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A review by mintchocolatechip
November 9 by Colleen Hoover
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Uhm ok, I'm not gonna go too in-depth here but I'm just really disappointed.
I really liked the idea of the story, the plot twist and overall how the story unfolds. BUT- it really makes me sad how many people love the characters, specifically Ben. He's so incredibly manipulative, possessive and toxic and the red flags started coming in the first chapter from Ben's POV. Oh, and it seems like he's never heard about consent (or he doesn't care, which is worse). The way he sexualizes Fallon and fantasizes about her body and it just being disguised as him being "caring" and "wanting to show her how beautiful she is" pissed me off so much while I was reading. And the fact that she's visibly uncomfortable with many of the sexual/physical moments but him not caring and not even asking about consent just doesn't sit right with me either. Another thing that made me furious while reading is how the concept of virginity is treated in this book as if it was something that is being "taken" from a woman that changes her and defines her as a person.
Ben is such a problematic character that just ends up being romanticized, which is so incredibly harmful. He's the typical hot manipulative Wattpad boy that you fall in love with because he makes you feel like no one is ever gonna love you as much as he does, so I understand why people may like him.
I didn't really see the plot twist coming, I'll give her that, but what could've been a brilliant plot twist in the story to me just ended up being a confirmation of how problematic Ben is.
Also, it makes me so mad how fast Fallon was to forgive him and her father for everything :// Fallon deserved better :(
I usually love every book I read because I never think critically and analyze the things I'm reading but... I don't need to be smart to see the red flags here...
I give this book 2/5 stars because of the interesting plot, if it was based solely on the characters and the way it was written it would be 0.5 stars at most :/
And yes, I read this on November 9 :)
I really liked the idea of the story, the plot twist and overall how the story unfolds. BUT- it really makes me sad how many people love the characters, specifically Ben. He's so incredibly manipulative, possessive and toxic and the red flags started coming in the first chapter from Ben's POV. Oh, and it seems like he's never heard about consent (or he doesn't care, which is worse). The way he sexualizes Fallon and fantasizes about her body and it just being disguised as him being "caring" and "wanting to show her how beautiful she is" pissed me off so much while I was reading. And the fact that she's visibly uncomfortable with many of the sexual/physical moments but him not caring and not even asking about consent just doesn't sit right with me either. Another thing that made me furious while reading is how the concept of virginity is treated in this book as if it was something that is being "taken" from a woman that changes her and defines her as a person.
Ben is such a problematic character that just ends up being romanticized, which is so incredibly harmful. He's the typical hot manipulative Wattpad boy that you fall in love with because he makes you feel like no one is ever gonna love you as much as he does, so I understand why people may like him.
I didn't really see the plot twist coming, I'll give her that, but what could've been a brilliant plot twist in the story to me just ended up being a confirmation of how problematic Ben is.
Also, it makes me so mad how fast Fallon was to forgive him and her father for everything :// Fallon deserved better :(
I usually love every book I read because I never think critically and analyze the things I'm reading but... I don't need to be smart to see the red flags here...
I give this book 2/5 stars because of the interesting plot, if it was based solely on the characters and the way it was written it would be 0.5 stars at most :/
And yes, I read this on November 9 :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Sexual content, and Suicide
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Sexual assault
Minor: Body shaming, Cancer, Car accident, and Suicidal thoughts