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A review by classiestcass
Super Adjacent by Crystal Cestari
3.0
This book was a fun read. I initially picked it up because I had gone to BN for a specific book, but they had rearranged the whole store so the YA section was worked differently. As a result, I had to walk around for a bit before I could figure out how they oriented it, and this book immediately caught my eye. Not only was it purple (my favorite color), but it was about superheroes and even had a wlw main character! So how could it go wrong, right?
Well, it didn't go wrong , but it didn't exactly go right either.
The book wasn't bad, don't get me wrong. It was a nice standalone (as far as I know, anyway) that differed from the heavier fantasy books I've been reading lately. It was a fun and quick read that was vaguely reminiscent of The Extraordinaries by T.J. Klune, although I think Klune's book is more well rounded. The more I think about it, the more I think my issue with this book is Claire's narration. She's exhausting, honestly. And I get that she's a seventeen year old fangirl achieving her dreams, but damn. I'm not reading this book to mentally babysit an-almost-adult teenager. I'm reading to get lost in the story.
At first I thought it was an issue with Cestari's writing. A lot of the descriptions seemed exaggerated, almost like I was listening to a child recount a story. It wasn't bad, but a lot of the actions and/or mannerisms ascribed to characters at certain points didn't feel believable. I felt like I was reading about people who were acting, and bad at it. But Bridgette's chapters were a lot more bearable and I enjoyed them a lot. I understand that there's an age difference between Claire and Bridgette, but it's only three years. It shouldn't be like I'm reading a half put together story told by a five year old just to jump into the parts of the story that's told by someone acting their own age. And I'm not bashing on Claire or even Cestari. I understand the writing choice, I just don't like it.
Overall, I did like this book. The characters were decently diverse, the romance was simultaneously sweet and complicated, and it was a quick and fun book to read.
Well, it didn't go wrong , but it didn't exactly go right either.
The book wasn't bad, don't get me wrong. It was a nice standalone (as far as I know, anyway) that differed from the heavier fantasy books I've been reading lately. It was a fun and quick read that was vaguely reminiscent of The Extraordinaries by T.J. Klune, although I think Klune's book is more well rounded. The more I think about it, the more I think my issue with this book is Claire's narration. She's exhausting, honestly. And I get that she's a seventeen year old fangirl achieving her dreams, but damn. I'm not reading this book to mentally babysit an-almost-adult teenager. I'm reading to get lost in the story.
At first I thought it was an issue with Cestari's writing. A lot of the descriptions seemed exaggerated, almost like I was listening to a child recount a story. It wasn't bad, but a lot of the actions and/or mannerisms ascribed to characters at certain points didn't feel believable. I felt like I was reading about people who were acting, and bad at it. But Bridgette's chapters were a lot more bearable and I enjoyed them a lot. I understand that there's an age difference between Claire and Bridgette, but it's only three years. It shouldn't be like I'm reading a half put together story told by a five year old just to jump into the parts of the story that's told by someone acting their own age. And I'm not bashing on Claire or even Cestari. I understand the writing choice, I just don't like it.
Overall, I did like this book. The characters were decently diverse, the romance was simultaneously sweet and complicated, and it was a quick and fun book to read.