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A review by kemikemi
Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book started out fun zany; the characters were funny, the premise was so wild, and I loved the way that Meddy’s family had her back immediately. However, I started getting frustrated with characters, and then the last act of the book devolved into what the fuck???? that then got so quickly wrapped up all neatly with a bow…it just didn’t end up panning out in a way that kept up with the promising start for me.
As for as the main character herself, I took issue with how around midway Meddy contradicted herself regarding her moral code and lying; I went on a rant to my friend about how in one of the scenes Meddy refused to lie to someone’s face but then she literally ended up doing just that a couple scenes later because her NOT lying to cover for something earlier resulted in a false assumption being made that she decided she had to play along with. And considering the entire premise of the story is her trying to cover up a person’s death that she caused, which would then turn into a secret she’d plan to harbor forever, Meddy drawing her proverbial line at lying about something technically related but rather innocuous in comparison felt so ridiculous. There’s just something that bothers me about deception/“I have a secret” story plots where characters refuse to lie and/or are terrible at lying on the spot—like you’re either committed to keeping this a secret at all costs or not!! You’re stressing me out!!! Another thing that bothered me was how heavily Meddy started internal monologuing during all the high intensity situations at the end of the book; she kept repeating the same thoughts/themes and it got a bit too repetitive in a way that took me out of the action.
But about the pacing and ending of the book: honestly, despite how insane the premise is, the first half of the book does feel like it unfolds rather realistically for the situations that keep happening regarding the dead body main plot, and disbelief can be reasonably suspended to go along with the zaniness—which is perfect. However, after the actual wedding ceremony ended is where it started to go too off the rails for me, and I just wasn’t satisfied with how everything past that ended up unfolding and wrapping up the book. It was all wayy too much and too fast in my opinion, so I found myself disappointed by HOW we got to the ending (the ending we all all into the book knowing from the start). So in all, this book ended up being a little bit of a miss for me compared to how I originally thought I was going to like it, and I’m not sure I’m going to read the sequel(s) ☹️
As for as the main character herself, I took issue with how around midway Meddy contradicted herself regarding her moral code and lying; I went on a rant to my friend about how in one of the scenes Meddy refused to lie to someone’s face but then she literally ended up doing just that a couple scenes later because her NOT lying to cover for something earlier resulted in a false assumption being made that she decided she had to play along with. And considering the entire premise of the story is her trying to cover up a person’s death that she caused, which would then turn into a secret she’d plan to harbor forever, Meddy drawing her proverbial line at lying about something technically related but rather innocuous in comparison felt so ridiculous. There’s just something that bothers me about deception/“I have a secret” story plots where characters refuse to lie and/or are terrible at lying on the spot—like you’re either committed to keeping this a secret at all costs or not!! You’re stressing me out!!! Another thing that bothered me was how heavily Meddy started internal monologuing during all the high intensity situations at the end of the book; she kept repeating the same thoughts/themes and it got a bit too repetitive in a way that took me out of the action.
But about the pacing and ending of the book: honestly, despite how insane the premise is, the first half of the book does feel like it unfolds rather realistically for the situations that keep happening regarding the dead body main plot, and disbelief can be reasonably suspended to go along with the zaniness—which is perfect. However, after the actual wedding ceremony ended is where it started to go too off the rails for me, and I just wasn’t satisfied with how everything past that ended up unfolding and wrapping up the book. It was all wayy too much and too fast in my opinion, so I found myself disappointed by HOW we got to the ending (the ending we all all into the book knowing from the start). So in all, this book ended up being a little bit of a miss for me compared to how I originally thought I was going to like it, and I’m not sure I’m going to read the sequel(s) ☹️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Car accident, Murder, and Body horror
Moderate: Drug use and Alcohol
Minor: Racism