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seraphjewel 's review for:
The Scent Keeper
by Erica Bauermeister
This was a very nice coming-of-age story. Elements of it had a fairy tale quality, which is fitting considering the stories the father told the daughter. I liked how no one was perfect, I liked how Emmeline had to work through who she was in so many different environments. There was some interesting consumer/marketing commentary. The book never dives too deep into all the commentary in the book, and while I wish it did, this is mainly a personal story.
What keeps this from being a four-star book is the gross behavior of some of the men. Early on Emmeline encounters Dylan. He sexually harasses her for years and nothing's ever done about it until finally Emmeline knees him in the groin. I can almost sort of understand her not doing something right away, but why let it go on for years? The book describes him touching her or giving her a lewd picture with graphic descriptions, and she doesn't do anything. I always question why this kind of thing is included in books, and most of the time I can't think of a reason. Later, another guy is gross to her and a man has to step in to help her. Authors, I'm begging you, please stop writing these scenarios!
I'm also not really sure how I feel about Emmeline being so Fisher-focused for so long. After reconnecting with her mother, every time she gets more of a make-over, Emmeline thinks about if this would have helped her keep Fisher. It was starting to make me a little uncomfortable how fancy clothes and makeup were portrayed as something she needed. I understood the theme the author was going for, but I still didn't care for it.
I did like the little found family Emmeline got, and I thought it did a great job of showing how scents affect people. Again, it didn't dig in too deep on its ideas, but it was good enough.
What keeps this from being a four-star book is the gross behavior of some of the men. Early on Emmeline encounters Dylan. He sexually harasses her for years and nothing's ever done about it until finally Emmeline knees him in the groin. I can almost sort of understand her not doing something right away, but why let it go on for years? The book describes him touching her or giving her a lewd picture with graphic descriptions, and she doesn't do anything. I always question why this kind of thing is included in books, and most of the time I can't think of a reason. Later, another guy is gross to her and a man has to step in to help her. Authors, I'm begging you, please stop writing these scenarios!
I'm also not really sure how I feel about Emmeline being so Fisher-focused for so long. After reconnecting with her mother, every time she gets more of a make-over, Emmeline thinks about if this would have helped her keep Fisher. It was starting to make me a little uncomfortable how fancy clothes and makeup were portrayed as something she needed. I understood the theme the author was going for, but I still didn't care for it.
I did like the little found family Emmeline got, and I thought it did a great job of showing how scents affect people. Again, it didn't dig in too deep on its ideas, but it was good enough.