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readwithria 's review for:
The Love Haters
by Katherine Center
DID NOT FINISH: 7%
I received an ARC through the St. Martin's Press Early Reader Program. This is critical feedback, but it is coming from a place of love.
I was really looking forward to this book. I've loved every Katherine Center book that I've read, and the blurb for this sounded right up my alley. I read the first chapter and loved it, but then I got to the second chapter and had to pause due to the eating disorder content that there were no trigger or content warnings about anywhere in the book, the blurb, the SMP website, or Katherine's website. However, I wanted to see if I would be able to keep gping, so I reached out to some fellow bookstagram creators to see how explicit the ED content would be. After hearing from multiple people that I was through the worst of it, I decided to continue.
HOWEVER, within the same chapter all of the ED content was quickly blown over, and with no on-page character growth whatsoever she eats a gallon of ice cream (which is also pretty disordered), buys some body positivity books, and has now been on her healing journey for almost a year.
My question is - if she isn't currently in the throes of her ED, why include the food journal? Why include the explicit calorie counting? Why include the body size goals, and whether or not she reached them? Why slap the reader in the face with explicit disordered eating content only for it to not matter a few pages later? I have no issue with the book dealing with themes of body insecurity, or with disordered eating, but there is a more reader-safe way of doing it, and that either requires trigger warnings or reworking the chapter.
I hope that between ARC distribution and final pass pages this chapter was reworked, but unfortunately I will never know because I will not be putting myself through a potentially dangerous reread.
I have emailed my concerns to the publisher, but I can't in good faith not share them with the public as well.
I was really looking forward to this book. I've loved every Katherine Center book that I've read, and the blurb for this sounded right up my alley. I read the first chapter and loved it, but then I got to the second chapter and had to pause due to the eating disorder content that there were no trigger or content warnings about anywhere in the book, the blurb, the SMP website, or Katherine's website. However, I wanted to see if I would be able to keep gping, so I reached out to some fellow bookstagram creators to see how explicit the ED content would be. After hearing from multiple people that I was through the worst of it, I decided to continue.
HOWEVER, within the same chapter all of the ED content was quickly blown over, and with no on-page character growth whatsoever she eats a gallon of ice cream (which is also pretty disordered), buys some body positivity books, and has now been on her healing journey for almost a year.
My question is - if she isn't currently in the throes of her ED, why include the food journal? Why include the explicit calorie counting? Why include the body size goals, and whether or not she reached them? Why slap the reader in the face with explicit disordered eating content only for it to not matter a few pages later? I have no issue with the book dealing with themes of body insecurity, or with disordered eating, but there is a more reader-safe way of doing it, and that either requires trigger warnings or reworking the chapter.
I hope that between ARC distribution and final pass pages this chapter was reworked, but unfortunately I will never know because I will not be putting myself through a potentially dangerous reread.
I have emailed my concerns to the publisher, but I can't in good faith not share them with the public as well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder
Minor: Infidelity