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b10h4z4rd 's review for:
The Disturbed Girl's Dictionary
by NoNieqa Ramos
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a book about issues.
To start, this book underwhelmed me compared to the reviews I read. Sometimes there is only so much darkness and grittiness that I can read before I stop caring. Personally, I reached that point about a hundred pages in. Only in the last fifty or so pages did I start caring again, not for the main character, but for her best friend. Maybe this book just wasn't for me, seeing the other reviews raving about how accurate this book is to troubled children, but some choices in the text put me off heavily. The main character having such a bleak outlook on life often correlates with illogical behavior, which tends to annoy me in novels, and Macy embodied that to a T. While I understand the decisions made, it still made her rather unsympathetic as a character to me. Some parts of the novel fell flat to me in terms of movement, as I would often feel offput by the disjointed nature of the chapters. I could hardly tell over what timeframe some chapters would take place, which did lead to quite a lot of page-flipping for me. Macy's thoughts on the world also struck me as sometimes too shallow/edgy, which often killed my care for connection to those messages.
Our main character is crass and abrasive, but well-fleshed out. I didn't like her, but that doesn't change the fact that her character is very complex and the book takes great care to peel back the layers of her with each chapter. My favorite character was her best friend, Alma. Alma's character arc was telegraphed very well and she was fleshed out to a degree that pushed me to actually finishing the book for her alone. I wish she had gotten a better ending, but what happened to her does prop up the theme and message of the writing well.
To be entirely honest, while some may say the writing is a huge detriment, the writing style is easy to sink into once you get going. I was also put off by the non-standard grammar and liberal use of curses, but it all fades to the background once you read enough. (The one part that continued irking me was use of 'Name:' instead of dialogue tags. Personal preference.)
The themes of sexual exploitation and the cycle of poverty are well explored in this novel, which I will wholeheartedly commend. The sheer pervasiveness of hopelessness shown throughout the novel forces the reader to understand, even if they don't want to.
Ultimately, I wouldn't have picked this book up if I knew what a drag reading through it would be. The good parts of the novel are surrounded by parts I didn't care for. Had I been a tad more willing to DNF books, this ending would have gone completely unread. I cannot decide whether that would be a good thing or not, so you may decide.
I recommend this book if you want a thought-provoking story on oppression's effects on a small scale and a deliberately unlikable (due to her own reservations on showing vulnerability/weakness) MC. Heed the content warnings though.
To start, this book underwhelmed me compared to the reviews I read. Sometimes there is only so much darkness and grittiness that I can read before I stop caring. Personally, I reached that point about a hundred pages in. Only in the last fifty or so pages did I start caring again, not for the main character, but for her best friend. Maybe this book just wasn't for me, seeing the other reviews raving about how accurate this book is to troubled children, but some choices in the text put me off heavily. The main character having such a bleak outlook on life often correlates with illogical behavior, which tends to annoy me in novels, and Macy embodied that to a T. While I understand the decisions made, it still made her rather unsympathetic as a character to me. Some parts of the novel fell flat to me in terms of movement, as I would often feel offput by the disjointed nature of the chapters. I could hardly tell over what timeframe some chapters would take place, which did lead to quite a lot of page-flipping for me. Macy's thoughts on the world also struck me as sometimes too shallow/edgy, which often killed my care for connection to those messages.
Our main character is crass and abrasive, but well-fleshed out. I didn't like her, but that doesn't change the fact that her character is very complex and the book takes great care to peel back the layers of her with each chapter. My favorite character was her best friend, Alma. Alma's character arc was telegraphed very well and she was fleshed out to a degree that pushed me to actually finishing the book for her alone. I wish she had gotten a better ending, but what happened to her does prop up the theme and message of the writing well.
To be entirely honest, while some may say the writing is a huge detriment, the writing style is easy to sink into once you get going. I was also put off by the non-standard grammar and liberal use of curses, but it all fades to the background once you read enough. (The one part that continued irking me was use of 'Name:' instead of dialogue tags. Personal preference.)
The themes of sexual exploitation and the cycle of poverty are well explored in this novel, which I will wholeheartedly commend. The sheer pervasiveness of hopelessness shown throughout the novel forces the reader to understand, even if they don't want to.
Ultimately, I wouldn't have picked this book up if I knew what a drag reading through it would be. The good parts of the novel are surrounded by parts I didn't care for. Had I been a tad more willing to DNF books, this ending would have gone completely unread. I cannot decide whether that would be a good thing or not, so you may decide.
I recommend this book if you want a thought-provoking story on oppression's effects on a small scale and a deliberately unlikable (due to her own reservations on showing vulnerability/weakness) MC. Heed the content warnings though.