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A review by beate251
Graffiti Girls by Elissa Soave
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Thank you to NetGalley and HQ for this ARC.
Four women in small-town Hamilton, Scotland, have been friends for thirty years. They are in their forties now and have very different lives but still meet up periodically. There is Lenore, a divorced teacher on an endless diet, Susan, a librarian and single mother to Fraser, Carole, a stay at home Mum to four kids and husband Denis, and Amy, a gay self-employed plumber who's just broken up with girlfriend Tess.
One day, after the thousandth time of being overlooked in favour of a man, being sexually harassed or just being taken for granted as a wife and mother, they've had enough and decide (well, Amy does) to spray feminist slogans onto big building fronts in the middle of town. It sets events in motion they had never thought of when they started.
This is an empowering, funny, inspiring and witty read about four women who have had enough. I liked the flashbacks to their school times in the 90s but there is still too much description of what they look like or their weight. There is a lot about parenting in there, and I didn't agree with Fraser being so molly-coddled by his mother (a 16 year old can make his own sandwich!), plus I found some remarks about Thomas's unconventional friend Jaxx tone deaf.
I enjoyed this book a lot as it is well-written, has interesting characters and makes some very good feminist points but I happen to think that graffiti is vandalism and not feminism. It only helps the four women, there are no wider consequences in the community, and they only don't get charged with criminal damage as the PC who catches them is, in his own words, besotted with Lenore. To be fair, the book makes all these points too and explains that the money it costs to paint over graffiti is money that will not go to the community.
If they'd been four female serial killers unaliving all the bad men, now that would have been the book for me! I would have been behind them 100%, alibis at the ready. As it is, the four women do get happy endings that are almost too neat for my liking, especially with all those sudden romantic interests popping up. But it is relatable, celebrates female friendship and shows up all the ways women are still holding themselves back. Each woman learns to value herself more and to go for things she wants, and that's not a bad outcome.
Four women in small-town Hamilton, Scotland, have been friends for thirty years. They are in their forties now and have very different lives but still meet up periodically. There is Lenore, a divorced teacher on an endless diet, Susan, a librarian and single mother to Fraser, Carole, a stay at home Mum to four kids and husband Denis, and Amy, a gay self-employed plumber who's just broken up with girlfriend Tess.
One day, after the thousandth time of being overlooked in favour of a man, being sexually harassed or just being taken for granted as a wife and mother, they've had enough and decide (well, Amy does) to spray feminist slogans onto big building fronts in the middle of town. It sets events in motion they had never thought of when they started.
This is an empowering, funny, inspiring and witty read about four women who have had enough. I liked the flashbacks to their school times in the 90s but there is still too much description of what they look like or their weight. There is a lot about parenting in there, and I didn't agree with Fraser being so molly-coddled by his mother (a 16 year old can make his own sandwich!), plus I found some remarks about Thomas's unconventional friend Jaxx tone deaf.
I enjoyed this book a lot as it is well-written, has interesting characters and makes some very good feminist points but I happen to think that graffiti is vandalism and not feminism. It only helps the four women, there are no wider consequences in the community, and they only don't get charged with criminal damage as the PC who catches them is, in his own words, besotted with Lenore. To be fair, the book makes all these points too and explains that the money it costs to paint over graffiti is money that will not go to the community.
If they'd been four female serial killers unaliving all the bad men, now that would have been the book for me! I would have been behind them 100%, alibis at the ready. As it is, the four women do get happy endings that are almost too neat for my liking, especially with all those sudden romantic interests popping up. But it is relatable, celebrates female friendship and shows up all the ways women are still holding themselves back. Each woman learns to value herself more and to go for things she wants, and that's not a bad outcome.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Car accident