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caseythecanadianlesbrarian's review
3.0
Another hi-lo YA book, this time about a lesbian teen musician, Char, who has become too preoccupied with social media likes, at the same time being bullied online. She meets a girl, Cinders, on an app made to help girls being bullied online.
I appreciate the bones of this story, but the execution fell a bit flat for me. There was too much telling about Cinders and Char talking instead of actually showing the conversations. Char says she's in love but I was like, huh, when did that happen? There was also more of Char thinking "I'm not like other girls" than I would have liked, and the bully Mimi and the popular girls aren't humanized or made complex enough, although it seems like this is explored in the companion novel, Cinders.
I imagine my issues with this book wouldn't be as big a deal to the intended teen audience, though, so I wouldn't not recommend it. The only part I am genuinely hesitant about is a line where Char's brown skin is compared to the colour of coffee with cream in it. (Article here why this is bad practice: https://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/95955707903/skin-writing-with-color-has-received-several)
I appreciate the bones of this story, but the execution fell a bit flat for me. There was too much telling about Cinders and Char talking instead of actually showing the conversations. Char says she's in love but I was like, huh, when did that happen? There was also more of Char thinking "I'm not like other girls" than I would have liked, and the bully Mimi and the popular girls aren't humanized or made complex enough, although it seems like this is explored in the companion novel, Cinders.
I imagine my issues with this book wouldn't be as big a deal to the intended teen audience, though, so I wouldn't not recommend it. The only part I am genuinely hesitant about is a line where Char's brown skin is compared to the colour of coffee with cream in it. (Article here why this is bad practice: https://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/95955707903/skin-writing-with-color-has-received-several)
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