A review by jennaz
Mrs S by K. Patrick

emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Quite a good read. Enjoyed the writing style, it was unique yet still smooth and easy to get through (besides the lack of quotation marks - that always causes some confusion for me). Wish the ending wasn’t so abrupt, but it definitely held a (to me, positive) plot twist. Feel like it showed growth in the main character that I honestly didn’t expect. I loved how deep of a look we got of the main character, constant inner dialogue and often relatable thoughts. Kind of gives similar vibes to movie aesthetics like Normal People. To me at least. 

Diversity-wise, clearly a lesbian romance, with one main character also being gender-questioning and/or masculine-presenting and/or butch. Also appreciated the depiction of a positive lgbtq+ friendship shown throughout, but no descriptions gave way of any races besides white, so a bit euro-centric. Therefore “it’s complicated” for diversity. 

Also wish the author had the main character introspect / probe Mrs. S more about the sudden yet brief scene of catching two of The Girls kissing. It clearly had a large affect on her as someone who must hide their queerness, and Mrs. S’ reaction was disappointing considering her usual demeanor towards The Girls and her own recent sexual awakening (not super recent, as she mentioned experimenting before in college, but this time declared it love) - it makes sense how she reacted, being that she clearly had internalized homophobia and was confused and frustrated with herself so didn’t know how to even respond to the girls, but would’ve liked to see more character growth from Mrs. S, overall, looking back. But, I didn’t expect it since the end has the main character leave and it’s a book following her internal dialogue more than anything
 
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