A review by meemawreads
Dykette by Jenny Fran Davis

emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I was interested enough in this book to speed through it but in the end it's a story about about a bunch of privileged queers making their own conflict by refusing to communicate clearly. The characters are shallow, petty, manipulative, resentful, and self-obsessed. I think they're supposed to be unlikeable so I don't think my dislike of them is a fault of the writing. I especially didn't enjoy the graphically portrayed "performance", partially based on personal sensitivity to body horror and partially because both the performance and its fallout didn't seem realistic enough to make me care at all about the stakes. These relationships all came off as shallow, again probably purposefully, and I not only wasn't surprised when they got their feelings hurt, but thought they mostly deserved it. I appreciated the ending, especially the moments of truthful dialogue that came shortly before it. It wasn't enough of a turnaround to make me fully endorse the book, but it kept me from rating it lower. Two and a half taters.
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