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4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
I felt some resistance at first to the on-the-nose commentary about the dangers of the internet, but girlie hooked me by the end w the nuanced character development and emotional excavation.
As others mentioned, there is a romantic throughline that is more of a focus than the description suggests. It occurs separate from but alongside the content warnings.
As others mentioned, there is a romantic throughline that is more of a focus than the description suggests. It occurs separate from but alongside the content warnings.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Death
challenging
dark
reflective
fast-paced
So many reviews describing her writing as ‘raw’ but understandably, as there really isn’t another word for it. As a late Millennial, this book was incredibly close to the bone and quite painful to read! Writing in second person is a bold move but it worked. If you don’t remember getting your first ‘family computer’ as a child, it probably isn’t for you. Will be gifting this to my two childhood best friends.
Also wild that the author’s sister-in-law is Sally Rooney
- “it’s a double-edged sword, obviously, in terms of how people talk about my work. But I suppose it can only help the search engine optimization of articles about me.”
Also wild that the author’s sister-in-law is Sally Rooney
- “it’s a double-edged sword, obviously, in terms of how people talk about my work. But I suppose it can only help the search engine optimization of articles about me.”
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Feeling unwell and shell-shocked after finishing this. An emotional read that really sparks a lot of self-reflection.
My only criticism is thatthe ending felt like a typical "girl falls into happy heterosexual relationship that magically solves all her problem". The ideas she expresses and and her intense self-hatred are somehow overridden as she realises she's in love with her best friend, and this magically solves a lifetime's worth of self-doubt and self-loathing.
Ultimately Prasifka's writing is just so incredibly anxiety-inducing, and at times the dread I felt whilst reading was almost unbearable. The use of second person was particularly jarring, and truly heightened every experience. Expecting a significant emotional hangover!
My only criticism is that
Ultimately Prasifka's writing is just so incredibly anxiety-inducing, and at times the dread I felt whilst reading was almost unbearable. The use of second person was particularly jarring, and truly heightened every experience. Expecting a significant emotional hangover!
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
beware second person pov! daring choice that takes some getting used to, but it does have a very in your face effect, which i learned to appreciate.
not sure how i feel about the story itself so this isn’t a full 3 stars i think. we basically get glimpses of this girl’s life as she grows up in the 2000s, but she’s mostly just being annoying as fuck until the last chapter. like wow you kinda like your male childhood best friend and he might kinda like you back that must be sooooo hard for you (??). i did not understand what drove her at all. the author’s debut had a similar main character (insecure, toxic relationships with just about everyone in her life, a magic realist thing happens to her as a wake up call), only this time i found her unrelatable all over the line. she’s chronically online during the facebook era, which i barely experienced myself so that’s a big part of it. she does all sorts of other stupid shit idk.
the feminist aspect was interesting though, but it always fell kinda flat because there was no actual discourse, it was just the mc and her older self stating things rather than her going in conversation with the other women in her life. i’m going to compare this with “none of this is serious” again because that had way more discussions about feminism and other topics.
anyway there’s some stuff about growing up and everything changing that i did enjoy which is why i don’t feel like rating it as 2 stars. special thanks to netgalley etc for the arc.
not sure how i feel about the story itself so this isn’t a full 3 stars i think. we basically get glimpses of this girl’s life as she grows up in the 2000s, but she’s mostly just being annoying as fuck until the last chapter. like wow you kinda like your male childhood best friend and he might kinda like you back that must be sooooo hard for you (??). i did not understand what drove her at all. the author’s debut had a similar main character (insecure, toxic relationships with just about everyone in her life, a magic realist thing happens to her as a wake up call), only this time i found her unrelatable all over the line. she’s chronically online during the facebook era, which i barely experienced myself so that’s a big part of it. she does all sorts of other stupid shit idk.
the feminist aspect was interesting though, but it always fell kinda flat because there was no actual discourse, it was just the mc and her older self stating things rather than her going in conversation with the other women in her life. i’m going to compare this with “none of this is serious” again because that had way more discussions about feminism and other topics.
