov changes and only got used to it midway through. the fact that there’s only one narrator didn’t help. i would’ve DNFd this if i wasn’t interested in finding out the conclusion to the mystery.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Sexual harassment, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Murder, Rape, and Sexual content
Minor: Biphobia and Homophobia
beautifulpaxielreads's review
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, and Blood
Moderate: Body shaming, Gore, Ableism, Rape, Addiction, and Alcoholism
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
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