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A review by megsreading5x5
Take Her Down by Lauren Emily Whalen
3.0
A queer Julius Caesar retelling? Told in the format of a student thesis? With clever twists on the original names for the characters? Alright, I’m interested.
First things first, the positives of this book. It has lots of representation, from sexuality to gender to mental illness. It talks about questioning sexuality, thinking you're one thing then life turns that on it’s head for you. I think this will mean a lot for young people still coming to terms with themselves. Knowing it’s okay to not know and it’s okay to change your labels if the old ones don’t suit you anymore.
The cover is BEAUTIFUL. That’s what really drew me in first.
Now for the not so good stuff. It’s split into acts, like the original Julius Caesar play is (a good thing!). However, the first act of this book is an introduction. It is way too long (exactly 45% of the book, according to Kindle) and way too repetitive. I get that Bronwyn has a boyfriend now. I get that Porter is bipolar. I get that Cass is questioning herself and is a cheerleader. I get that Hillary lost the election (why I had to read that 100 times in the year 2022 is beyond me). I get that Jude is biphobic. I don’t need to be told these things over and over again for the entire first half of the book. I almost stopped reading because I didn’t want to read any of these things AGAIN.
Also, and I know this might sound crazy, but there’s too much representation in this book. It’s doing too much, and not providing good representation for everyone it’s trying to. Not everyone HAS to be queer.
Also the mean biphobic lesbian trope never sits well with me. Could’ve done without that for sure.
Overall, this book had such a promising premise but it didn’t really hit the mark for me. Perhaps a younger audience will do better with it. Though this book does turn very dark once you get by the first half so be sure to check the trigger warnings if you’re going to read this. There were some parts of this book that I really liked, and all of them were after that first 45%. I just wish the acts had been more evenly spaced so the story had a real chance to grow and thrive.
First things first, the positives of this book. It has lots of representation, from sexuality to gender to mental illness. It talks about questioning sexuality, thinking you're one thing then life turns that on it’s head for you. I think this will mean a lot for young people still coming to terms with themselves. Knowing it’s okay to not know and it’s okay to change your labels if the old ones don’t suit you anymore.
The cover is BEAUTIFUL. That’s what really drew me in first.
Now for the not so good stuff. It’s split into acts, like the original Julius Caesar play is (a good thing!). However, the first act of this book is an introduction. It is way too long (exactly 45% of the book, according to Kindle) and way too repetitive. I get that Bronwyn has a boyfriend now. I get that Porter is bipolar. I get that Cass is questioning herself and is a cheerleader. I get that Hillary lost the election (why I had to read that 100 times in the year 2022 is beyond me). I get that Jude is biphobic. I don’t need to be told these things over and over again for the entire first half of the book. I almost stopped reading because I didn’t want to read any of these things AGAIN.
Also, and I know this might sound crazy, but there’s too much representation in this book. It’s doing too much, and not providing good representation for everyone it’s trying to. Not everyone HAS to be queer.
Also the mean biphobic lesbian trope never sits well with me. Could’ve done without that for sure.
Overall, this book had such a promising premise but it didn’t really hit the mark for me. Perhaps a younger audience will do better with it. Though this book does turn very dark once you get by the first half so be sure to check the trigger warnings if you’re going to read this. There were some parts of this book that I really liked, and all of them were after that first 45%. I just wish the acts had been more evenly spaced so the story had a real chance to grow and thrive.