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ktripp 's review for:
The Anti-Virginity Pact
by Katie Wismer
I found this book through the author's YouTube channel and figured I've trusted her book recommendations, let me give her writing a chance. The book was overall okay, I liked some aspects, didn't like others, some aspect were just not for me. I had a lot of the same issues with this book that other reviews had, but let me start with what I liked.
I really liked the characters, I found them real, honest, well developed, the type of characters that make you want to keep reading to find out how their story plays out and ends. I also enjoyed how the story ended, but it definitely ended in a way that won't sit well with everyone. All loose ends are tied up, but it's also vague and incomplete. Like this is the end of this part of the story but there is more to it you as a reader don't see. I could be fine leaving Mare here at this point in her story, but there is also room for the author to return to Mare's story at another point in her life and I think I would enjoy returning to her story.
The story itself was okay, but not something I would have picked up just reading the summary. The religious aspect of the story was just not for me, especially in the way they are presented in the book, it made me uncomfortable and anxious.
Now, what I didn't like - this book tried to do too much. The author tried to fit too many topics into the story and none of them are dealt with or explored. We just watch the characters experience something and that's it, there isn't too much exploration of the origins of the topics, how the different topics affect each of the characters, where it leads, consequences, etc. And ALL of the characters have at least one heavy topic they personally have to deal with. It all just makes the book feel like a little bit of a mess.
And the writing... was not great. This is the author's first book and I believe she mentioned that she started writing it when she was 18 and it shows. There seems to be a lot of telling not showing, a little clunky, and certain aspects feel forced. Like the fact that the mother is French, that did not come off on the page naturally. The only French words in the book are what you would learn in intro classes, and they are strangely scattered in conversations and thought. It did not feel like bilingual family conversations, at least not any that I've interacted with. Also the fact that Mare's inner thoughts include "mon Dieu" is ridiculous considering the girl is athiest?!? And that is the extent of the French vocabulary in her inner thoughts, it just bothered me.
I really liked the characters, I found them real, honest, well developed, the type of characters that make you want to keep reading to find out how their story plays out and ends. I also enjoyed how the story ended, but it definitely ended in a way that won't sit well with everyone. All loose ends are tied up, but it's also vague and incomplete. Like this is the end of this part of the story but there is more to it you as a reader don't see. I could be fine leaving Mare here at this point in her story, but there is also room for the author to return to Mare's story at another point in her life and I think I would enjoy returning to her story.
The story itself was okay, but not something I would have picked up just reading the summary. The religious aspect of the story was just not for me, especially in the way they are presented in the book, it made me uncomfortable and anxious.
Now, what I didn't like - this book tried to do too much. The author tried to fit too many topics into the story and none of them are dealt with or explored. We just watch the characters experience something and that's it, there isn't too much exploration of the origins of the topics, how the different topics affect each of the characters, where it leads, consequences, etc. And ALL of the characters have at least one heavy topic they personally have to deal with. It all just makes the book feel like a little bit of a mess.
And the writing... was not great. This is the author's first book and I believe she mentioned that she started writing it when she was 18 and it shows. There seems to be a lot of telling not showing, a little clunky, and certain aspects feel forced. Like the fact that the mother is French, that did not come off on the page naturally. The only French words in the book are what you would learn in intro classes, and they are strangely scattered in conversations and thought. It did not feel like bilingual family conversations, at least not any that I've interacted with. Also the fact that Mare's inner thoughts include "mon Dieu" is ridiculous considering the girl is athiest?!? And that is the extent of the French vocabulary in her inner thoughts, it just bothered me.