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A review by cassieslibrary
Take Her Down by Lauren Emily Whalen
3.0
i honestly don’t really know what i thought of this book. there were moments i loved, and moments i disliked.
firstly, trigger warnings:
moderate biphobia, alcohol, sexual content
graphic sexual assault, manic episodes, mental illness, self harm
okay, let’s get started. i LOVE a shakespeare retelling, and i loved the way that this was split into five acts and included quotes from Julius Caesar at the start of each act. i also really liked the multiple POVs in this book and the short chapters in which they were included. it was great to be able to understand the plot from every main character’s perspective in an attempt to comprehend their behaviours. the plot twists, while brutal and awful, were unexpected and created a really interesting shift in the story. i also ADORED the nonbinary representation, with one of the main characters identifying as a demigirl and using she/they pronouns. having characters that identify outside of the binary gender spectrum makes me feel incredibly seen and having the characters use Antonia’s they/them pronouns as well was very validating. finally, i thoroughly enjoyed having the #MeToo Movement embedded into this story; it was done seamlessly and extremely well.
at times, i felt as though this book was trying too hard to be modern and progressive. also the main characters did not really face any legal consequences for their actions (which were incredibly toxic, harmful, and exploitative). i understood, and even liked, that this story was meant to have a happy ending, however the lack of consequence felt almost unrealistic.
so, that’s where i stand. in the middle, i suppose. and thus, i give this 3 stars.
firstly, trigger warnings:
moderate biphobia, alcohol, sexual content
graphic sexual assault, manic episodes, mental illness, self harm
okay, let’s get started. i LOVE a shakespeare retelling, and i loved the way that this was split into five acts and included quotes from Julius Caesar at the start of each act. i also really liked the multiple POVs in this book and the short chapters in which they were included. it was great to be able to understand the plot from every main character’s perspective in an attempt to comprehend their behaviours. the plot twists, while brutal and awful, were unexpected and created a really interesting shift in the story. i also ADORED the nonbinary representation, with one of the main characters identifying as a demigirl and using she/they pronouns. having characters that identify outside of the binary gender spectrum makes me feel incredibly seen and having the characters use Antonia’s they/them pronouns as well was very validating. finally, i thoroughly enjoyed having the #MeToo Movement embedded into this story; it was done seamlessly and extremely well.
at times, i felt as though this book was trying too hard to be modern and progressive. also the main characters did not really face any legal consequences for their actions (which were incredibly toxic, harmful, and exploitative). i understood, and even liked, that this story was meant to have a happy ending, however the lack of consequence felt almost unrealistic.
so, that’s where i stand. in the middle, i suppose. and thus, i give this 3 stars.