Scan barcode
A review by shadeyc
No Filter and Other Lies by Crystal Maldonado
challenging
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Before I have a rant, I would like to say this is a decent coming of age in a social media world story and I can see people might like it. Good things: Grandpa and Cash. But also note, the blurb is a teensy bit misleading as there is a fair bit of build up befre the catfishing even starts, and you get well past 80% before there's any fall out.
Rant time.
I realised about 75% of the way through that is was REALLY ANNOYED.
Then I tried to work out why I was annoyed, part of it was that everything felt a little surface level, chugging along, no major twists or reveals, what you expect is what you get, the friendships are fine, the grandparents are fine, the cute bits I guess are cute. As you can see, nothing really grabbed me and sucked me in and invested me in any of the characters. Because none of them are actually likeable, they're passable but forgettable. This isn't one of those 'oh the MC is super messed up but loveable' type of situations, or 'the characters are so awful that it's a great story' situations. Which is really disappointing because there is a lot I should have connected with with the main character.
And then I thought about it some more and I realised I LOATHE THE MOTHER which overshadowed everything for me. Kat's entire being is a by product of how she's treated by the mother. I say 'the' mother because she's an evil narcissistic smug vindictive bitch (and no being a teen mother does not give you licence to try and destroy your childrens lives and revel in their misery).
And low and behold we have the crux of the problem. The mother reminds me of mine.
Apparently I was triggered and compartmentalised it, go figure.
AND - Kat's Dad doesn't get off scotfree either, nor does (dear sweet actually nice) Grandma, because they both pander to the mother and enable her revolting behaviour.
Maybe I'm blowing her role out of proportion and people don't see her as bad as I do, but that woman is literally responsible for the filter (hah!) Kat sees the world through, so as far as I can see, if she wasn't such a psycho EVERY OTHER PERSON IN HER FAMILY WOULD ACTUALLY BE HAPPY.
So. This book made me mad and not in a way that was satisfactory.
Hopefully everyone else has more fun with it.
Rant time.
I realised about 75% of the way through that is was REALLY ANNOYED.
Then I tried to work out why I was annoyed, part of it was that everything felt a little surface level, chugging along, no major twists or reveals, what you expect is what you get, the friendships are fine, the grandparents are fine, the cute bits I guess are cute. As you can see, nothing really grabbed me and sucked me in and invested me in any of the characters. Because none of them are actually likeable, they're passable but forgettable. This isn't one of those 'oh the MC is super messed up but loveable' type of situations, or 'the characters are so awful that it's a great story' situations. Which is really disappointing because there is a lot I should have connected with with the main character.
And then I thought about it some more and I realised I LOATHE THE MOTHER which overshadowed everything for me.
And low and behold we have the crux of the problem. The mother reminds me of mine.
Apparently I was triggered and compartmentalised it, go figure.
AND -
Maybe I'm blowing her role out of proportion and people don't see her as bad as I do, but that woman is literally responsible for the filter (hah!) Kat sees the world through, so as far as I can see, if she wasn't such a psycho EVERY OTHER PERSON IN HER FAMILY WOULD ACTUALLY BE HAPPY.
So. This book made me mad and not in a way that was satisfactory.
Hopefully everyone else has more fun with it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Abandonment
Minor: Body shaming