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Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'
They Could Have Named Her Anything by Stephanie Jimenez
3 reviews
niksasali's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Don't often leave comments but this one was hard to rate for me. First, the purpose of my choosing of it was for a challenge prompt where the main character was a similar age to me in a similar time. In this case the main character was 17 and it was 2006 which is when I would've been 19. I expected to have more social cultural references that would have that nostalgia attached to them but really didn't find that.. in fact other than mentions of cable TV, it seemed more current the 2006 (the amount of times it referred to people on their phones, I remember 2006 as a time where far fewer people lived with their phones attached to their hands).
The bigger thing for me was I didn't really like anyone in the book... usually in books like this where you're seeing the struggles people have and what they're up against and all of that, I can like even the character with the least redeeming qualities, but none of them seemed to care about anyone other than themselves.. with the exception of maybe Maria's parents but that only really showed towards the end.
Finally, I was little disappointed that for a book that on the back claimed to be told through the perspectives of four characters it was pretty much 90% through one character's perspective with the other 3 getting small slivers.
I love that the bookaddress class and race issues as well as sexual consent issues..., But I also felt those topics were only just brought to the surface but never actually explored with much depth. They were only ever really looked up by one person's perspective and not discussed in any meaningful way between characters so that people could go any deeper with it.
The bigger thing for me was I didn't really like anyone in the book... usually in books like this where you're seeing the struggles people have and what they're up against and all of that, I can like even the character with the least redeeming qualities, but none of them seemed to care about anyone other than themselves.. with the exception of maybe Maria's parents but that only really showed towards the end.
Finally, I was little disappointed that for a book that on the back claimed to be told through the perspectives of four characters it was pretty much 90% through one character's perspective with the other 3 getting small slivers.
I love that the bookaddress class and race issues as well as sexual consent issues..., But I also felt those topics were only just brought to the surface but never actually explored with much depth. They were only ever really looked up by one person's perspective and not discussed in any meaningful way between characters so that people could go any deeper with it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
shgmclicious's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Toxic relationship
omnombailey's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This was a good read, in that it evoked sentiments I haven't had lately with other books. It is by no means a comfortable read, though. Nor is every character likeable, especially by the end. But even with the characters I outright loathed, there was enough complexity to keep me invested, even if it was to see how the dumpster fire imploded in the end. As awful as most of the situations are in this book, there was something painfully genuine about everything.
The relies a bit too heavily on the characters, thus the plot is strung together oddly and really falls apart near the end. By then, you're already in too deep to back out, but it was unfortunate how the story's foundations barely hold together.
The relies a bit too heavily on the characters, thus the plot is strung together oddly and really falls apart near the end. By then, you're already in too deep to back out, but it was unfortunate how the story's foundations barely hold together.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Sexism, Racism, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, and Infidelity
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Pedophilia, and Medical content
Minor: Vomit and Self harm
The adult/minor relationship is a huge part of this story. While both sides say they're consenting to it, it's very evident that there's plenty of manipulation and dubious consent involved. It is not painted in a healthy light to make the reader uncomfortable.
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