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A review by el_mackattack
The Apocalypse of Elena Mendoza by Shaun David Hutchinson
3.0
I'm really conflicted about how I felt about this book overall. Because for some reason, I couldn't seem to put it down, but any time I thought about the book when I wasn't reading it, I couldn't help but feel more negative emotions about it than positive.
On a weird note, for those of you who have played Life Is Strange, ever notice that Chloe Price sounds just a teensy weensy bit like Freddie? Both in dialogue and appearance? Think about it, Freddie's literal description in one passage is wearing ripped jeans, an over-sized tank top, and she's got blue hair. Chloe's description: a beanie, ripped jeans, a tank top, and blue hair. Coincidence? I dunno, but either way, it gave me some weird deja vu.
ANYWAYS...
Here's Why I Liked It:
Representation: The main character, Elena, is both Cuban and bisexual, and there isn't really a huge "internal conflict" over that, which I really appreciate. Fadil, Elena's best friend, is Muslim, and we find out later that he may fall on the asexual spectrum. Freddie is also bisexual (or possibly a lesbian, because I don't recall her ever talking about having a crush on a guy) and she struggles with depression.
Narration Style: I actually quite liked Elena as a character, because she almost seemed to have a Fleabag-esque style of narration (meaning she almost seemed to break the 4th wall a couple of times), which I think was what got me so into the book. Also, Elena's sense of sarcasm and her one-liners are hilarious.
Philosophy and Moral Debates: The book embraces existential debates and questions about things like free will, our influence over other people, how we view our crushes from afar vs. up close, how we treat our friends, and whether or not a person deserves redemption. Leaves you with some food for thought!
Here's Why I Didn't Like It:
The middle is SLOW/Didn't seem to advance the plot: The beginning is quick, the end is quick, but a good portion of the middle of the book seemed to serve no purpose besides slowing down the main plot and giving the book length. I do think this book could've been cut down by at least 30 pages (I don't really think the book needed to be more than 400 pages). There are a lot of interactions in the middle of the book that I don't really remember, and by extent, I don't really see a purpose for them.
Character Interactions: This is a subjective opinion, but it really ended up being a big reason why I was so frustrated with the book. I felt like a majority of the character interactions between Elena and pretty much ANYONE who wasn't trying to investigate her in some capacity, was either to argue with her about what she's doing wrong (either as a person or as miracle worker), or give her advice. She even got advice from her dead beat alcoholic step-dad! It felt a lot like the characters were more just platforms for more opinions to be pushed at Elena than they were characters. That got really repetitive and really frustrating real quick. Especially because more than half the time, the conversation wasn't really important to the plot, or it would be repeated somehow in a later conversation, almost like deja vu (this is particularly visible with Elena and Freddie's arguments).
Elena and Freddie's Chemistry: Now, I'm all for the enemies-to-lovers trope, I don't have a problem with it and I think it's a fun way to approach a romance. It's just that I felt like Freddie and Elena spent too long in the "enemies" portion of that trope for me to really buy the "lovers" chemistry at the end. I'd been looking forward to the moment when they finally got together, but it felt kind of weird since they had spend a majority of the book arguing.
Loose Ends/Plot Holes There aren't many loose ends, it's just the ones that are there are kind of hard to ignore and are kind of crucial "reader's closure" details when it comes to the end of the book.
Overall, I didn't HATE this book, but I'm not gonna say I liked it either. The book makes you re-examine your own relationships, which I definitely think is a nice quality with a YA novel in particular. It was really nice to see how the "friends-to-lovers" is laughed at so much in the book by Elena and Fadil (because believe it or not, IT IS POSSIBLE for a girl to be friends with a guy without them developing feelings!) and I really thought their friendship, including their fights, was actually really realistic and different from other books because oftentimes, the quality and flaws of friendships are never really put under the microscope.
But in conclusion, it's not a bad book, it's just not for everyone.
On a weird note, for those of you who have played Life Is Strange, ever notice that Chloe Price sounds just a teensy weensy bit like Freddie? Both in dialogue and appearance? Think about it, Freddie's literal description in one passage is wearing ripped jeans, an over-sized tank top, and she's got blue hair. Chloe's description: a beanie, ripped jeans, a tank top, and blue hair. Coincidence? I dunno, but either way, it gave me some weird deja vu.
ANYWAYS...
Here's Why I Liked It:
Representation: The main character, Elena, is both Cuban and bisexual, and there isn't really a huge "internal conflict" over that, which I really appreciate. Fadil, Elena's best friend, is Muslim, and we find out later that he may fall on the asexual spectrum. Freddie is also bisexual (or possibly a lesbian, because I don't recall her ever talking about having a crush on a guy) and she struggles with depression.
Narration Style: I actually quite liked Elena as a character, because she almost seemed to have a Fleabag-esque style of narration (meaning she almost seemed to break the 4th wall a couple of times), which I think was what got me so into the book. Also, Elena's sense of sarcasm and her one-liners are hilarious.
Philosophy and Moral Debates: The book embraces existential debates and questions about things like free will, our influence over other people, how we view our crushes from afar vs. up close, how we treat our friends, and whether or not a person deserves redemption. Leaves you with some food for thought!
Here's Why I Didn't Like It:
The middle is SLOW/Didn't seem to advance the plot: The beginning is quick, the end is quick, but a good portion of the middle of the book seemed to serve no purpose besides slowing down the main plot and giving the book length. I do think this book could've been cut down by at least 30 pages (I don't really think the book needed to be more than 400 pages). There are a lot of interactions in the middle of the book that I don't really remember, and by extent, I don't really see a purpose for them.
Character Interactions: This is a subjective opinion, but it really ended up being a big reason why I was so frustrated with the book. I felt like a majority of the character interactions between Elena and pretty much ANYONE who wasn't trying to investigate her in some capacity, was either to argue with her about what she's doing wrong (either as a person or as miracle worker), or give her advice. She even got advice from her dead beat alcoholic step-dad! It felt a lot like the characters were more just platforms for more opinions to be pushed at Elena than they were characters. That got really repetitive and really frustrating real quick. Especially because more than half the time, the conversation wasn't really important to the plot, or it would be repeated somehow in a later conversation, almost like deja vu (this is particularly visible with Elena and Freddie's arguments).
Elena and Freddie's Chemistry: Now, I'm all for the enemies-to-lovers trope, I don't have a problem with it and I think it's a fun way to approach a romance. It's just that I felt like Freddie and Elena spent too long in the "enemies" portion of that trope for me to really buy the "lovers" chemistry at the end. I'd been looking forward to the moment when they finally got together, but it felt kind of weird since they had spend a majority of the book arguing.
Loose Ends/Plot Holes There aren't many loose ends, it's just the ones that are there are kind of hard to ignore and are kind of crucial "reader's closure" details when it comes to the end of the book.
Spoiler
For example, we never really find out who the voices are, or why Elena was given powers. Which is more than a little frustrating since they kind of end up being the main antagonist. Also, who were the homeland security agents? Because they never showed up again so I'm confused why they were important...?Overall, I didn't HATE this book, but I'm not gonna say I liked it either. The book makes you re-examine your own relationships, which I definitely think is a nice quality with a YA novel in particular. It was really nice to see how the "friends-to-lovers" is laughed at so much in the book by Elena and Fadil (because believe it or not, IT IS POSSIBLE for a girl to be friends with a guy without them developing feelings!) and I really thought their friendship, including their fights, was actually really realistic and different from other books because oftentimes, the quality and flaws of friendships are never really put under the microscope.
But in conclusion, it's not a bad book, it's just not for everyone.