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3.26 AVERAGE
3.26 AVERAGE
3.5 stars.
Very quick read. Very sweet, cute friendship. Sadder than expected.
Very quick read. Very sweet, cute friendship. Sadder than expected.
I really enjoyed this book!
Honestly this book opened as super relatable (follows a friendship that started online through love of a mutual fandom) and then it ended SUPER DEEP.
very impressed.
Honestly this book opened as super relatable (follows a friendship that started online through love of a mutual fandom) and then it ended SUPER DEEP.
very impressed.
took months to read this book since so idk if this even counts. the premise was cool but the format didn’t work best the way I was reading it on my tiny phone screen.
As many other reviewers have mentioned, there's an enormous disconnect between the first part of this book (which is a story about two women in transitional phases of their lives finding friendship through fandom) and the second part (which is about a woman losing a close friend in an accident she feels she could have prevented and suffering through the ensuing trauma). Really, Gena/Finn feels like two different books, and, while I enjoyed the first one, the second really did not sit well with me. The authors' handling of the LGBT subplot felt borderline exploitative; despite strong indications that there would be a romantic relationship between the protagonists, I didn't detect any romantic or sexual undertones to their friendship until Finn started asking whether they were doing "something bad" and discussing how ashamed she felt for betraying her boyfriend. Although these feelings could be a valid part of a story about a woman discovering her sexuality, that's apparently not what this is--the romantic subplot between Gena and Finn is dropped shortly afterwards and never receives any clear resolution. I also resented that the authors' approach to mental illness. Gena's statements towards the beginning of the book about how speaking frankly about mental illness is the best way to normalize it really resonated with me, which is why I was so frustrated to see her mental illness romanticized for the remainder of the book. It's hard to believe the authors' goal was to establish mental illness as a normal and manageable part of many people's lives when Gena's drives her to punch mirrors; write pretentious, moody poetry on her skin; and sit on the edge of rooftops talking about the distance to the moon. As a queer, mentally ill teenager, this book left me disappointed and angry.
One author has mentioned that this book was written through a series of emails and online chats with her collaborator, and I think that approach may at least partially explain the erratic progression of the plot and the melodramatic tone of the latter half. Perhaps more coordination between the authors could have shaped this book into a more cohesive (and less offensive) final product.
One author has mentioned that this book was written through a series of emails and online chats with her collaborator, and I think that approach may at least partially explain the erratic progression of the plot and the melodramatic tone of the latter half. Perhaps more coordination between the authors could have shaped this book into a more cohesive (and less offensive) final product.
Unsure how to rate this book. I'm floating between three and four stars. It was more crushing than I expected and I went in unprepared. I liked it (well liked isn't the right term) but I also cried a lot.
Short little review:
-Reminds me a lot of Eliza and Her Monsters, for obvious reasons.
-"[Fandom] is a drug. Every time I think I'm out, etc etc." Reminded me of that one Dan Howell video? No one probably knows what I'm talking about, but there's that.
-"yeah most people who talk about fandom talk about porn. i'm pretty sure non-fandom people think that's all it is. thanks, 50 shades of grey, appreciate it." This is probably true haha.
-"the truth is / loving someone isn't a period / it's a semicolon / and the choice you make is what comes / on the other side" & "i know better now / stanzas are for quitters / punctuation is for the brave / If love is a semicolon then grief is a comma: / it won't ever stand alone, / but it will give you one breath, / in." The grammar metaphors! Beautiful!
Overall: A pretty good book, but it did feel fairly unfinished, unfortunately.
-Reminds me a lot of Eliza and Her Monsters, for obvious reasons.
-"[Fandom] is a drug. Every time I think I'm out, etc etc." Reminded me of that one Dan Howell video? No one probably knows what I'm talking about, but there's that.
-"yeah most people who talk about fandom talk about porn. i'm pretty sure non-fandom people think that's all it is. thanks, 50 shades of grey, appreciate it." This is probably true haha.
-"the truth is / loving someone isn't a period / it's a semicolon / and the choice you make is what comes / on the other side" & "i know better now / stanzas are for quitters / punctuation is for the brave / If love is a semicolon then grief is a comma: / it won't ever stand alone, / but it will give you one breath, / in." The grammar metaphors! Beautiful!
Overall: A pretty good book, but it did feel fairly unfinished, unfortunately.
This book is fun, I like the way it is presented.
But several chapters in the end, Finn's monologue was kinda boring for me, even if it was sad, but yeah boring.
and where and how can I get someone like Charlie?
But several chapters in the end, Finn's monologue was kinda boring for me, even if it was sad, but yeah boring.
and where and how can I get someone like Charlie?