Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - Dear Wendy

Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Dear Wendy by Ann Zhao

6 reviews

lettuce_read's review against another edition

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4.0

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goldenelegy's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

im so excited because WOW finally another aroace book!! it's a story set in a wellesley college (i just learned this college actually exist irl wow) about two aroace students navigating their friendships—and the dear wanda-wendy accounts they're managing. if you're looking for aroace books or YA that doesn't center around romance, this is it!!

as an ace person i relate so much to so many things in this book i almost highlight the entire book. what i find the most reassuring is when sophie tells jo that it's okay to question a lot about your asexuality and/or aromanticity. i do also relate to the struggle of making and keeping friends. the fear of being trapped in a one-sided friendship, being left-out, friendship breakups, i feel like these happen a lot but not talked about enough.

i really like dear wendy's answers to the questions she gets. they're so well-structured. dear wanda though, is such a balance with their unserious answers. but then when the two starts arguing, i just don't feel the enemies tension (in entirely platonic way, don't get me wrong). i like it better when they stop the fight (of course??)

overall, this is an enjoyable read, though it's not something that i would give five stars. still, i love the humor and the relatable portrayal <3

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daryn's review

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emotional informative reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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ashylibrarian's review against another edition

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emotional funny inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was a phenomenal YA book celebrating aro/ace characters while also being funny and witty.

We need more books with aro and/or ace rep, and I am so happy this one exists.

I felt seen. I felt heard. I hope this makes many readers feel the same way.

I am hoping to get my hands on a physical copy to annotate and have a more thought-out review soon 😅

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booksdogsandcoffee's review

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emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring fast-paced

4.5

The platonic romance I needed in my life. Two aro/ace relationship instagram accounts at Wellesley university begin feuding online. While in person the two people behind the accounts start to become best friends. This was an absolutely wonderful take on the college experience and we need more aro/ace spec books in the world!

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readingpicnic's review against another edition

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Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was such a fun and light read that I couldn’t put it down. It was so fast paced, and I live for the trope of people being rivals in person and friends online, so this reversal of that trope really intrigued me. I remember seeing the announcement that this book was acquired by the publisher years ago (I think?) with a brief description of the book, as well as the author announcing it on TikTok, and I was so excited to see aspec and arospec rep like this! Although I identify as aspec and not arospec, I loved the representation in this book and the reality of questioning yourself endlessly about your aspec/arospec identity. The excitement that Jo and Sophie experience when they find out that they’re both aroace was so heartwarming, as I remember when I accidentally moved into a cooperative living house full of other aspec and arospec college people by accident years ago and was so relieved to finally meet people who shared this identity with me in real life. The platonic friendship in this book reminded me a lot of Radio Silence by Alice Oseman with the friendship between Aled and Frances, which is the book that I always think about when I think of ace rep since it introduced me to demisexuality. I love a good teasing, platonic relationship, so Jo and Sophie made me very happy.

I do think that this book felt on the young side of young adult for a book that’s more new adult fiction, especially in the very unserious Instagram fights between Wanda and Wendy, but I suppose they are college freshmen, so I wasn’t torn up about it. The author had a message in the beginning of the book that she kind of wrote this book for fun during college, and you can tell that in a good way because it was fun to read and easygoing for the most part. However, this book was also good about being serious, such as interrogating ace discourse, Jo questioning their LGBTQIA+ identities, and Sophie grappling with her Chinese immigrant parents not understanding her asexuality and aromanticism and thinking it’s just a phase for her. This book was quite good and so necessary–we need more aspec and arospec books like this in the world! I’m so glad this exists!

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