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talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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? It's complicated
3.0
Considering my long-standing vendetta against contemporary fiction, especially with high school settings, I'm actually surprised I ended up enjoying Noteworthy as much as I did. Its plot isn't necessarily the most original but is interesting and fresh nevertheless, and the themes delve deeper than I was actually expecting. Redgate's writing style is very pleasing and smooth, too, with the descriptions refreshingly thorough yet easy to read and the dialogue flowing fairly nicely. The cast is compelling and diverse, and the focus on friendship was an appreciated and valuable one. Jordan is a pretty likable and relatable protagonist, but still definitely a realistic teenager who makes stupid impulse decisions and faces (some) consequences for them.
Yet for all of that, something about it just... didn't end up clicking with me. Maybe it's just that "drag as deceit" plotlines don't quite work for me -- a woman dressing as a man carries somewhat less rough implications than the opposite case, but it's still somewhat uncomfortable, and though that does come up, it's more in passing than anything, along with Jordan's brief questioning of her gender. I did like how casually that cropped up, considering how rare that is in fiction, but ultimately it might have been a bit too casual, considering it's mentioned a few times but never goes anywhere and eventually abruptly disappears altogether. Actual trans characters are more of a footnote than anything; unless I was skimming too much, they never appear in person, only being mentioned as something of a diversity quotient -- and, more pressingly, defined only by being trans. Additionally, though the handling of gender and sexuality is pretty good overall, there's some other hiccups; notably, the scene whereIsaac, assuming -- since he's never actually told this, adding another layer of "yikes" to the sequence -- Jordan (as Julian) is gay, ends up outing "him" to the rest of the group. Everything ends up fine, but it's never really discussed in-depth as something Not So Great. Or addressed again. Another point of contention there is how one character finds out about Jordan's gender. To some extent, I liked how Isaac's immediate assumption was that she was a trans guy rather than a crossdressing girl, but the nature of the scene (him walking in on her nude) makes it somewhat uncomfortable from multiple angles.
As can be told from this, the story also falls flat in some areas. The cast is too expansive to really flesh the characters out as thoroughly as they could have been, and there are quite a few other unresolved subplots hanging in limbo by the time the book ends. For a significant proportion of the book, the characters sort of ran together for me, and I was not sold on the main romantic relationship, nor a couple of the side romantic plots (which are most prominent among those that go unresolved). Something about the conclusion also didn't quite ring true to me -- it's hopeful, but rushed, and the dialogue and actions of some characters just feel clunky and weird, owing to how flat a lot of them are.
While Noteworthy has a lot going for it, there are probably just as many things that don't work, at least for me. It requires a lot of suspension of disbelief for a lot of things, and ultimately I wasn't as happy with how some themes were handled and wrapped up (or, in many cases, not wrapped up). Well-written from a technical standpoint and had potential, but failed to delve as deep or explore as much as I think it could have.
Yet for all of that, something about it just... didn't end up clicking with me. Maybe it's just that "drag as deceit" plotlines don't quite work for me -- a woman dressing as a man carries somewhat less rough implications than the opposite case, but it's still somewhat uncomfortable, and though that does come up, it's more in passing than anything, along with Jordan's brief questioning of her gender. I did like how casually that cropped up, considering how rare that is in fiction, but ultimately it might have been a bit too casual, considering it's mentioned a few times but never goes anywhere and eventually abruptly disappears altogether. Actual trans characters are more of a footnote than anything; unless I was skimming too much, they never appear in person, only being mentioned as something of a diversity quotient -- and, more pressingly, defined only by being trans. Additionally, though the handling of gender and sexuality is pretty good overall, there's some other hiccups; notably, the scene where
As can be told from this, the story also falls flat in some areas. The cast is too expansive to really flesh the characters out as thoroughly as they could have been, and there are quite a few other unresolved subplots hanging in limbo by the time the book ends. For a significant proportion of the book, the characters sort of ran together for me, and I was not sold on the main romantic relationship, nor a couple of the side romantic plots (which are most prominent among those that go unresolved). Something about the conclusion also didn't quite ring true to me -- it's hopeful, but rushed, and the dialogue and actions of some characters just feel clunky and weird, owing to how flat a lot of them are.
While Noteworthy has a lot going for it, there are probably just as many things that don't work, at least for me. It requires a lot of suspension of disbelief for a lot of things, and ultimately I wasn't as happy with how some themes were handled and wrapped up (or, in many cases, not wrapped up). Well-written from a technical standpoint and had potential, but failed to delve as deep or explore as much as I think it could have.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism, Misogyny, Violence, and Blood
Minor: Medical content, Ableism, Homophobia, Biphobia, Transphobia, Racism, Fatphobia, Infidelity, and Outing
Underage drinking is present in a scene or two.
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