Scan barcode
A review by nicolemarcell
Gena/Finn by Kat Helgeson, Hannah Moskowitz
2.0
2.5 stars
About a month ago, I was desperately searching the library near my apartment for a light and easy book: in other words, I was looking for a book that would distract me from my finals, but also not be so distracting that I wouldn’t get any studying done. I wanted light and fluffy, and when I saw Gena/Finn on the shelves and remembered that it was a book about fandom, it seemed like a perfect fit. If it was going to be anything like Rainbow Rowell’s [book:Fangirl|16068905] or Danika Stone’s [book:All the Feels|29222548], then it would be sweet and lovely — perfect for finals week.
Well, amazingly enough, I was actually responsible during finals week and didn’t read it then; instead, I read Gena/Finn one night all in one sitting, partially because I couldn’t sleep, but mainly because it was due at the library the next day and I didn’t want to return it without finishing it. Obviously, I enjoyed it enough to stay up half the night reading it, though I never found myself really, really loving it; and then, as the book progressed, I actually found myself liking it less and less until I found myself unable to give it anything other than 2.5 stars.
Let’s start with the good, because there are a lot of good things in this book. For starters: I really, really loved this formating. It felt like a modern day epistolary novel: this book is told entirely through blog posts, emails, letters, texts, journal entries, and online chats, yet somehow, it still manages to really flesh out an intricate story with complex characters pretty effectively. Sure, there were certainly times where I wished that it would tell the story in a more standard way, especially in the beginning when I was still having trouble telling the main characters apart; but after a while — once I pinned down who everyone was and really got into the flow of the story — it became a real highlight of the story for me. It made the story feel unique and real in a way that no other format could achieve: it looked exactly like every online friendship I ever had, and I don’t think the connection I felt to the characters would have been as strong if the novel had been written any way else.
The beginning of the book is definitely my favorite part of this book: it was so light and fun, but just serious enough that you could see a real friendship blooming between Gena and Finn. It felt real and important — it felt very much like a real online friendship. I loved seeing how they slowly got to know each other and become more wrapped up in each other’s lives. I love how it slowly turned into more, how it started to feel like love, and how Moskowitz and Helgeson talked about this love: sometimes, we don’t know how or why it forms, or what it means exactly, but it is there, and it is just as tangible and real online as it is off.
And then it started to get a bit weird.
See, this book started out very light — funny, sweet, but a little serious to give it some depth. But about halfway through the book, it started to get very, very serious. Things got extremely heavy, there was PTSD and emotional break downs, and this cute little book suddenly became very emotional and deep. Normally, I might like that, but in this case? I was just — I was not into it.
First of all, it felt — kind of out of nowhere? Like, here is this cute story with typical college kid problems and lots of fangirling that suddenly turns into a kind of horror show with death and despair and a whole lot of emotions that I didn’t sign up for. I realize that this may have been the point — life can shit on people out of nowhere, and there is no foreshadowing — but it also just felt strange and out of place. It felt like it was just sort of thrown in there to give the story some depth, but it already had a lot of depth: the conversation about love was deep enough, and throwing some tragedy in to make a statement only detracted from that.
Perhaps more importantly, it was at this point in the novel where my love for the characters really started to go downhill — especially for Finn. Initially, I had really loved them and connected with them, but after the tragedy, Finn really revealed herself to be someone I didn’t like. She seemed to care more about fandom than real life people, and while I understand that fandom can be incredibly consuming, it should not outweigh concern for real human lives. And what’s worse — she never seemed to learn any different. She struggled with it, but there was no real conclusion that real life people are more important than characters on a TV show. This side of her was revealed by a tragedy that felt unnecessary and completely pulled me away from her.
While we are on the subject (spoiler warning): it felt like Gena was very suddenly and magically healed from her PTSD in a way that felt fake and a bit problematic. Sure, quite some time had passed between the tragedy and her recovery, but show that healing. I was annoyed that Moskowitz and Helgeson would include PTSD without really discussing it; it felt like it was there for shock factor and intrigue more than to actually talk about it, which is beyond frustrating.
Overall, I have very mixed feelings about Gena/Finn. On the one hand, it started out as a unique and adorable story about an online friendship that was just as deep and connected as any friendship in the real world. I was incredibly attached to the characters and their problems and felt that it really reflected how online friendships and fandom function. On the other hand, as the book progressed, it fell into an unnecessary and over the top tragedy that turned Finn into someone I didn’t like and hurt Gena only to magically heal her after an entire section of cringe-worthy poetry. I wish that Moskowitz and Helgeson had stuck to their message on love and its different forms, but that is not the case. So, I don’t think I would really recommend this book to anyone, unless you were really desperate for a fandom related read. Otherwise, maybe try Fangirl or All the Feels.
