Scan barcode
A review by delaney572e4
A Sisterhood of Secret Ambitions by Sheena Boekweg
2.0
Read my full review on my blog now!
I did honestly debate a bit whether or not I wanted to post this review. In some sense, I feel a bit bad taking the time to so thoroughly single out a book and say "I did not like this, and here's why!" However, I haven't seen that many thorough reviews of this book, and I genuinely think that if you are considering reading it, seeing my opinions might be helpful in making that decision. Also, like, I already wrote most of this for my NetGalley feedback form, so I might as well. (Okay, that's a bit of a lie, I wrote the first version of this for my feedback form, then revised it twice to actually make it comprehensible.)
The thing about A Sisterhood of Secret Ambitions is that I really wanted to like it! I first saw it on bookstagram at the beginning of the year, and I thought it looked like a promising YA historical fiction, something I'm always looking for more of. I was interested in the fact that it had a fat protagonist, and I was intrigued by a set-up that presented both sisterhood and a competition between four girls. I wanted to see how it played with the tension between those two things and how what appeared to be a progressive voice would challenge the trope of women competing to win a man. Unfortunately, I don't think A Sisterhood of Secret Ambitions lived up to its potential, and I found it to be thoroughly mediocre, if not annoying and boring at times. I even found myself skimming at the end, which I never do.
I believe this book is a classic case of an author biting off more than they can chew. Or perhaps a book that would have been great if it had gone through a couple more revisions. The ideas were all there, it just wasn’t put together very well. There were a lot of weaknesses to it, but overall it stemmed from the fact that the writing just wasn't strong enough. I talk in more details in my blog post, but the characterization was lacking, the plot was static, and the political discussions were not nearly nuanced enough (too much #girlboss energy instead of Elsie actually wanting to help others).
What A Sisterhood of Secret Ambitions really came down to was: it was boring. It should have been interesting, but the writing wasn’t good enough to make it so. The plot needed a major reworking, the prose needed help, and the characterization was sorely lacking. Although some might be able to enjoy it, I can’t say I recommend this book.
-----
Pre-review: well. That was a thing that I read.
The acknowledgements were quite nice, but unfortunately they might have been the best part of the book.
1.5-2 stars
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced reader copy.
I did honestly debate a bit whether or not I wanted to post this review. In some sense, I feel a bit bad taking the time to so thoroughly single out a book and say "I did not like this, and here's why!" However, I haven't seen that many thorough reviews of this book, and I genuinely think that if you are considering reading it, seeing my opinions might be helpful in making that decision. Also, like, I already wrote most of this for my NetGalley feedback form, so I might as well. (Okay, that's a bit of a lie, I wrote the first version of this for my feedback form, then revised it twice to actually make it comprehensible.)
The thing about A Sisterhood of Secret Ambitions is that I really wanted to like it! I first saw it on bookstagram at the beginning of the year, and I thought it looked like a promising YA historical fiction, something I'm always looking for more of. I was interested in the fact that it had a fat protagonist, and I was intrigued by a set-up that presented both sisterhood and a competition between four girls. I wanted to see how it played with the tension between those two things and how what appeared to be a progressive voice would challenge the trope of women competing to win a man. Unfortunately, I don't think A Sisterhood of Secret Ambitions lived up to its potential, and I found it to be thoroughly mediocre, if not annoying and boring at times. I even found myself skimming at the end, which I never do.
I believe this book is a classic case of an author biting off more than they can chew. Or perhaps a book that would have been great if it had gone through a couple more revisions. The ideas were all there, it just wasn’t put together very well. There were a lot of weaknesses to it, but overall it stemmed from the fact that the writing just wasn't strong enough. I talk in more details in my blog post, but the characterization was lacking, the plot was static, and the political discussions were not nearly nuanced enough (too much #girlboss energy instead of Elsie actually wanting to help others).
What A Sisterhood of Secret Ambitions really came down to was: it was boring. It should have been interesting, but the writing wasn’t good enough to make it so. The plot needed a major reworking, the prose needed help, and the characterization was sorely lacking. Although some might be able to enjoy it, I can’t say I recommend this book.
-----
Pre-review: well. That was a thing that I read.
The acknowledgements were quite nice, but unfortunately they might have been the best part of the book.
1.5-2 stars
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced reader copy.