A review by itsneilcochrane
The Steep and Thorny Way by Cat Winters

2.0

This is really more like 2.5 stars. It was a really fast read, and there were some elements that I enjoyed--the time period felt accurate, for example, and I appreciate it drawing attention to some nasty parts of Oregon's past (which contribute even now to some nasty parts of Oregon's present). But it didn't have the sense of dread, and darkness, and drama that Hamlet has, and I was hoping for that, as much as I appreciate an attempt to retool it into a non-tragedy.

The thing that knocked this from three to two stars for me was my discomfort around the treatment of Joe, a gay boy who gets sent to jail for the death of Hanalee's father:

Spoiler

There's a scene where Joe and Hanalee are forced to kiss at knifepoint, which was DEEPLY uncomfortable to begin with and was unnecessary. Later on, Joe offers to kiss Hanalee again because the coerced kiss was her first and he wanted to give her a "real" kiss. How does that make sense at all? They're quite physical with each other in the book, which on the one hand, yay platonic physical affection...except it didn't feel platonic on Hanalee's side. At the end, Hanalee considers asking Joe "what they mean to each other," which feels like twisting their friendship into a possibly romantic connection despite Joe's stated romantic and physical attraction to boys.

Overall, the portrayal of Joe through Hanalee's perspective felt like it allowed Joe to be a pseudo-love-interest despite his orientation. I'd bet it wasn't intentional, but I still didn't like it.