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A review by chloe_pks
The Art of Escaping by Erin Callahan
2.0
Release date: 19th June 18
Thank you to Amberjack Publishing and NetGalley for sending me an ACR copy in exchange for an honest review.
“We don’t live in a poorly written, low budget drama” – Erin Callahan
The thing that holds this whole book back is that there needs to be some serious editing, as it is this is an ARC, so the published version may well be better, but so many sections of this book are just poorly written. The characters are ‘all tell no show’ and one note with sparks of interesting characterisation, the pacing being a complete mess and the theming is very off for me personally.
Let's begin with what I did enjoy and that is the general plot of the book and the theme of discovering what you are passionate about and finding a balance between creative vs consumption and I did enjoy that discussion too. There were also aspects that I wish had been touched on especially our protagonist’s relationship with her mentor, Miyu. This was a relationship that I think had great potential. I also loved the sections were Will thinks through his sexuality and his insecurities.
Then honestly this leads me to one of my main problems with ‘The Art of Escaping’ and that is that there is no depth whatsoever. Every character is one dimensional, including all their relationships with one another, some being built up within only a page. This book was 228 pages on my phone, yet it felt both too long, filled with filler and like nothing was ever happening. This wasn’t helped by the fact I hated the main character. Mattie hardly read like she was actually a seventeen-year-old, she read like what some adult thinks teenagers are like, she constantly tells the reader that she is 'not like other girls' and yet in trying so hard to ‘not be like people her age’ she becomes nothing, she likes three things and they all defy her entire personality to the point where she just becomes another teenage caricature.
Her ensemble isn’t much better, I did like both Will and Stella, at least more than Mattie, but for certain parts of the book I didn’t even realise that we had swapped perspectives between Mattie and Will, because they don’t have personalities, they’re just sarcasm dispensers that have ‘weird’ interests.
My biggest issue with ‘The Art of Escaping’ though is that Will and Mattie’s secrets should not have been compared to one another and seen on the same level, if not at all then not for as long as they were, as a queer woman who was outed it made me writhe inside and it did nothing but make me dislike Mattie even more than I already did. I would have loved Mattie, right at the beginning to realise that although her parent’s finding out wouldn’t be the best, I would have liked to see her pull strength from Will’s secret instead of comparing them.
The last thing I want to talk about is the pacing, the book just jumps all over the place and never seems to stick around long enough to make me care, for example, the training that Mattie goes through is never really seen; one moment she’s picking locks and then five pages later she’s on stage doing her first show? This book feels like it’s trying so hard to get to its destination that it’s not enjoying the journey, more a list of bullet points than an actual story.
To bring this whole review to a close, although I loved the idea of teenagers finding a way/a hobby where they can discover their passion and feel that they can express themselves, it’s incredibly important but that message is hidden behind this whole book is bogged down by poor writing, pacing and ham-handed political/social commentary that is neither unique or well handled so I can say that this book really wasn’t for me.
My Blog!
Thank you to Amberjack Publishing and NetGalley for sending me an ACR copy in exchange for an honest review.
“We don’t live in a poorly written, low budget drama” – Erin Callahan
The thing that holds this whole book back is that there needs to be some serious editing, as it is this is an ARC, so the published version may well be better, but so many sections of this book are just poorly written. The characters are ‘all tell no show’ and one note with sparks of interesting characterisation, the pacing being a complete mess and the theming is very off for me personally.
Let's begin with what I did enjoy and that is the general plot of the book and the theme of discovering what you are passionate about and finding a balance between creative vs consumption and I did enjoy that discussion too. There were also aspects that I wish had been touched on especially our protagonist’s relationship with her mentor, Miyu. This was a relationship that I think had great potential. I also loved the sections were Will thinks through his sexuality and his insecurities.
Then honestly this leads me to one of my main problems with ‘The Art of Escaping’ and that is that there is no depth whatsoever. Every character is one dimensional, including all their relationships with one another, some being built up within only a page. This book was 228 pages on my phone, yet it felt both too long, filled with filler and like nothing was ever happening. This wasn’t helped by the fact I hated the main character. Mattie hardly read like she was actually a seventeen-year-old, she read like what some adult thinks teenagers are like, she constantly tells the reader that she is 'not like other girls' and yet in trying so hard to ‘not be like people her age’ she becomes nothing, she likes three things and they all defy her entire personality to the point where she just becomes another teenage caricature.
Her ensemble isn’t much better, I did like both Will and Stella, at least more than Mattie, but for certain parts of the book I didn’t even realise that we had swapped perspectives between Mattie and Will, because they don’t have personalities, they’re just sarcasm dispensers that have ‘weird’ interests.
My biggest issue with ‘The Art of Escaping’ though is that Will and Mattie’s secrets should not have been compared to one another and seen on the same level, if not at all then not for as long as they were, as a queer woman who was outed it made me writhe inside and it did nothing but make me dislike Mattie even more than I already did. I would have loved Mattie, right at the beginning to realise that although her parent’s finding out wouldn’t be the best, I would have liked to see her pull strength from Will’s secret instead of comparing them.
The last thing I want to talk about is the pacing, the book just jumps all over the place and never seems to stick around long enough to make me care, for example, the training that Mattie goes through is never really seen; one moment she’s picking locks and then five pages later she’s on stage doing her first show? This book feels like it’s trying so hard to get to its destination that it’s not enjoying the journey, more a list of bullet points than an actual story.
To bring this whole review to a close, although I loved the idea of teenagers finding a way/a hobby where they can discover their passion and feel that they can express themselves, it’s incredibly important but that message is hidden behind this whole book is bogged down by poor writing, pacing and ham-handed political/social commentary that is neither unique or well handled so I can say that this book really wasn’t for me.
My Blog!