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katjacatbeans's review against another edition
This is awful. The main character is a stereotype of the worst characteristics of autistic people, and absolutely feeds into the idea that autistic people (especially men) don't need to take accountability for being rude or inappropriate, because it's "just their autism". There's some nuance there, but him calling on a woman in the lecture by addressing her as "the obese woman....err, the overweight woman" is beyond the pale. Additionally, he talks about how a colleague touched him on the shoulder and he didn't want or like it, and noted that nothing would happen to her but if he did the same it would result in disciplinary action. That's probably true, but that doesn't refute the fact that if he doesn't want to be touched, he could ask her not to touch him. Then, per every single sexual harassment training I've encountered in professional and academic settings, repeated instances of unwanted touch are reportable. Men especially like to rail against how women can report them for every damn thing but women still get away with the same stuff - partly because they refuse to use the tools at their disposal to advocate for themselves. I'll be honest, because of the patriarchal nature of "Western" society, it's likely that not much (if anything) would follow from such a report but the tools for Don to advocate for himself are there. He's just not using them, and blaming it on women. There are countless other examples of sexism & misogyny in the first hour alone. The author is really showing his ass.
Furthermore, his obsession with BMI as an indicator of health is easily refuted by a cursory internet search - even in 2013, when the book was published, it was easy to find data that BMI was never intended to be used for individual health metrics (rather, at a population level) and that it simply does not work for many ethnic groups (aka, anyone other than the European population it was based on decades ago). I think the author is just unquestioningly propping up his own fatphobia and shielding it with commonly accepted knowledge rather than scientific fact - which quite honestly undermines the data-driven nature of the MC.
Furthermore, it's ableist. The first iterations of the questionnaire make it clear that he's using someone's BMI and exercise habits as a proxy for lifelong health. Able-bodiedness is a temporary condition. We all succumb to accident, illness, genetic predisposition, and aging. Additionally, his comment about a woman's low BMI being desirable, since she shows no sign of anorexia, is complete trash. First, no one can tell if a person has an eating disorder simply by looking at them. In severe cases of anorexia it may be obvious, but I've known several people who fall into the overweight or obese bmi ranges (just saying, so we can compare apples to apples) who have or have had anorexia without becoming "too thin". That's just not how bodies work - another truth that is pretty easily understood with fairly cursory research.
The author's biases are punching holes in character development, showing a lot of shoddy background research, and doing more to uphold gross societal expectations than I think he realizes.
Furthermore, his obsession with BMI as an indicator of health is easily refuted by a cursory internet search - even in 2013, when the book was published, it was easy to find data that BMI was never intended to be used for individual health metrics (rather, at a population level) and that it simply does not work for many ethnic groups (aka, anyone other than the European population it was based on decades ago). I think the author is just unquestioningly propping up his own fatphobia and shielding it with commonly accepted knowledge rather than scientific fact - which quite honestly undermines the data-driven nature of the MC.
Furthermore, it's ableist. The first iterations of the questionnaire make it clear that he's using someone's BMI and exercise habits as a proxy for lifelong health. Able-bodiedness is a temporary condition. We all succumb to accident, illness, genetic predisposition, and aging. Additionally, his comment about a woman's low BMI being desirable, since she shows no sign of anorexia, is complete trash. First, no one can tell if a person has an eating disorder simply by looking at them. In severe cases of anorexia it may be obvious, but I've known several people who fall into the overweight or obese bmi ranges (just saying, so we can compare apples to apples) who have or have had anorexia without becoming "too thin". That's just not how bodies work - another truth that is pretty easily understood with fairly cursory research.
The author's biases are punching holes in character development, showing a lot of shoddy background research, and doing more to uphold gross societal expectations than I think he realizes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Sexism, and Misogyny
jolineliest's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming and Alcohol
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Death, and Alcoholism
Minor: Grief, Bullying, Car accident, Fatphobia, Dementia, Sexual content, Mental illness, and Suicide
calamitywindpetal's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
fast-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Car accident, Alcohol, Dementia, Death of parent, and Death
Minor: Sexism, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Suicide, and Violence
juli_khn's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Car accident, Classism, Death, Dementia, Cursing, Sexism, Death of parent, and Fatphobia
Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Dementia, Blood, Mental illness, Animal death, Sexism, Cursing, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Car accident, Ableism, Alcohol, Chronic illness, Classism, Fatphobia, Medical content, and Suicide
bealmg's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
This was not as good as I expected given the glowing reviews :( A super easy read, but I think it lacked depth. Don, the main character, was the stereotypical white male on the autism spectrum - think Sheldon Cooper but Australian. While it was entertaining and interesting to read his perspective on the world and on human interactions, there wasn't much character development (I don't count make-overs for the sake of someone else as character development, sorry). Same with Rosie, who seemed like a great character at first, but also lacked from deeper development as a character.
While the story kept me entertained, the ending was too rushed and I wished we could have seen more from Rosie's perspective other thanaccepting Don's proposal . Overall, it was an okay novel and thumbs up for autistic representation, but I wanted more.
While the story kept me entertained, the ending was too rushed and I wished we could have seen more from Rosie's perspective other than
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism
Minor: Death of parent, Bullying, and Violence
allyordyna's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Funny, clever romance from ml pov; very interesting character with Asperger’s (high functioning ASD). Fl loves using the f word tho
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing
Moderate: Alcohol and Bullying
Minor: Homophobia, Violence, Toxic friendship, Sexism, Lesbophobia, and Car accident
ashlightgrayson's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I thought this perspective was interesting, but I can't help but feel it falls into a lot of stereotypes about autism. I'm not diagnosed on the spectrum of autism myself, so take that with a grain of salt. Despite this, I always felt like Don's intentions for finding a partner were noble even if I didn't agree with his methods. Rosie was an interesting contrast to Don's rigidness. She feels like her own person, so I don't feel like she falls into "manic pixie dream girl" territory, which is nice. Don also learns to respect her and I think she brings out the more selfless side of him.
I think the side characters in this book left a lot to be desired. I do not like how Gene is neglectful of his wife Claudia's needs. I am all for consensual open relationships, but it feels like Claudia has reluctantly accepted an open relationship for the sake of satisfying Gene. Gene also makes comments that come off as sexist towards women. Furthermore, Gene doesn't really develop or become a better person by the end of this story and I just would have wanted more of that. Overall, I enjoyed the story and I just wish Don had a better friend that Gene.
I think the side characters in this book left a lot to be desired. I do not like how Gene is neglectful of his wife Claudia's needs. I am all for consensual open relationships, but it feels like Claudia has reluctantly accepted an open relationship for the sake of satisfying Gene. Gene also makes comments that come off as sexist towards women. Furthermore, Gene doesn't really develop or become a better person by the end of this story and I just would have wanted more of that. Overall, I enjoyed the story and I just wish Don had a better friend that Gene.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism
debookgeek's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny and Sexism
Minor: Suicide, Death, Death of parent, and Car accident
lilyofthevalley_reads's review against another edition
The writing was casually sexist and just plain gross tbh. I was also really confused about what was going on with the main character’s best friend Gene and if his wife knew about his “study”
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism and Misogyny
kb33's review against another edition
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexism