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papertraildiary's review against another edition
3.0
This was such a good idea for a book, but it ended up trying to do way too much. Having two third-person storylines plus the writing from both of those girls got really cluttered at times and confusing. Abby's story could have been a bit less complicated too, I think. I hadn't read a Robin Talley book before, and I'm glad I read this one, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I'd hoped I would.
ajb24's review against another edition
3.0
I have mixed feelings about this book. The Janet storyline was definitely stronger than Abby's. I was just overall way more interested in the struggles Janet was facing than what Abby was dealing with, which made Janet's chapters more compelling. Although, both girls did have a tendency to be annoyingly dense at times.
In general Abby's chapters were a slog to get through. I didn't find her likable or sympathetic at all. From an abstract level, I can see where someone might relate to Abby's experience of losing herself in fictional worlds to escape a difficult home life. In practice, however, I never got a full sense of why her parents were having such problems. It was established as "a thing," but then she was so bratty and evasive for what seemed like really weak reasons. Even the "big fight" that her parents have that leads to her and Lynne breaking up was so, anticlimactic? Or I just never got the sense of where the tension was...I don't know how to explain because I'm sure that having your parents yell at each other makes things really awkward and tense, but I couldn't find a way to sympathize with how it was presented. It seemed like a huge deal was being made of like, one big fight, but like, why are they fighting?? There was no underlying cause, the parents just suddenly didn't like each other anymore and Abby went around all mopey.
There was also multiple instances where Abby was really obnoxious about how amazing the Marion Love book was and was all "HoW cOulD yOu NOT KnoOoOwwW about this ONE pulp book when it's mildly famous within this ONE genre of novels." Really I was just irritated by how irritated SHE got when talking with the queer historian. Like, queer history is so much broader than your ONE novel, maybe take your superiority complex down a notch??
OH and her college application anxiety was never resolved, and it wasn't really explained what her hesitation was?? I guess she was trying to get her parents' attention by not applying, but her complaints seemed like a deeper "why is this my prescribed future" type of thing. And I think that would've been interesting if she had had an honest conversation with her mom or teacher or someone and actually said "hey, I'm unsure if I even wanna go to college because I'm not ready to make these big decisions in my life." But NO. Instead, she was just really rude to Lynne by being really aggressively against college applications without explaining any underlying issues she was struggling with. THAT leads into my second annoyance with how she treated Lynne. WHY was she SO surprised that Lynne thought Abby wanted to break up and not get back together? GIRL, it's because you don't SAY anything! She's so in her head alllll the time, and then anything she says out loud is like "I'm fine! Don't worry!" or "Leave me alone!" or something else that's unnecessarily confrontational given the conversation, but of course she wouldn't express her feelings or anything like that. No, she just fixates on this one pulp novel for reasons unknowable to her friends, and then she gets MAD at them for bringing up valid questions like "hey! why don't you wanna tour this college?" or "why haven't you started on any homework?"
My 3-star rating is basically only for the Janet chapters lol
In general Abby's chapters were a slog to get through. I didn't find her likable or sympathetic at all. From an abstract level, I can see where someone might relate to Abby's experience of losing herself in fictional worlds to escape a difficult home life. In practice, however, I never got a full sense of why her parents were having such problems. It was established as "a thing," but then she was so bratty and evasive for what seemed like really weak reasons. Even the "big fight" that her parents have that leads to her and Lynne breaking up was so, anticlimactic? Or I just never got the sense of where the tension was...I don't know how to explain because I'm sure that having your parents yell at each other makes things really awkward and tense, but I couldn't find a way to sympathize with how it was presented. It seemed like a huge deal was being made of like, one big fight, but like, why are they fighting?? There was no underlying cause, the parents just suddenly didn't like each other anymore and Abby went around all mopey.
There was also multiple instances where Abby was really obnoxious about how amazing the Marion Love book was and was all "HoW cOulD yOu NOT KnoOoOwwW about this ONE pulp book when it's mildly famous within this ONE genre of novels." Really I was just irritated by how irritated SHE got when talking with the queer historian. Like, queer history is so much broader than your ONE novel, maybe take your superiority complex down a notch??
OH and her college application anxiety was never resolved, and it wasn't really explained what her hesitation was?? I guess she was trying to get her parents' attention by not applying, but her complaints seemed like a deeper "why is this my prescribed future" type of thing. And I think that would've been interesting if she had had an honest conversation with her mom or teacher or someone and actually said "hey, I'm unsure if I even wanna go to college because I'm not ready to make these big decisions in my life." But NO. Instead, she was just really rude to Lynne by being really aggressively against college applications without explaining any underlying issues she was struggling with. THAT leads into my second annoyance with how she treated Lynne. WHY was she SO surprised that Lynne thought Abby wanted to break up and not get back together? GIRL, it's because you don't SAY anything! She's so in her head alllll the time, and then anything she says out loud is like "I'm fine! Don't worry!" or "Leave me alone!" or something else that's unnecessarily confrontational given the conversation, but of course she wouldn't express her feelings or anything like that. No, she just fixates on this one pulp novel for reasons unknowable to her friends, and then she gets MAD at them for bringing up valid questions like "hey! why don't you wanna tour this college?" or "why haven't you started on any homework?"
My 3-star rating is basically only for the Janet chapters lol
notkb's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
5.0
readmoreyall's review
2.0
Story within story within story. Interesting bit of history woven into a teen narrative centered around writing, romance, and a family on the edge of falling apart. Not sure how good the representation of women of color is here. Something feels off.
nabiis's review against another edition
3.0
Pulp is a lesbian novel that takes place in 2017 and 1955, following the lives of Abby Zimet and Janet Jones.
Abby is currently in her senior year of high school, struggling to keep up with school work, college applications, family problems, and relationships. For her senior project she decides to read and research lesbian pulp fiction which was extremely popular in the 1950s-60s. During her research, she becomes obsessed with an author and the whole world of lesbian pulp. She starts to put one of these stories and her writing before everything else in her life, which is something that makes her relatable, for who hasn't allowed a book to completely overtake their thoughts and everyday activities?
Janet is a recently graduated teenager who is on her way to going to college. Her story takes place in the summer before university, where she works at the Soda Shoppe as a waitress. Her story begins sometime after she finds a lesbian pulp fiction story, which opens up her eyes to a whole new world of literature and life. Janet never knew that there were girls in the world who liked girls like she thought she did. Janet has a love for this one book, for it gives her a sense of comfort and shows her that she is not alone.
Throughout the novel, these two main characters learn more about love, relationships, and most importantly, themselves.
I loved the representation present within Abby's friend group and the novel itself. There are lesbian, gay, bi, trans, and non-binary voices within Pulp.
One issue I had with Pulp was the use of racial slurs, especially since the author is white. I found it unneeded and a little uncalled for.
Trigger warnings for talk of suicide and racial slurs.
I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Abby is currently in her senior year of high school, struggling to keep up with school work, college applications, family problems, and relationships. For her senior project she decides to read and research lesbian pulp fiction which was extremely popular in the 1950s-60s. During her research, she becomes obsessed with an author and the whole world of lesbian pulp. She starts to put one of these stories and her writing before everything else in her life, which is something that makes her relatable, for who hasn't allowed a book to completely overtake their thoughts and everyday activities?
Janet is a recently graduated teenager who is on her way to going to college. Her story takes place in the summer before university, where she works at the Soda Shoppe as a waitress. Her story begins sometime after she finds a lesbian pulp fiction story, which opens up her eyes to a whole new world of literature and life. Janet never knew that there were girls in the world who liked girls like she thought she did. Janet has a love for this one book, for it gives her a sense of comfort and shows her that she is not alone.
Throughout the novel, these two main characters learn more about love, relationships, and most importantly, themselves.
I loved the representation present within Abby's friend group and the novel itself. There are lesbian, gay, bi, trans, and non-binary voices within Pulp.
One issue I had with Pulp was the use of racial slurs, especially since the author is white. I found it unneeded and a little uncalled for.
Trigger warnings for talk of suicide and racial slurs.
I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
moreteawesley's review against another edition
3.0
2.5⭐️
I didn’t like this anywhere near as much as I wanted to - Janet’s half of the story was more interesting than Abby’s, but both felt very slow.
I didn’t like this anywhere near as much as I wanted to - Janet’s half of the story was more interesting than Abby’s, but both felt very slow.
bookish_smorgasbord's review
4.0
Few books make me feel as giddy as I felt when I learned that Robin Talley penned a young adult novel set in the world of lesbian pulp fiction. Washington D.C. High School senior Abby Zimet struggles with a shaky home life, a complicated relationship with her ex-girl friend, and a nebulous future. When she stumbles across a lesbian pulp novel by Marian Love during research for a creative writing project, her thoughts become increasingly consumed by it and with finding the elusive woman behind the story.
Tracking down an author, especially a writer of 1950s lesbian fiction, is a near impossible task. Abby learns this lesson quickly: not everything is available online, but human connections remain a powerful channel. If you were a queer female author, you cloaked your identity behind a pseudonym. You didn't want to be found. Pulp shares the impact of lesbian pulp novels within the context of their time. Queer people were hunted out of government jobs, blacklisted from future employment, and exiled from families they were born into. Authors like Ann Bannon, who later revealed her identity as a pulp writer, wrote their first novels from dens of crumbling heteronormative domesticity. Patricia Highsmith published The Price of Salt under the name "Claire Morgan", so as not to derail her nascent mainstream writing career.
Told in parallel narratives, Pulp traces Janet Jones’ pivotal year in 1955 as a teenager in D.C., and Abby’s present-day travails and literary sleuthing. As the story builds, readers see more than just a chasm of differences between the modern teen’s openness with her family and friends as a lesbian, and Janet's furtive attempts at secrecy. Readers discover threads that not only connect the characters through time, but also reflects the continuity of history and social activism in our own lives.
Robin Talley delivers an immersive and emotionally engaging novel that rewards repeat readers. Sprinkled throughout are Easter eggs for lesbian history enthusiasts and those eager to learn more about this period in our history. I believe that fiction can be a powerful draw in pulling readers of all ages into a deeper examination of historical events. Talley again creates a compelling story that intrigues and informs. I'll leave most of the trivia for you to discover when the book is released in November. Hint: Start with Abby Zimet's name.
Tracking down an author, especially a writer of 1950s lesbian fiction, is a near impossible task. Abby learns this lesson quickly: not everything is available online, but human connections remain a powerful channel. If you were a queer female author, you cloaked your identity behind a pseudonym. You didn't want to be found. Pulp shares the impact of lesbian pulp novels within the context of their time. Queer people were hunted out of government jobs, blacklisted from future employment, and exiled from families they were born into. Authors like Ann Bannon, who later revealed her identity as a pulp writer, wrote their first novels from dens of crumbling heteronormative domesticity. Patricia Highsmith published The Price of Salt under the name "Claire Morgan", so as not to derail her nascent mainstream writing career.
Told in parallel narratives, Pulp traces Janet Jones’ pivotal year in 1955 as a teenager in D.C., and Abby’s present-day travails and literary sleuthing. As the story builds, readers see more than just a chasm of differences between the modern teen’s openness with her family and friends as a lesbian, and Janet's furtive attempts at secrecy. Readers discover threads that not only connect the characters through time, but also reflects the continuity of history and social activism in our own lives.
Robin Talley delivers an immersive and emotionally engaging novel that rewards repeat readers. Sprinkled throughout are Easter eggs for lesbian history enthusiasts and those eager to learn more about this period in our history. I believe that fiction can be a powerful draw in pulling readers of all ages into a deeper examination of historical events. Talley again creates a compelling story that intrigues and informs. I'll leave most of the trivia for you to discover when the book is released in November. Hint: Start with Abby Zimet's name.
bellaob's review against another edition
slow-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
4.0