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A review by literatemushroom
30 Things I Love About Myself by Radhika Sanghani
Did not finish book.
2.0
DNF @ Chapter 20
I read this book as part of a bookclub and I honestly couldn't finish it. I agree with many of the other low star reviews in stating that this book became repetitive and they couldn't really get behind Nina as a character. However, the thing that truly stopped me was Nina's friend Meera. She is introduced as a purple haired queer brown woman in a relationship with another woman. I was really excited to see some representation and Meera seemed really cool. However halfway through the book Meera breaks things off with her girlfriend and immediately begins hooking up with a man. Now, Meera's sexual orientation is never explicitly stated so she does reveal that she is interested in both men and women. That's fine, no issues with some nonmonosexual rep, what I did have a problem with is her conversation with Nina after the reveal. She mentions that she has been pining for Jack for years and the only reason they hadn't gotten together is he didn't know she dated men. Meera then goes on to say that he could be the one she would settle down with and be a life partner. All of this made me uncomfortable. Seems like she was emotionally cheating on her girlfriend and the only reason she stayed with her is because Jack wasn't an option. I think it also reads like sapphic relationships are for fun but a woman needs a man to settle down with. Its just really unfortunate and sad because I genuinely liked Meera as a character and she was one of the only reason I was interested in this book at all. Just disappointed.
I read this book as part of a bookclub and I honestly couldn't finish it. I agree with many of the other low star reviews in stating that this book became repetitive and they couldn't really get behind Nina as a character. However, the thing that truly stopped me was Nina's friend Meera. She is introduced as a purple haired queer brown woman in a relationship with another woman. I was really excited to see some representation and Meera seemed really cool. However halfway through the book Meera breaks things off with her girlfriend and immediately begins hooking up with a man. Now, Meera's sexual orientation is never explicitly stated so she does reveal that she is interested in both men and women. That's fine, no issues with some nonmonosexual rep, what I did have a problem with is her conversation with Nina after the reveal. She mentions that she has been pining for Jack for years and the only reason they hadn't gotten together is he didn't know she dated men. Meera then goes on to say that he could be the one she would settle down with and be a life partner. All of this made me uncomfortable. Seems like she was emotionally cheating on her girlfriend and the only reason she stayed with her is because Jack wasn't an option. I think it also reads like sapphic relationships are for fun but a woman needs a man to settle down with. Its just really unfortunate and sad because I genuinely liked Meera as a character and she was one of the only reason I was interested in this book at all. Just disappointed.