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The gist of this review is that this book is awful and has very few redeeming qualities that all of which are external in nature. #1 - it is short and therefore the tortue is also short and my annual GoodReads challenge gets a bit of uptick in pace. #2 - John Green recommended it, though for the life of me I cannot see why.
That's it. I can't even call #2 a good reason since I didn't like it. The remainder of this review is simply a personal rant.
Almost five years ago, John Green posted a YouTube video celebrating the success of his book [b:The Fault in Our Stars|11870085|The Fault in Our Stars|John Green|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1360206420s/11870085.jpg|16827462] by generously giving his audience 18 obscure books that we probably hadn't read but should. He was correct that I hadn't read any of them so, being the nerd(fighter) that Iwas am, I went to my GoodReads and created a shelf dedicated to this unique anthology. Boy Proof was among that list.
Dear God, John, what the hell were you thinking!?!?
In your video, you said of this book it was a "haunting and beautiful story of this outcast girl named Egg has stuck with me ever since". How? In what way is Victoria (or Egg) a memorable story? Castellucci seemed to take a hyped up stereotype of a teenage sci-fi nerd, make her smart, but purposefully anti-social. That was Victoria. She literally attempted to scare people away with her face when they first met her. From the onset, Victoria is a completely unlikeable character and for a 38-year old man, she was entirely unattractive. I didn't feel sorry for her. I wasn't rooting against her, but like her classmates, I just left her to be her.
Arguably, the most annoying part of being inside Victoria's head was how completely contradictory her thoughts and actions were page-to-page. She's be wanting to be alone but then pushing people away; complaining about her family life but reveling in the knowledge that she knows just how to push her mother's buttons; to being almost prideful of her "boy proof" image to lamenting how noone looks at her like a girl. The whole experience was exhausting.
But then, a thought struck me. Clearly the author knew how she would be perceived and perhaps that was the whole point. Perhaps, I thought, girls can think this insanely. I tried to give it a chance and refreshed my open mind. But, then I read the catalytic moment in this little drama of Victoria's whereshe runs into her celebrity love interest from her favorite movie at a coffee shop. During this ridiculous meet-cute, he jots in her notebook, talks to her freely, allows her to ask him personal questions, and finally helps her with her trigonometry homework. Could this serious of unlikely events happen? I suppose. But given the whole setup, I found it entirely uncompelling and a real drain to the story.
No matter, in about 20 pages, her life which was ruined at that point, makes a full 180° turn and soon everything is awesome. It's a pitiful coming-of-age story. No part of this story seems real or authentic.
Last thought on this book - about half way in, I couldn't help but coincidentally think of Hazel and Augustus from The Fault In Our Stars. There was something about the dynamic between the sets of couples that I felt was similar though, admitedly, the comparison seemed to fade rather quickly the longer I got into the book. Regardless, this is one of the first times in ten years I've been disappointed with John. Sorry man. This book needs to stay obscure.
That's it. I can't even call #2 a good reason since I didn't like it. The remainder of this review is simply a personal rant.
Almost five years ago, John Green posted a YouTube video celebrating the success of his book [b:The Fault in Our Stars|11870085|The Fault in Our Stars|John Green|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1360206420s/11870085.jpg|16827462] by generously giving his audience 18 obscure books that we probably hadn't read but should. He was correct that I hadn't read any of them so, being the nerd(fighter) that I
Dear God, John, what the hell were you thinking!?!?
In your video, you said of this book it was a "haunting and beautiful story of this outcast girl named Egg has stuck with me ever since". How? In what way is Victoria (or Egg) a memorable story? Castellucci seemed to take a hyped up stereotype of a teenage sci-fi nerd, make her smart, but purposefully anti-social. That was Victoria. She literally attempted to scare people away with her face when they first met her. From the onset, Victoria is a completely unlikeable character and for a 38-year old man, she was entirely unattractive. I didn't feel sorry for her. I wasn't rooting against her, but like her classmates, I just left her to be her.
Arguably, the most annoying part of being inside Victoria's head was how completely contradictory her thoughts and actions were page-to-page. She's be wanting to be alone but then pushing people away; complaining about her family life but reveling in the knowledge that she knows just how to push her mother's buttons; to being almost prideful of her "boy proof" image to lamenting how noone looks at her like a girl. The whole experience was exhausting.
But then, a thought struck me. Clearly the author knew how she would be perceived and perhaps that was the whole point. Perhaps, I thought, girls can think this insanely. I tried to give it a chance and refreshed my open mind. But, then I read the catalytic moment in this little drama of Victoria's where
No matter, in about 20 pages, her life which was ruined at that point, makes a full 180° turn and soon everything is awesome. It's a pitiful coming-of-age story. No part of this story seems real or authentic.
Last thought on this book - about half way in, I couldn't help but coincidentally think of Hazel and Augustus from The Fault In Our Stars. There was something about the dynamic between the sets of couples that I felt was similar though, admitedly, the comparison seemed to fade rather quickly the longer I got into the book. Regardless, this is one of the first times in ten years I've been disappointed with John. Sorry man. This book needs to stay obscure.