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A review by maddibleu
The Score by Elle Kennedy
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
No empathy for someone grieving.
I was really enjoying this until we got to Dean’s “growth” or redemption arc or whatever. I honestly found Allie’s behavior and thoughts about Dean’s grief to be kind of disgusting. The whole situation was Dean’s best friend dies (as a plot device to show he can’t handle “difficult things” because he’s always been able to “throw money to fix things). So his friend dies and Dean starts to spiral into his grief. Drinking but still functioning through class and hockey. But he’s in a dark place, disconnected from his friends and Allie.
After THREE WEEKS, Allie starts to get tired of his behavior and uses it to solidify the fact that Dean’s basically jumps ship when confronted with difficult things, rather than facing them (his friend’s death) head-on and working through his feelings rather than avoiding.
Allie’s whole thought process was gross. The multiple “I shouldn’t judge how someone else grieves” but then doing it over and over. She was only thinking of herself. He misses her performance because he’s partying with the football team (who also just lost their best friend!!!) and she dumps Dean for not “growing up.”
He’s apologetic, but still out of it a bit, and says he’ll go to tomorrow’s show. But she “doesn’t want him there.” In any other situation besides him grieving the death of his best friend, I would write him off as an asshole who’s just blowing Allie office, but it’s been THREE WEEKS and everyone acts like he should already be able to face and move past his friend’s death.
This was such a shallow and horrible portrayal of grief. If an author is going to kill someone off as a plot device to give a character some dynamic growth, then that character should at least be given the space to grieve.
On top of all this Allie lost her mom as a child and has a father who has an incurable illness. You’d think she’d have more empathy and understanding. This book was about making Dean right for Allie, but not about making sure Allie was right for Dean. Ruined it for me.
I was really enjoying this until we got to Dean’s “growth” or redemption arc or whatever. I honestly found Allie’s behavior and thoughts about Dean’s grief to be kind of disgusting. The whole situation was Dean’s best friend dies (as a plot device to show he can’t handle “difficult things” because he’s always been able to “throw money to fix things). So his friend dies and Dean starts to spiral into his grief. Drinking but still functioning through class and hockey. But he’s in a dark place, disconnected from his friends and Allie.
After THREE WEEKS, Allie starts to get tired of his behavior and uses it to solidify the fact that Dean’s basically jumps ship when confronted with difficult things, rather than facing them (his friend’s death) head-on and working through his feelings rather than avoiding.
Allie’s whole thought process was gross. The multiple “I shouldn’t judge how someone else grieves” but then doing it over and over. She was only thinking of herself. He misses her performance because he’s partying with the football team (who also just lost their best friend!!!) and she dumps Dean for not “growing up.”
He’s apologetic, but still out of it a bit, and says he’ll go to tomorrow’s show. But she “doesn’t want him there.” In any other situation besides him grieving the death of his best friend, I would write him off as an asshole who’s just blowing Allie office, but it’s been THREE WEEKS and everyone acts like he should already be able to face and move past his friend’s death.
This was such a shallow and horrible portrayal of grief. If an author is going to kill someone off as a plot device to give a character some dynamic growth, then that character should at least be given the space to grieve.
On top of all this Allie lost her mom as a child and has a father who has an incurable illness. You’d think she’d have more empathy and understanding. This book was about making Dean right for Allie, but not about making sure Allie was right for Dean. Ruined it for me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Death, and Grief