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A review by taylorthebookwitch
Bruised by Tanya Boteju
2.0
***DNF about 60% in***
t.w.: self-harm, parental death, misogyny, emotional abuse.
This was a book that I really wanted to like. Whip It has been one of my favorite movies since it came out and I've always wished that it had an outwardly sapphic romance, so this book seemed to have it all. Overall, though, it really felt flat for me. The story was fast moving and there was a lot of representation, which was nice to see, but Daya's attitude towards others was absolutely terrible. She always thought of other women as weak if they weren't willing to take a hit, which is honestly kind of messed up. Her misogynistic attitude throughout the book was off-putting, especially since we're supposed to be reading the story through her perspective. The author also makes sure to let you know that this has been her attitude since before her parents died, so it's not a reflection of that trauma, but just her regular character. The self-harm was also surprising as the overview gave no real indication of that sort of content.
Aside from the aforementioned misogyny and self-harm, I also really hated how much the word "s*vage" was used by Daya throughout the book. Time and time again, we've been asked by indigenous people to not use that word, and yet this author has a non-indigenous character use it almost every chapter, which put me off. The author states that she is "living on unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations (Vancouver, Canada)" but I can't seem to find any indication that Boteju is indigenous herself and, regardless, the main character isn't indigenous so she shouldn't be using that term.
During my reading, unfortunately the bad outweighed the good. I probably wouldn't recommend this one out to others, but I do wish we had more books about roller derby out there, because it's a really interesting, generally female-led sport and it deserves recognition.
pros: LGBTQIA+ representation, disability representation, Sri Lankan representation, women in sports, alternative family styles
cons: reinforcement of stereotypes, use of anti-indigenous slurs, misogyny, self-harm
t.w.: self-harm, parental death, misogyny, emotional abuse.
This was a book that I really wanted to like. Whip It has been one of my favorite movies since it came out and I've always wished that it had an outwardly sapphic romance, so this book seemed to have it all. Overall, though, it really felt flat for me. The story was fast moving and there was a lot of representation, which was nice to see, but Daya's attitude towards others was absolutely terrible. She always thought of other women as weak if they weren't willing to take a hit, which is honestly kind of messed up. Her misogynistic attitude throughout the book was off-putting, especially since we're supposed to be reading the story through her perspective. The author also makes sure to let you know that this has been her attitude since before her parents died, so it's not a reflection of that trauma, but just her regular character. The self-harm was also surprising as the overview gave no real indication of that sort of content.
Spoiler
Daya is using roller derby as a means of self harm, to let other people hurt her so she doesn't have to experience emotional pain.Aside from the aforementioned misogyny and self-harm, I also really hated how much the word "s*vage" was used by Daya throughout the book. Time and time again, we've been asked by indigenous people to not use that word, and yet this author has a non-indigenous character use it almost every chapter, which put me off. The author states that she is "living on unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations (Vancouver, Canada)" but I can't seem to find any indication that Boteju is indigenous herself and, regardless, the main character isn't indigenous so she shouldn't be using that term.
During my reading, unfortunately the bad outweighed the good. I probably wouldn't recommend this one out to others, but I do wish we had more books about roller derby out there, because it's a really interesting, generally female-led sport and it deserves recognition.
pros: LGBTQIA+ representation, disability representation, Sri Lankan representation, women in sports, alternative family styles
cons: reinforcement of stereotypes, use of anti-indigenous slurs, misogyny, self-harm