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lilythebibliophile's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I'm so disappointed that I didn't love this book. I had only heard great things about it, so I was really expecting to love it.
My lack of enjoyment while reading this book stems from the one-dimensional characters, the plot that is somehow too slow-moving to be interesting while also summarizing any important character interactions much too quickly, and the boundary-breaching, unwanted sexual comments the characters make to each other that are played for laughs.
I'm just going to focus on the boundary-breaching sexual comments, because they are quite jarring and inappropriate. I'm not talking about sex jokes; I'm talking about characters making unwanted sexual comments to each other and finding it funny when the other person gets uncomfortable. Also known as sexual harassment.
Here is a list of the instances of this in the book:
1. The worst example of this is when Yadira, a classmate of Halti's, is referring to another stressed classmate of theirs, Greg, and says, "I offered him a hand job, and he didn't even flinch like he normally does" (311). Ah, yes, it's so funny that Yadira often jokingly offers hand jobs to Greg when it makes him visibly uncomfortable. That's not sexual harassment at all (this is sarcasm). I'm sickened by the way this line was clearly meant for readers to laugh at, not to balk at in horror.
2. While Halti and Corinne are talking about their new relationship, Corinne pulls out some flashcards, and Halti says, "My boner is, like, throbbing," in response (210). There was no mention of a boner before; Halti just thought it would be funny to pretend like he had one. This moment might seem innocuous, but trust me, I've been in relationships with guys who bring up sexual things out of the blue, and those shockingly abrupt sexual comments often turn into more shockingly abrupt sexual moments, if you know what I mean.
3. When Halti and Greg are arguing, Yadira tells them to "Put [their] dicks away; the smell is terrible," (131). This one isn't so bad, but it's still crude sexual language being brought up completely out of nowhere and at an inappropriate time. And again, it's played for laughs.
4. Corinne ogles another classmate of theirs, Marvyn, and says she's "going to need nine [minutes in heaven] for what [she has] in mind [for him]" (116). Let's pretend Corinne was a teen boy saying that about a teen girl. That's clearly sexual harassment. I wouldn't want some asshole guy saying that about me at a pool party, so why shouldn't Corinne be held to the same standard? It was creepy.
5. Finally, Corinne mentions that she watches a lot of porn that is "always ethically made, and [she] only look[s] for female directors" (70). Let's unpack that, shall we? There is no way to know if the porn you are watching is ethically made, whether it is directed by women or not. Women can sexually assault and intimidate people, too. There is no way to know for sure if the porn stars you are watching are consenting adults, or if they're children being forced to do it against their will. Even if the actors are consenting adults, they might have wanted to stop at any point during filming and were not allowed to. I believe sex work is work and that sex workers deserve rights, but I also believe that the porn industry is predatory and exploitative, and porn warps people's sexual desires and can turn them into predators. I don't think porn should exist, and I don't think anyone should ever watch porn. If you want to read erotica or fanfiction or look at Victoria's Secret catalogs or whatever, that's totally healthy and normal. I just don't think watching porn could ever be healthy or normal.
All of these moments are played for laughs and are not a significant part of the story. But they're not funny, and YA books are very formative for children and teens. If a teen boy reads this book, he will come out of it with the notion that it is okay to make unexpected sexual comments to your friends and your girlfriend, and that, if they get uncomfortable, it's funny. Teen boys already have enough entitlement and social conditioning to be predatory towards others; why is there another book out there reinforcing this bad behavior? This behavior that leads to sexual assaults, that traumatizes people and makes them feel unsafe, even just in conversation with men? Because being told something sexual in an abrupt and out-of-left-field manner is a trauma in its own right.
This book also makes me think Ben Philippe's ideal love interest watches porn and objectifies the opposite sex, just like he does. I mean, he could've given Corinne any character traits, and he chose those ones? Yikes.
(P.S. I get the whole morality-of-porn thing is divisive - in my opinion, if you get super upset while defending porn, you're addicted to it - but if you disagree with me on that point, my point about the objectification aspect of the book being wrong and the sexual comments being inappropriate still stands.)
