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I was too autistic to get involved in any clique drama in high school, and I am so incredibly grateful for that if this book is even remotely reflective of the experience. Mackenzie's "teaching Phoebe how to be a girl," while it was critiqued within the narrative as both extremely condescending and as incorrect, was so grating. I know teenagers don't have a good grasp on feminism, but jesus christ, if you ever want an example of what toxic femininity would be, just read this book. Like I said, it was critiqued, but good god was it a lot to sit through. And I don't think the critique itself was fleshed out enough- perhaps if this had been a traditional novel with more breathing room it could have been, but as it stands, I don't think there's enough deconstruction to balance out the build up.
I also think Mackenzie's apology was sorely lacking. Other than her also being a pov character, there was really nothing to distinguish her shitty behavior from the similar behavior from the boys', but while Phoebe- rightfully- doesn't forgive either of the boys, she does forgive Mackenzie, and I really don't think it's justified or earned. I liked the little arc Mackenzie went through, and again, if we had more time to really dig into her arc, I could easily see myself even saying that I like her. But Phoebe didn't get to see her little "redemption," so I'm not sure why Phoebe forgives her. Also, while Mackenzie does unlearn some of her toxic beliefs about what it means to be a girl, we still don't really address her transphobia.
Phoebe herself feels kind of listless- bouncing between one person and the next, moving to a new person when one hurts her, but when the new person hurts her too, she goes back to the previous one with nothing resolved. I wish we had dug a bit deeper into that. I could easily say it's the typical teenage fear of loneliness or her not thinking she's worth good things motivating her returning to people who have hurt her and apologizing to them without them apologizing to her, both of which are compounded by her marginalization. But neither of those motivations are particularly present in the text. I like her, and I like the development she gets learning to set some boundaries, but there's still a lot that feels really unresolved with her.
I enjoyed lots of elements of this story, but ultimately I think it was pretty underdeveloped, with none of its major themes or arcs really feeling fulfilled to me. I've got another book by Visaggio on my TBR though, and I am excited to see more from her. Also the art was gorgeous.
I also think Mackenzie's apology was sorely lacking. Other than her also being a pov character, there was really nothing to distinguish her shitty behavior from the similar behavior from the boys', but while Phoebe- rightfully- doesn't forgive either of the boys, she does forgive Mackenzie, and I really don't think it's justified or earned. I liked the little arc Mackenzie went through, and again, if we had more time to really dig into her arc, I could easily see myself even saying that I like her. But Phoebe didn't get to see her little "redemption," so I'm not sure why Phoebe forgives her. Also, while Mackenzie does unlearn some of her toxic beliefs about what it means to be a girl, we still don't really address her transphobia.
Phoebe herself feels kind of listless- bouncing between one person and the next, moving to a new person when one hurts her, but when the new person hurts her too, she goes back to the previous one with nothing resolved. I wish we had dug a bit deeper into that. I could easily say it's the typical teenage fear of loneliness or her not thinking she's worth good things motivating her returning to people who have hurt her and apologizing to them without them apologizing to her, both of which are compounded by her marginalization. But neither of those motivations are particularly present in the text. I like her, and I like the development she gets learning to set some boundaries, but there's still a lot that feels really unresolved with her.
I enjoyed lots of elements of this story, but ultimately I think it was pretty underdeveloped, with none of its major themes or arcs really feeling fulfilled to me. I've got another book by Visaggio on my TBR though, and I am excited to see more from her. Also the art was gorgeous.