About a month ago, I was desperately searching the library near my apartment for a light and easy book: in other words, I was looking for a book that would distract me from my finals, but also not be so distracting that I wouldn’t get any studying done. I wanted light and fluffy, and when I saw Gena/Finn on the shelves and remembered that it was a book about fandom, it seemed like a perfect fit. If it was going to be anything like Rainbow Rowell’s [book:Fangirl|16068905] or Danika Stone’s [book:All the Feels|29222548], then it would be sweet and lovely — perfect for finals week.
Well, amazingly enough, I was actually responsible during finals week and didn’t read it then; instead, I read Gena/Finn one night all in one sitting, partially because I couldn’t sleep, but mainly because it was due at the library the next day and I didn’t want to return it without finishing it. Obviously, I enjoyed it enough to stay up half the night reading it, though I never found myself really, really loving it; and then, as the book progressed, I actually found myself liking it less and less until I found myself unable to give it anything other than 2.5 stars.
Let’s start with the good, because there are a lot of good things in this book. For starters: I really, really loved this formating. It felt like a modern day epistolary novel: this book is told entirely through blog posts, emails, letters, texts, journal entries, and online chats, yet somehow, it still manages to really flesh out an intricate story with complex characters pretty effectively. Sure, there were certainly times where I wished that it would tell the story in a more standard way, especially in the beginning when I was still having trouble telling the main characters apart; but after a while — once I pinned down who everyone was and really got into the flow of the story — it became a real highlight of the story for me. It made the story feel unique and real in a way that no other format could achieve: it looked exactly like every online friendship I ever had, and I don’t think the connection I felt to the characters would have been as strong if the novel had been written any way else.
The beginning of the book is definitely my favorite part of this book: it was so light and fun, but just serious enough that you could see a real friendship blooming between Gena and Finn. It felt real and important — it felt very much like a real online friendship. I loved seeing how they slowly got to know each other and become more wrapped up in each other’s lives. I love how it slowly turned into more, how it started to feel like love, and how Moskowitz and Helgeson talked about this love: sometimes, we don’t know how or why it forms, or what it means exactly, but it is there, and it is just as tangible and real online as it is off.
And then it started to get a bit weird.
See, this book started out very light — funny, sweet, but a little serious to give it some depth. But about halfway through the book, it started to get very, very serious. Things got extremely heavy, there was PTSD and emotional break downs, and this cute little book suddenly became very emotional and deep. Normally, I might like that, but in this case? I was just — I was not into it.
First of all, it felt — kind of out of nowhere? Like, here is this cute story with typical college kid problems and lots of fangirling that suddenly turns into a kind of horror show with death and despair and a whole lot of emotions that I didn’t sign up for. I realize that this may have been the point — life can shit on people out of nowhere, and there is no foreshadowing — but it also just felt strange and out of place. It felt like it was just sort of thrown in there to give the story some depth, but it already had a lot of depth: the conversation about love was deep enough, and throwing some tragedy in to make a statement only detracted from that.
Perhaps more importantly, it was at this point in the novel where my love for the characters really started to go downhill — especially for Finn. Initially, I had really loved them and connected with them, but after the tragedy, Finn really revealed herself to be someone I didn’t like. She seemed to care more about fandom than real life people, and while I understand that fandom can be incredibly consuming, it should not outweigh concern for real human lives. And what’s worse — she never seemed to learn any different. She struggled with it, but there was no real conclusion that real life people are more important than characters on a TV show. This side of her was revealed by a tragedy that felt unnecessary and completely pulled me away from her.
While we are on the subject (spoiler warning): it felt like Gena was very suddenly and magically healed from her PTSD in a way that felt fake and a bit problematic. Sure, quite some time had passed between the tragedy and her recovery, but show that healing. I was annoyed that Moskowitz and Helgeson would include PTSD without really discussing it; it felt like it was there for shock factor and intrigue more than to actually talk about it, which is beyond frustrating.
Overall, I have very mixed feelings about Gena/Finn. On the one hand, it started out as a unique and adorable story about an online friendship that was just as deep and connected as any friendship in the real world. I was incredibly attached to the characters and their problems and felt that it really reflected how online friendships and fandom function. On the other hand, as the book progressed, it fell into an unnecessary and over the top tragedy that turned Finn into someone I didn’t like and hurt Gena only to magically heal her after an entire section of cringe-worthy poetry. I wish that Moskowitz and Helgeson had stuck to their message on love and its different forms, but that is not the case. So, I don’t think I would really recommend this book to anyone, unless you were really desperate for a fandom related read. Otherwise, maybe try Fangirl or All the Feels.