Scan barcode
lotsa_matcha's reviews
155 reviews
Girls of Fate and Fury by Natasha Ngan
challenging
dark
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Mad About the Hatter by Dakota Chase
I really did want to like this because gay Alice in Wonderland? Yes, please! If I read any more, it's to see how bad this gets.
The writing was very amateurish. It felt like someone was trying to write in old-timey language but kept slipping back into modern. That made it feel inconsistent. In addition, a lot of the so-called fancier language was unnecessary and felt as though the author was saying, "teehee look how clever I am." This is compounded by Henry occasionally talking like he's in Victorian times but then making references to things like Criss Angel. I don't think the author is consistent about when Henry is from -- is this two drafts badly merged together? At page 68, I think it is clear that Henry is actually from modern times, which raises a lot of questions since he is supposedly the brother of original Alice, everything happening as it did in the original? And the beginning was misleading and the tone is all wrong because it seems to be trying to get across the message that it's historical but apparently it's modern. I'm still voting for badly smashed together drafts.
Besides my issues with prose and inconsistent feel, there was also Henry's stance on disability and madness. As a disabled person, feminist, and queer person, saying you want to send your sister to an asylum and electric shocks to the head will fix her IN YOUR INTRO TO A MAIN CHARACTER is a hell no. Later, the same main character talks about how his dad's racist and homophobic views and views of power are wrong, but it feels like he has the same issues really, at least regarding disability. So, fuck you, Henry. Then there's just the occasional Alice-bashing, which is just plain grating and feels a bit like misogyny.
I do not have the patience to finish reading this book, which is saying something, considering I am going for grad school in philosophy.
Update: The writing did improve, but the plot is very deus ex machina, the characters appear to have changed on a whim. The author figured out that this is apparently set in modern time and the writing is at least coherent. Still not good, but it earned itself a second star by not being quite as horrendous.
fast-paced
2.0
I really did want to like this because gay Alice in Wonderland? Yes, please! If I read any more, it's to see how bad this gets.
The writing was very amateurish. It felt like someone was trying to write in old-timey language but kept slipping back into modern. That made it feel inconsistent. In addition, a lot of the so-called fancier language was unnecessary and felt as though the author was saying, "teehee look how clever I am." This is compounded by Henry occasionally talking like he's in Victorian times but then making references to things like Criss Angel. I don't think the author is consistent about when Henry is from -- is this two drafts badly merged together? At page 68, I think it is clear that Henry is actually from modern times, which raises a lot of questions since he is supposedly the brother of original Alice, everything happening as it did in the original? And the beginning was misleading and the tone is all wrong because it seems to be trying to get across the message that it's historical but apparently it's modern. I'm still voting for badly smashed together drafts.
Besides my issues with prose and inconsistent feel, there was also Henry's stance on disability and madness. As a disabled person, feminist, and queer person, saying you want to send your sister to an asylum and electric shocks to the head will fix her IN YOUR INTRO TO A MAIN CHARACTER is a hell no. Later, the same main character talks about how his dad's racist and homophobic views and views of power are wrong, but it feels like he has the same issues really, at least regarding disability. So, fuck you, Henry. Then there's just the occasional Alice-bashing, which is just plain grating and feels a bit like misogyny.
I do not have the patience to finish reading this book, which is saying something, considering I am going for grad school in philosophy.
Update: The writing did improve, but the plot is very deus ex machina, the characters appear to have changed on a whim. The author figured out that this is apparently set in modern time and the writing is at least coherent. Still not good, but it earned itself a second star by not being quite as horrendous.