Scan barcode
A review by eemahlee
Cassandra in Reverse by Holly Smale
3.0
It was 4.5 stars until the last 20 or so pages. I disliked that there was a reveal about Cassandra being autistic. It was obvious, and I was hoping that it was maintaining the obviousness in a way that a main character knows something about themselves and when others comment on it, find the commentary so ridiculously frivolous that it needs no acknowledgement. Right? Like I’m a brunette. If someone came to me and said “You’re brunette” I could only respond with staring or maybe eke out an “Obviously…” a la Professor Snape.
The second thing I hated was the ending. Rather than acknowledge her growth, and change, and recognize that she is not a problem but oftentimes the environment/people are the problem (aka Will can get the fuck over it or is not a match for Artemis at all), she goes ALL THE WAY BACK? Insane choice. Insane. I feel like this had to be the way the book originally ended and the author caved under pressure to the editor.
It was 4.5 stars for a character that I have a lot of empathy for, for some representation, an honest representation of what all the thoughts break down looks like. It loses a star for its erasing-it-all ending and revealing a plot twist that… should never have been a plot twist?
The second thing I hated was the ending. Rather than acknowledge her growth, and change, and recognize that she is not a problem but oftentimes the environment/people are the problem (aka Will can get the fuck over it or is not a match for Artemis at all), she goes ALL THE WAY BACK? Insane choice. Insane. I feel like this had to be the way the book originally ended and the author caved under pressure to the editor.
It was 4.5 stars for a character that I have a lot of empathy for, for some representation, an honest representation of what all the thoughts break down looks like. It loses a star for its erasing-it-all ending and revealing a plot twist that… should never have been a plot twist?