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A review by caughtbetweenpages
A Girl Called Shameless by Laura Steven
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I'm right down the middle for this book. On one hand, I feel a conclusion to TOOO is necessary, and exploring the fallout of the events that happened there was important, and I enjoyed the activism bent that Izzy et. al. took to. Having blatant sexism and revenge porn continue on with a new victim, and having Izzy's coping mechanism break because of her trauma was very much a kick to the chest in the best possible way. I also liked that Carson had his opinions and problems addressed on page, and that he had his own shit to work through(though I had lots of trouble with how his dialogue on-page demonstrated his accent... but only sometimes) (if I ever have to see the word "aight" written out again I will scream) (I also did not love how their relationship problems would appear with very little provocation or lead up and only stay around for as long as The Plot demanded that Izzy be having a little bit of a harder time, since if we wanted to see her struggling, we could've focused on 1. her trauma or 2. complications with her activism, the central plot points of this story) (I guess what I'm really upset about is that Carson is a throwaway character again).
However, many of the problems I had with book 1 (underdeveloped side characters + focus on attempted humor to the detriment of, like, character and plot development + the Britishisms making it increasingly incredible that this takes place in Midwest USA) continued through this book as well. I think it was necessary, but the more I look at the series as a whole, I think I feel that way because book one felt incomplete, like we ended around the end of Act 2 and were just looking for a way to wrap things up. I think I'll give Steven's standalones a go, especially now that she has a few more books under her belt.
However, many of the problems I had with book 1 (underdeveloped side characters + focus on attempted humor to the detriment of, like, character and plot development + the Britishisms making it increasingly incredible that this takes place in Midwest USA) continued through this book as well. I think it was necessary, but the more I look at the series as a whole, I think I feel that way because book one felt incomplete, like we ended around the end of Act 2 and were just looking for a way to wrap things up. I think I'll give Steven's standalones a go, especially now that she has a few more books under her belt.