anyway there’s some stuff about growing up and everything changing that i did enjoy which is why i don’t feel like rating it as 2 stars. special thanks to netgalley etc for the arc.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Some scenes/themes in this book resonates so much with me that it made me feel nauseous, especially since it's written in second person. However, it lost me a bit with the magical realism aspect and the heavy focus on Lorcan as a love interest in the last 2-3 chapters . I usually love magical realism , but it felt out of place in a book so rooted in real life. I still enjoyed the majority of the book though!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence
Moderate: Misogyny, Alcohol
der schreibstil hat mich leider die ersten 150 seiten garnicht abgeholt und ich fand es etwas anstrengend zu lesen bzw. länger als 20 seiten am stück zu lesen.
inhaltlich fand ich es aber sehr sehr relatable, erschreckend vieles in worte geschrieben zu sehen. gerade die endlosen gedanken darüber, wie man (insb online) von anderen wahrgenommen wird und der dadurch entstehende selbsthass. gerade als teenie. wollte danach social media wieder löschen (hab es aber nicht gemacht).
zusatz: insb. die beschreibung des fotografierens und festhaltens von/an sachen und die dadurch entstehende verzerrte wahrnehmung des moments, war sehr treffend.
inhaltlich fand ich es aber sehr sehr relatable, erschreckend vieles in worte geschrieben zu sehen. gerade die endlosen gedanken darüber, wie man (insb online) von anderen wahrgenommen wird und der dadurch entstehende selbsthass. gerade als teenie. wollte danach social media wieder löschen (hab es aber nicht gemacht).
zusatz: insb. die beschreibung des fotografierens und festhaltens von/an sachen und die dadurch entstehende verzerrte wahrnehmung des moments, war sehr treffend.
Really interesting use of second-person narrative that I enjoyed. Personally I found this book to be a bit uncomfortable to read at times, largely because the writing mirrored many of my own experiences from when I was younger and thus I found it jarring to have that reflected back at me.
Unsure if I would’ve enjoyed this book more or less if the subject matter didn’t resonate with me. I could very easily see readers both loving this book and hating this book.
Unsure if I would’ve enjoyed this book more or less if the subject matter didn’t resonate with me. I could very easily see readers both loving this book and hating this book.
dark
emotional
I needed to take some time before I collected my thoughts about this book. By the last page, I was in tears, trying to really compose myself and wipe my eyes so I could actually read the last few words. This might be one of the better Internet-Culture-Contemporary-Fiction novels that I have read.
The protagonist is a very broken individual. I really find flawed main characters to be one of the hardest characters to read and write, however this approach appeared to be an interesting take on this trope, as the main character is you. Prasifka, seemingly well connected to the language of the internet, creates a Y/N insert for the reader to gain introspection about their relationship with the internet. Intentional or not, this choice was effective in a way that it directly spoke to my own experiences as an awkward, isolated, online child, and spoke with a prophetic, sympathetic tone. There was an intensely strong theme of, "you will get through this". "You will be able to heal from the damage that this hulking, omniscient online structure has given you".
Overall, Prasifka's novel is a beautiful and haunting deep dive into how the internet and social media warps us into our worst selves, and the unique social grooming that generation Z and millennials have faced at the hands of internet culture. It deals with internet porn's haunting impact on the young mind in a way that I have never seen before, all encompassed into a wonderful second-person bildungsroman. It is a book that I would recommend for all chronically online something-teens, that will leave you with a pit in your stomach and an urge to add a screen-time checker to your phone.
The protagonist is a very broken individual. I really find flawed main characters to be one of the hardest characters to read and write, however this approach appeared to be an interesting take on this trope, as the main character is you. Prasifka, seemingly well connected to the language of the internet, creates a Y/N insert for the reader to gain introspection about their relationship with the internet. Intentional or not, this choice was effective in a way that it directly spoke to my own experiences as an awkward, isolated, online child, and spoke with a prophetic, sympathetic tone. There was an intensely strong theme of, "you will get through this". "You will be able to heal from the damage that this hulking, omniscient online structure has given you".
Overall, Prasifka's novel is a beautiful and haunting deep dive into how the internet and social media warps us into our worst selves, and the unique social grooming that generation Z and millennials have faced at the hands of internet culture. It deals with internet porn's haunting impact on the young mind in a way that I have never seen before, all encompassed into a wonderful second-person bildungsroman. It is a book that I would recommend for all chronically online something-teens, that will leave you with a pit in your stomach and an urge to add a screen-time checker to your phone.