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A review by zoemig
Send by Patty Blount
1.0
Some novels age better than others and unfortunately I feel like Send by Patty Blount, despite only being published 8 years ago (which is definitely how long I have had it on my shelf given that this is an advance copy...sorry!) has not aged well.
Send is the story of Dan, who is starting the year at a new high school with a new name, because of something horrible he did in his past. This is a story about the consequences of bullying, told from the perspective of the perpetrator, once they have had plenty of time to recognize and regret their actions. It's heartbreaking to see how much damage Dan has caused, to not only his victim but also himself and his family. At the same time, Send is written in a way to be overly sympathetic to him and make it seem like his actions were "not the bad" on their own. I'm also not sure that I really believe that Dan would have faced the consequences he did for his action, but I know the reader is supposed to view the punishment as unfair.
I actively disliked Dan's perspective and especially the character of Kenny, who was somewhat of a metaphor but also just annoying. I felt pretty disconnected from Dan and the dialogue felt inauthentic, but maybe it was just dated. There's supposed to be a big twist in the book which is definitely not a twist at all and so it just made me annoyed at another one of the characters. I don't if I would have enjoyed Send more when it was first published or when I was a teen, because I do think the premise had potential, but reading it now it was definitely not a book for me.
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book for review.
Send is the story of Dan, who is starting the year at a new high school with a new name, because of something horrible he did in his past. This is a story about the consequences of bullying, told from the perspective of the perpetrator, once they have had plenty of time to recognize and regret their actions. It's heartbreaking to see how much damage Dan has caused, to not only his victim but also himself and his family. At the same time, Send is written in a way to be overly sympathetic to him and make it seem like his actions were "not the bad" on their own. I'm also not sure that I really believe that Dan would have faced the consequences he did for his action, but I know the reader is supposed to view the punishment as unfair.
I actively disliked Dan's perspective and especially the character of Kenny, who was somewhat of a metaphor but also just annoying. I felt pretty disconnected from Dan and the dialogue felt inauthentic, but maybe it was just dated. There's supposed to be a big twist in the book which is definitely not a twist at all and so it just made me annoyed at another one of the characters. I don't if I would have enjoyed Send more when it was first published or when I was a teen, because I do think the premise had potential, but reading it now it was definitely not a book for me.
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book for review.