My lack of enjoyment while reading this book stems from the one-dimensional characters, the plot that is somehow too slow-moving to be interesting while also summarizing any important character interactions much too quickly, and the boundary-breaching, unwanted sexual comments the characters make to each other that are played for laughs.
I'm just going to focus on the boundary-breaching sexual comments, because they are quite jarring and inappropriate. I'm not talking about sex jokes; I'm talking about characters making unwanted sexual comments to each other and finding it funny when the other person gets uncomfortable. Also known as sexual harassment.
Here is a list of the instances of this in the book:
1. The worst example of this is when Yadira, a classmate of Halti's, is referring to another stressed classmate of theirs, Greg, and says, "I offered him a hand job, and he didn't even flinch like he normally does" (311). Ah, yes, it's so funny that Yadira often jokingly offers hand jobs to Greg when it makes him visibly uncomfortable. That's not sexual harassment at all (this is sarcasm). I'm sickened by the way this line was clearly meant for readers to laugh at, not to balk at in horror.
2. While Halti and Corinne are talking about their new relationship, Corinne pulls out some flashcards, and Halti says, "My boner is, like, throbbing," in response (210). There was no mention of a boner before; Halti just thought it would be funny to pretend like he had one. This moment might seem innocuous, but trust me, I've been in relationships with guys who bring up sexual things out of the blue, and those shockingly abrupt sexual comments often turn into more shockingly abrupt sexual moments, if you know what I mean.
3. When Halti and Greg are arguing, Yadira tells them to "Put [their] dicks away; the smell is terrible," (131). This one isn't so bad, but it's still crude sexual language being brought up completely out of nowhere and at an inappropriate time. And again, it's played for laughs.
4. Corinne ogles another classmate of theirs, Marvyn, and says she's "going to need nine [minutes in heaven] for what [she has] in mind [for him]" (116). Let's pretend Corinne was a teen boy saying that about a teen girl. That's clearly sexual harassment. I wouldn't want some asshole guy saying that about me at a pool party, so why shouldn't Corinne be held to the same standard? It was creepy.
5. Finally, Corinne mentions that she watches a lot of porn that is "always ethically made, and [she] only look[s] for female directors" (70). Let's unpack that, shall we? There is no way to know if the porn you are watching is ethically made, whether it is directed by women or not. Women can sexually assault and intimidate people, too. There is no way to know for sure if the porn stars you are watching are consenting adults, or if they're children being forced to do it against their will. Even if the actors are consenting adults, they might have wanted to stop at any point during filming and were not allowed to. I believe sex work is work and that sex workers deserve rights, but I also believe that the porn industry is predatory and exploitative, and porn warps people's sexual desires and can turn them into predators. I don't think porn should exist, and I don't think anyone should ever watch porn. If you want to read erotica or fanfiction or look at Victoria's Secret catalogs or whatever, that's totally healthy and normal. I just don't think watching porn could ever be healthy or normal.
All of these moments are played for laughs and are not a significant part of the story. But they're not funny, and YA books are very formative for children and teens. If a teen boy reads this book, he will come out of it with the notion that it is okay to make unexpected sexual comments to your friends and your girlfriend, and that, if they get uncomfortable, it's funny. Teen boys already have enough entitlement and social conditioning to be predatory towards others; why is there another book out there reinforcing this bad behavior? This behavior that leads to sexual assaults, that traumatizes people and makes them feel unsafe, even just in conversation with men? Because being told something sexual in an abrupt and out-of-left-field manner is a trauma in its own right.
This book also makes me think Ben Philippe's ideal love interest watches porn and objectifies the opposite sex, just like he does. I mean, he could've given Corinne any character traits, and he chose those ones? Yikes.
(P.S. I get the whole morality-of-porn thing is divisive - in my opinion, if you get super upset while defending porn, you're addicted to it - but if you disagree with me on that point, my point about the objectification aspect of the book being wrong and the sexual comments being inappropriate still stands.)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual harassment
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