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A review by andipants
Queerleaders by M.B. Guel
1.0
Well, this was a massive disappointment. This book clearly sets out to be a rom-com, except the comedy consists almost entirely of lesbian stereotypes and skin-crawling cringe humor. The characters all seem to be time travelers from 1998; people are reading print magazines and passing notes on paper; the main character seems to sincerely not even know the word "Twitter"; and the author apparently forgot that texting exists until halfway through the book.
I can't for the life of me figure out this setting; as someone who was queer at a conservative Catholic high school (in the early 2000s, no less!), none of this felt even close to familiar. This place is apparently hardcore enough to call Mack in to the principal's office for a stern warning and call an assembly to warn the whole school about the evils of homosexuality, but then as Mack proceeds to, well, mack on half the cheerleader squad...literally nothing else happens? Excuse me?
Who are these characters? I've never seen such a cast of cardboard cutouts; it's literally just a bunch of stereotypes from like every 90s teen movie. Beth is literally just Brittany from Glee, right down to treating her cat like a human for "comedy" purposes. Lila has no personality or motivation beyond plot convenience; she encourages Mack at the beginning, gets jealous in the middle because the plot needs some extra tension, and then conveniently decides at the end that she's not jealous after all because it's time for the happy ending.
And Mack. My god. Don't get me started. I hated her so much. I know teenagers can sometimes be short-sighted and self-centered, but this girl apparently has not one ounce of empathy, self-awareness, or common fucking sense. Every decision she makes is a trainwreck, and how anyone is even still speaking to her by the end of the book is beyond me. I couldn't sympathize with her because I was too busy bouncing between putting my eyes back in their sockets at how she could be so dense and wanting to wring her damn neck.
And finally, the plot is both ridiculous and gross. Sure Mack, you can just "steal" all the football players' girlfriends; surely the girls themselves don't have anything as inconvenient as actual feelings on the matter. And where the hell did that ending come from? Ridiculous. No thank you, please.
I can't for the life of me figure out this setting; as someone who was queer at a conservative Catholic high school (in the early 2000s, no less!), none of this felt even close to familiar. This place is apparently hardcore enough to call Mack in to the principal's office for a stern warning and call an assembly to warn the whole school about the evils of homosexuality, but then as Mack proceeds to, well, mack on half the cheerleader squad...literally nothing else happens? Excuse me?
Who are these characters? I've never seen such a cast of cardboard cutouts; it's literally just a bunch of stereotypes from like every 90s teen movie. Beth is literally just Brittany from Glee, right down to treating her cat like a human for "comedy" purposes. Lila has no personality or motivation beyond plot convenience; she encourages Mack at the beginning, gets jealous in the middle
Spoiler
(for what turns out to be no reason)And Mack. My god. Don't get me started. I hated her so much. I know teenagers can sometimes be short-sighted and self-centered, but this girl apparently has not one ounce of empathy, self-awareness, or common fucking sense. Every decision she makes is a trainwreck, and how anyone is even still speaking to her by the end of the book is beyond me. I couldn't sympathize with her because I was too busy bouncing between putting my eyes back in their sockets at how she could be so dense and wanting to wring her damn neck.
And finally, the plot is both ridiculous and gross. Sure Mack, you can just "steal" all the football players' girlfriends; surely the girls themselves don't have anything as inconvenient as actual feelings on the matter. And where the hell did that ending come from?