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A review by capucapulet
The Chase by Elle Kennedy
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
It could be a two stars if the author wasn't trying to pass her characters as somewhat "feminists" when they're really not. When Summer started talking about how Coco Chanel was her model in life, I told myself that the author didn't know about Chanel's collaboration with nazis but THEN Summer had this sort of argument in class with the "pink hair radical feminist who is so mean and jealous of the main character's beauty" and she is MAD about pink hair girl criticizing Chanel's collaboration?? and later on she says (and this is a REAL quote) "and she was rude to me because I admire a Nazi sympathizer" ??? girl??
Both the main character Summer and her love interest Colin are very unlikeable people for different reasons, which could be alright IF the narration voice sort of condemned them but it's absolutely not the case. Summer's feminism consists in saying that girl shouldn't be slutshaming each other, that they can have sex with anyone and can do the same thing than boys (which is obviously true but is very basic feminism, considering the fact that Summer makes it abudantly clear that she's not like those radical feminists who hate men). At this point I'd honestly prefer having Summer admit that she's against feminism rather than pretend that THIS is feminism (and trash on radical feminists).
Also Colin being mad at Summer for having a fight with a girl who insulted and slutshamed her friend was so gross and stupid. All of the men in this book consider women like objects on which they can have a "claim" (and this is a real word that is used MANY times regarding Summer). They behave like cavemen and animals : fighting for their "female" and at the end of the day their behavior is regarded as something "hot". This type of relationship between men and women is setting a really bad example for young readers (because I'm guessing the target audience is around 16-18yo girls, which is a moment when people can be very influenced by their media consumption).
The diversity was bad, the writing wasn't great but it wasn't THAT shocking to me (it honestly felt like reading a Wattpad fic), and the relationship was extremely shallow, only sexual (which could be fine, I mean a relationship can be restricted to sex but then those dramatic emotional scene feel extremely cringy and uncalled for).
Really wish they had left out the Coco Chanel part : it was disturbing and inapropriate.
Both the main character Summer and her love interest Colin are very unlikeable people for different reasons, which could be alright IF the narration voice sort of condemned them but it's absolutely not the case. Summer's feminism consists in saying that girl shouldn't be slutshaming each other, that they can have sex with anyone and can do the same thing than boys (which is obviously true but is very basic feminism, considering the fact that Summer makes it abudantly clear that she's not like those radical feminists who hate men). At this point I'd honestly prefer having Summer admit that she's against feminism rather than pretend that THIS is feminism (and trash on radical feminists).
Also Colin being mad at Summer for having a fight with a girl who insulted and slutshamed her friend was so gross and stupid. All of the men in this book consider women like objects on which they can have a "claim" (and this is a real word that is used MANY times regarding Summer). They behave like cavemen and animals : fighting for their "female" and at the end of the day their behavior is regarded as something "hot". This type of relationship between men and women is setting a really bad example for young readers (because I'm guessing the target audience is around 16-18yo girls, which is a moment when people can be very influenced by their media consumption).
The diversity was bad, the writing wasn't great but it wasn't THAT shocking to me (it honestly felt like reading a Wattpad fic), and the relationship was extremely shallow, only sexual (which could be fine, I mean a relationship can be restricted to sex but then those dramatic emotional scene feel extremely cringy and uncalled for).
Really wish they had left out the Coco Chanel part : it was disturbing and inapropriate.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual harassment, and Sexual assault