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A review by krobus
The Prospects by KT Hoffman
3.0
A huge thank you to Dial Press for my ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
"The Prospects" by K.T. Hoffman explores the journey of a trans man, Gene, navigating love and success within the realm of baseball. For the most part, I enjoyed it, but I do have a few issues that I believe impacted it's overall potential.
One glaring issue lies in the lack of character depth and development. If anything, the decision to focus on Gene as the central character feels misguided, as Luis, a secondary character, possesses greater potential for complexity. He has a much more turbulent, interesting mindset, and he went through some serious emotional growth between coming out to his family & making the decision to change careers. Gene, however, failed to undergo any significant personal growth in my opinion.
In the same realm, I felt that despite the characters being full grown men, there was a severe lack of maturity in the characters and I felt it detracted from the authenticity of the story. It seemed like the characters were cookie-cutter versions of each other, it was very easy to get confused on who was talking because there was no real personality to shine through for anyone. The lack of descriptive language and distinct character voices further contributes to this disconnect, and I found myself struggling to differentiate between characters and comprehend pivotal moments.
I was overwhelmed by the baseball terminology, and I don't know how to say this without being rude, but who actually cares about baseball..? Sure, let it be a significant part of the story by all means, but do you really need to write about the games with such profundity and make it one of the only things they do??
The novel neglects to address the serious themes of ADHD and anxiety—and whatever Vince is going through, too. Why was there no mention of seeing a psychologist and/or psychiatrist for literally any of them?
Why does Luis have a therapy dog?? If anything, he should have an ESA.
Seriously disappointing to see the negligence on both the writer and editor on this topic, as the absence of a discussion surrounding therapy or medication feels like a missed opportunity to portray a more nuanced portrayal of mental health, not to mention potentially helping a reader understand what they can/need to do for themselves.
I absolutely detest third act breakups, and this one was particularly weak, lacking sufficient justification and emotional resonance. Such a bore.
Despite these shortcomings, "The Prospects" offers moments of beauty and excitement, particularly in its portrayal of Gene's triumphs on the baseball field. I felt the excitement, and the devastation, right along with him. Overall, this is good for a debut novel. I can see myself checking out other books by Hoffman as they are released!
"The Prospects" by K.T. Hoffman explores the journey of a trans man, Gene, navigating love and success within the realm of baseball. For the most part, I enjoyed it, but I do have a few issues that I believe impacted it's overall potential.
One glaring issue lies in the lack of character depth and development. If anything, the decision to focus on Gene as the central character feels misguided, as Luis, a secondary character, possesses greater potential for complexity. He has a much more turbulent, interesting mindset, and he went through some serious emotional growth between coming out to his family & making the decision to change careers. Gene, however, failed to undergo any significant personal growth in my opinion.
In the same realm, I felt that despite the characters being full grown men, there was a severe lack of maturity in the characters and I felt it detracted from the authenticity of the story. It seemed like the characters were cookie-cutter versions of each other, it was very easy to get confused on who was talking because there was no real personality to shine through for anyone. The lack of descriptive language and distinct character voices further contributes to this disconnect, and I found myself struggling to differentiate between characters and comprehend pivotal moments.
I was overwhelmed by the baseball terminology, and I don't know how to say this without being rude, but who actually cares about baseball..? Sure, let it be a significant part of the story by all means, but do you really need to write about the games with such profundity and make it one of the only things they do??
The novel neglects to address the serious themes of ADHD and anxiety—and whatever Vince is going through, too. Why was there no mention of seeing a psychologist and/or psychiatrist for literally any of them?
Why does Luis have a therapy dog?? If anything, he should have an ESA.
Seriously disappointing to see the negligence on both the writer and editor on this topic, as the absence of a discussion surrounding therapy or medication feels like a missed opportunity to portray a more nuanced portrayal of mental health, not to mention potentially helping a reader understand what they can/need to do for themselves.
I absolutely detest third act breakups, and this one was particularly weak, lacking sufficient justification and emotional resonance. Such a bore.
Despite these shortcomings, "The Prospects" offers moments of beauty and excitement, particularly in its portrayal of Gene's triumphs on the baseball field. I felt the excitement, and the devastation, right along with him. Overall, this is good for a debut novel. I can see myself checking out other books by Hoffman as they are released!