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A review by aliciaceasar
Take Her Down by Lauren Emily Whalen
3.0
***Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book ahead of its release. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Take Her Down is a queer Julius Caesar retelling and does manage to follow a lot of the beats that the original play did in a new way. The book is divided into five acts much like the play. All the characters a cheekily named in a way that nods to the original character. There is a ton of representation in this book. The way this author talks about what it is like to consider yourself as queer but be in a relationship with someone who is straight felt very real. The discussion of bisexuality was done very well.
I think this book would be very important to any high schooler who is dealing with their sexuality and isn’t really sure where they land. There is a bit of homophobia and biphobia (?) in this book, but for the most part, the high school in this book is very progressive and welcoming to whatever identity the student relates to.
This book also got very dark towards the end, which makes sense considering the source material. I just wasn’t expecting it. There are a lot of content warnings for this book. I’ll put the ones that stuck out to me at the bottom of my review but be aware if there are things that trigger you.
While I am not the target audience for this book, I can normally get past that and enjoy a book for what it is. However, the first “act” of this book that set up all the characters and relationships felt so long. The first act is nearly the entire first half of the book. I would have liked it more if the acts were divided more evenly and we could really explore what happens after everything happens. There were a few times that I was close to just putting this book down. At the end, I’m glad I didn’t but it was a struggle.
I can see how this book would be really important to someone in high school, in particular someone who is struggling with identity. But this isn’t really a YA book that can be enjoyed across all ages.
CW: sexual assault/rape, bullying, teenage drinking, bipolar/manic struggles
Take Her Down is a queer Julius Caesar retelling and does manage to follow a lot of the beats that the original play did in a new way. The book is divided into five acts much like the play. All the characters a cheekily named in a way that nods to the original character. There is a ton of representation in this book. The way this author talks about what it is like to consider yourself as queer but be in a relationship with someone who is straight felt very real. The discussion of bisexuality was done very well.
I think this book would be very important to any high schooler who is dealing with their sexuality and isn’t really sure where they land. There is a bit of homophobia and biphobia (?) in this book, but for the most part, the high school in this book is very progressive and welcoming to whatever identity the student relates to.
This book also got very dark towards the end, which makes sense considering the source material. I just wasn’t expecting it. There are a lot of content warnings for this book. I’ll put the ones that stuck out to me at the bottom of my review but be aware if there are things that trigger you.
While I am not the target audience for this book, I can normally get past that and enjoy a book for what it is. However, the first “act” of this book that set up all the characters and relationships felt so long. The first act is nearly the entire first half of the book. I would have liked it more if the acts were divided more evenly and we could really explore what happens after everything happens. There were a few times that I was close to just putting this book down. At the end, I’m glad I didn’t but it was a struggle.
I can see how this book would be really important to someone in high school, in particular someone who is struggling with identity. But this isn’t really a YA book that can be enjoyed across all ages.
CW: sexual assault/rape, bullying, teenage drinking, bipolar/manic struggles