A review by ribbenkast
Death Valley by Melissa Broder

emotional funny sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Melissa Broder's writing is as always incredibly funny. I really liked the main character and I really felt her struggle. 

However I did expect more from this. The book has a major pasing issue where the middle of the book just slogs. 

The advertised cactus business is over quickly and the main character just gets lost in the dessert

The book is explicitly centered around dealing with grief about your loved ones when they are still alive. In the "slog" part we just get a description of her actions like a play by play, without any emotional beats or revelations.  There where a few profound moments in the book that really resonated with me, but those moments where flashbacks in which the character had already made the important realisation before even checking into the hotel. The story didn't drive any character arc or transformation, despite the meta-narrative (the main character is a writer, writing a book about someone going through about the same thing) implying that it does/it should. 

This made the book feel a little disjointed. Despite it being most of the book, I felt like the whole "slog" part could be cut without any issue.

The book was a quick enjoyable read nonetheless.