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A review by crackedspines_
Finding Gene Kelly by Torie Jean
emotional
funny
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
CONTENT WARNING: I discuss diet culture and weight loss briefly in the “themes” section.
OVERALL: I really enjoyed Finding Gene Kelly! I had some issues with certain scenes and characters but they were mostly minor and I still 100% recommend this book.
PLOT: This is a really fun storyline. In addition to the romance it revolves around the way Evie’s endo affects her life. Jean did a fantastic job balancing realism and honesty with hopefulness - Evie isn’t magically cured by love but there is some reasonable happiness and hope infused into her life.
STRUCTURE: I didn’t love the pacing. The entire plot builds up to Evie’s brother’s wedding but the event doesn’t take place until fairly late in the book, which made the entire first part feel quite slow.
SETTING: Both settings - Paris and Portsmouth - were so fun to read about. Both were charming in their own way and it definitely tempted me to book a flight to Paris immediately 😂
THEME: The endo rep was SPOT ON. My experience is different than Evie’s in some ways but it hit me really hard, even the parts I didn’t specifically relate to. It was both comforting and painful to see endo laid out on page. I also appreciated the body positive/body acceptance themes in the book - Evie is a size 14 and faces a lot of shaming but it is challenged and she continues to eat what she wants freely. It’s also really nice to see Liam tell her she is beautiful directly in response to her overhearing some fatphobic comments towards her. There is one discussion that bothered me about Liam cutting out carbs, which is later revealed to be to impress Evie. This is so unnecessary and furthers harmful diet culture . It was especially jarring in a book that is otherwise pretty body positive. The author addressed this briefly but she said it was “never a conversation on the body” but when Evie and Liam discuss it later Liam says “It was worth it watching you gape at me” which is a clear indication he did it to lose weight. I also want to note that Torie Jean did state she modeled Evie’s body off her own so be mindful with critiques of Evie’s body and behavior.
CHARACTERS: Evie and Eli are two of my favorite characters. I find Evie very relatable in a lot of ways, and Eli was basically the best friend ever. I also thought his romance was really cute. However, Maria was a toxic friend. She was condescending and often acted like she knew Evie better than she did. Evie talks a lot about how she’s an amazing friend and I just didn’t see it. I also thought there were some issues with Liam, namely that he too acted like he knew Evie’s illness better than she did. Evie has a tendency to downplay her symptoms and push through and while I know from experience it helps to have loved ones remind you to take care of yourself, Liam was too pushy and almost treated her like a child. They clearly needed to discuss this more than they did so Liam understood a bit better.
I hope you consider picking up this book! If you do please comment/dm me your thoughts because I’d love to hear.
OVERALL: I really enjoyed Finding Gene Kelly! I had some issues with certain scenes and characters but they were mostly minor and I still 100% recommend this book.
PLOT: This is a really fun storyline. In addition to the romance it revolves around the way Evie’s endo affects her life. Jean did a fantastic job balancing realism and honesty with hopefulness - Evie isn’t magically cured by love but there is some reasonable happiness and hope infused into her life.
STRUCTURE: I didn’t love the pacing. The entire plot builds up to Evie’s brother’s wedding but the event doesn’t take place until fairly late in the book, which made the entire first part feel quite slow.
SETTING: Both settings - Paris and Portsmouth - were so fun to read about. Both were charming in their own way and it definitely tempted me to book a flight to Paris immediately 😂
THEME: The endo rep was SPOT ON. My experience is different than Evie’s in some ways but it hit me really hard, even the parts I didn’t specifically relate to. It was both comforting and painful to see endo laid out on page. I also appreciated the body positive/body acceptance themes in the book - Evie is a size 14 and faces a lot of shaming but it is challenged and she continues to eat what she wants freely. It’s also really nice to see Liam tell her she is beautiful directly in response to her overhearing some fatphobic comments towards her. There is one discussion that bothered me about Liam cutting out carbs, which is later revealed to be to impress Evie. This is so unnecessary and furthers harmful diet culture . It was especially jarring in a book that is otherwise pretty body positive. The author addressed this briefly but she said it was “never a conversation on the body” but when Evie and Liam discuss it later Liam says “It was worth it watching you gape at me” which is a clear indication he did it to lose weight. I also want to note that Torie Jean did state she modeled Evie’s body off her own so be mindful with critiques of Evie’s body and behavior.
CHARACTERS: Evie and Eli are two of my favorite characters. I find Evie very relatable in a lot of ways, and Eli was basically the best friend ever. I also thought his romance was really cute. However, Maria was a toxic friend. She was condescending and often acted like she knew Evie better than she did. Evie talks a lot about how she’s an amazing friend and I just didn’t see it. I also thought there were some issues with Liam, namely that he too acted like he knew Evie’s illness better than she did. Evie has a tendency to downplay her symptoms and push through and while I know from experience it helps to have loved ones remind you to take care of yourself, Liam was too pushy and almost treated her like a child. They clearly needed to discuss this more than they did so Liam understood a bit better.
I hope you consider picking up this book! If you do please comment/dm me your thoughts because I’d love to hear.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Fatphobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Vomit, Medical content, and Gaslighting
Minor: Infertility
toxic mother/daughter relationship, details of endometriosis, depictions of depression and anxiety