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A review by daniella84
Show Stopper by Hayley Barker
3.0
2.5
Firstly, I just wanna say, this cover is gorgeous!! Love the circus setting, a little tightrope action etc.
Was expecting this book to be more about the circus acts and just kind of follow that as a deadly circus, but it ended up being a lot more about the division between the Pures and the Dregs and how Hoshiko and Ben start to challenge it. Ben was a pretty classic character - the rich boy whose family doesn't really care about him and instead seeks companionship with his maid, starts to question his life and the morals he's grown up with etc. I think his realisation of how wrong society is after one visit to the circus was a bit quick for me - having lived his whole life in this society, in my opinion I think it would take a lot more than a few hours to accept that you and everyone you have grown up with are wrong. I think it would have made more sense for him to start to question/realise more gradually and build up to dealing with his guilt/shame rather than immediately becoming the posterboy for equality and the revolution.
His relationship with Hoshiko too went really quickly - something I think was made more questionable by the fact that both of them kept being like wow!! three days and I would already die for this person!! I understand it somewhat - Ben has led a pretty sheltered life and then suddenly he sees a pretty trapeze artist and naturally kind of admires her - but I don't really see Hoshiko's side as much. I would understand if she's just interested in him because he's been kind, it's a bit exciting and she's likely about to die, but she really seems genuinely connected to him and even goes so far to say that they're in love. I think it would have been nicer if (at least for this book) they had been just friends, and brought together more gradually though their shared trials and tribulations.
At times the writing was a bit clunky, with things being repeated especially because of the dual perspective. The ringmaster didn't seem super intimidating (even though I was told he should be and he definitely acted violently) - something about the way he spoke made it just seem ridiculous and over the top (though maybe this was part of his character as trying to be something he's not?). But generally a lot of things in this book were over the top - the violence seemed to be more for shock value the worse it got, Ben's family really had 0 redeeming qualities (though the kidnapping was maybe meant to lend SOME sympathy), and the other Pures we are introduced to are all horrendous. I get it, it's YA, and especially in something like this you wanna make the side that's basically committing genocide seem so horrible you can't possibly side with them, but I think it really took away some important nuance. Like if the book had been able to show these people as more human, but still acting horribly, it could have been a lot more effective as a cautionary tale about contemporary Britain - making them monsters denies that we could also become perpetrators.
A more particular pet peeve - I really didn't like the little scene when they're escaping and decide to change clothes and have a laughing fit - maybe it was meant to break the tension but they were literally in the middle of running away from people who wanted to kill them and it was pretty time sensitive (and they acknowledge it's dumb to be joking around) and then immediately it's back to the murderous action that had just been happening. It really pulled me out of the story. Hoshiko's behaviour/attitude towards Ben also seemed inconsistent at times and there didn't feel like there was any weight behind her anger (though it was very much justified). I think generally this book talked about important issues but how heavy handed it was meant it lost its impact. In the end, things just felt weightless because they didn't feel like they were grounded in a recognisable reality, which this book was attempting to comment on.
Firstly, I just wanna say, this cover is gorgeous!! Love the circus setting, a little tightrope action etc.
Was expecting this book to be more about the circus acts and just kind of follow that as a deadly circus, but it ended up being a lot more about the division between the Pures and the Dregs and how Hoshiko and Ben start to challenge it. Ben was a pretty classic character - the rich boy whose family doesn't really care about him and instead seeks companionship with his maid, starts to question his life and the morals he's grown up with etc. I think his realisation of how wrong society is after one visit to the circus was a bit quick for me - having lived his whole life in this society, in my opinion I think it would take a lot more than a few hours to accept that you and everyone you have grown up with are wrong. I think it would have made more sense for him to start to question/realise more gradually and build up to dealing with his guilt/shame rather than immediately becoming the posterboy for equality and the revolution.
His relationship with Hoshiko too went really quickly - something I think was made more questionable by the fact that both of them kept being like wow!! three days and I would already die for this person!! I understand it somewhat - Ben has led a pretty sheltered life and then suddenly he sees a pretty trapeze artist and naturally kind of admires her - but I don't really see Hoshiko's side as much. I would understand if she's just interested in him because he's been kind, it's a bit exciting and she's likely about to die, but she really seems genuinely connected to him and even goes so far to say that they're in love. I think it would have been nicer if (at least for this book) they had been just friends, and brought together more gradually though their shared trials and tribulations.
At times the writing was a bit clunky, with things being repeated especially because of the dual perspective. The ringmaster didn't seem super intimidating (even though I was told he should be and he definitely acted violently) - something about the way he spoke made it just seem ridiculous and over the top (though maybe this was part of his character as trying to be something he's not?). But generally a lot of things in this book were over the top - the violence seemed to be more for shock value the worse it got, Ben's family really had 0 redeeming qualities (though the kidnapping was maybe meant to lend SOME sympathy), and the other Pures we are introduced to are all horrendous. I get it, it's YA, and especially in something like this you wanna make the side that's basically committing genocide seem so horrible you can't possibly side with them, but I think it really took away some important nuance. Like if the book had been able to show these people as more human, but still acting horribly, it could have been a lot more effective as a cautionary tale about contemporary Britain - making them monsters denies that we could also become perpetrators.
A more particular pet peeve - I really didn't like the little scene when they're escaping and decide to change clothes and have a laughing fit - maybe it was meant to break the tension but they were literally in the middle of running away from people who wanted to kill them and it was pretty time sensitive (and they acknowledge it's dumb to be joking around) and then immediately it's back to the murderous action that had just been happening. It really pulled me out of the story. Hoshiko's behaviour/attitude towards Ben also seemed inconsistent at times and there didn't feel like there was any weight behind her anger (though it was very much justified). I think generally this book talked about important issues but how heavy handed it was meant it lost its impact. In the end, things just felt weightless because they didn't feel like they were grounded in a recognisable reality, which this book was attempting to comment on.