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A review by dobbsthedog
Wren Martin Ruins It All by Amanda DeWitt
2.5
*SPOILERS AHEAD!*
This was another bookstagram/good reads made me do it! I’ve been seeing this book everywhere and initially wasn’t going to bother with it, after not enjoying the author’s debut. But then the audio popped up on Libby, so I thought I’d give it a try. And it was fine.
I quite disliked Wren Martin for the entire book, he was not a likeable or sympathetic character. Part of this could be that I’m just really over YA, so I have zero time for mean, whiny protagonists who don’t see much development over the course of the book. Wren is still mean and whiny at the end of the book. I also thought that he treated Leo quite badly, including intentionally embarrassing him in front of their friends with PDA. Like, that seems mildly dubcon to me.
I also didn’t like that he really seemed to dislike his dad. Like, constantly making snide jokes and comments about his dad’s OCD (NOT FUCKING COOL) and lifestyle choices. Maybe it was meant to be more of a stereotypical *all high schoolers hate their parents* thing? But it just added to Wren’s overall unlikeability.
Also, bad chicken rep. At one point Wren has been cleaning their coop for an hour and is a disgusting mess, which just wouldn’t happen. To clean a coop for five chickens should take 10-15 minutes MAX, and if you’re filthy afterwards, you are doing something very wrong. Also, Wren should have been getting just as filthy (but likely more so) sitting with the chickens while he did his homework and having them sit on him, than he would cleaning their coop.
And again, as with DeWitt’s first book, I don’t entirely get the point of the asexuality part. Like, it plays virtually no role in the overall story, which is disappointing. At most Wren uses it as an excuse to not date, which is not asexuality, that is aromanticism. And I know it’s not up to me to be any sort of asexuality police, it’s a spectrum and is experienced differently, but to me it feels like it’s just stuck in there to make the character more interesting (maybe?), and not as an actual part of the character. Like, *I’m asexual so I don’t date and hate Valentines dances!*, but then behaviourally there is nothing there to indicate Wren’s aceness. I guess I wanted more from the character being ace, and maybe that’s because I’ve read other books with asexual protagonists that were excellent, and this one just fell flat.
And lastly, did everyone else figure out who Buddy Boy was almost immediately? Was it supposed to be some sort of big reveal?
Okay, I think I’ve actually talked myself down a star rating over the course of writing this review…
This was another bookstagram/good reads made me do it! I’ve been seeing this book everywhere and initially wasn’t going to bother with it, after not enjoying the author’s debut. But then the audio popped up on Libby, so I thought I’d give it a try. And it was fine.
I quite disliked Wren Martin for the entire book, he was not a likeable or sympathetic character. Part of this could be that I’m just really over YA, so I have zero time for mean, whiny protagonists who don’t see much development over the course of the book. Wren is still mean and whiny at the end of the book. I also thought that he treated Leo quite badly, including intentionally embarrassing him in front of their friends with PDA. Like, that seems mildly dubcon to me.
I also didn’t like that he really seemed to dislike his dad. Like, constantly making snide jokes and comments about his dad’s OCD (NOT FUCKING COOL) and lifestyle choices. Maybe it was meant to be more of a stereotypical *all high schoolers hate their parents* thing? But it just added to Wren’s overall unlikeability.
Also, bad chicken rep. At one point Wren has been cleaning their coop for an hour and is a disgusting mess, which just wouldn’t happen. To clean a coop for five chickens should take 10-15 minutes MAX, and if you’re filthy afterwards, you are doing something very wrong. Also, Wren should have been getting just as filthy (but likely more so) sitting with the chickens while he did his homework and having them sit on him, than he would cleaning their coop.
And again, as with DeWitt’s first book, I don’t entirely get the point of the asexuality part. Like, it plays virtually no role in the overall story, which is disappointing. At most Wren uses it as an excuse to not date, which is not asexuality, that is aromanticism. And I know it’s not up to me to be any sort of asexuality police, it’s a spectrum and is experienced differently, but to me it feels like it’s just stuck in there to make the character more interesting (maybe?), and not as an actual part of the character. Like, *I’m asexual so I don’t date and hate Valentines dances!*, but then behaviourally there is nothing there to indicate Wren’s aceness. I guess I wanted more from the character being ace, and maybe that’s because I’ve read other books with asexual protagonists that were excellent, and this one just fell flat.
And lastly, did everyone else figure out who Buddy Boy was almost immediately? Was it supposed to be some sort of big reveal?
Okay, I think I’ve actually talked myself down a star rating over the course of writing this review…