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A review by taliaissmart
Gena/Finn by Hannah Moskowitz, Kat Helgeson
3.0
The beginning of this book made me cringe- not because it was poorly written or anything, but because it felt so trivial. Like, these girls start to connect over a show that is clearly pretty so-so and they're over-complimenting each other on art and writing that is not good. It felt very realistic but in a way that made me remember how I sometimes really dislike the reality of the fan experience. (Sidenote: why are none of these girls shipping the two lead characters together??? Most unrealistic part tbh.)
I thought that the evolution and genuine nature of internet friendship was explored fairly well. I've definitely connected really closely with people without necessarily meeting them irl first, and this book validated that experience.
Where Gena/Finn gets really interesting, though, is in the aftermath of the fan convention. We begin to see the darker aspects of these characters' lives--mental illness, family issues, and then really intense grief--in ways that complicate the narrative. Rather than feeling trite and silly, the characters' relationships recenter around exploring the complexity of love. Toward the end, I teared up several times.
Although the subject matter started out on a somewhat too-sincere note (almost to the point of insincerity), I ended up being very pleasantly surprised by this novel's outcome.
I thought that the evolution and genuine nature of internet friendship was explored fairly well. I've definitely connected really closely with people without necessarily meeting them irl first, and this book validated that experience.
Where Gena/Finn gets really interesting, though, is in the aftermath of the fan convention. We begin to see the darker aspects of these characters' lives--mental illness, family issues, and then really intense grief--in ways that complicate the narrative. Rather than feeling trite and silly, the characters' relationships recenter around exploring the complexity of love. Toward the end, I teared up several times.
Although the subject matter started out on a somewhat too-sincere note (almost to the point of insincerity), I ended up being very pleasantly surprised by this novel's outcome.