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A review by daniellelwl
Dividing Eden by Joelle Charbonneau
2.0
EDIT 03/01/20: Changing my rating from 3 stars to 2 stars.
Okay so I have some feelings about this book, most of which have to do with Charbonneau's treatment of women in the novel. First off, on two occasions when Carys talks to her friend Larkin, their exchanges were just... ugh:
These lines bothered me SO. MUCH. The way Carys and Larkin casually degrade and belittle women is honestly disgusting. One of my pet peeves in fiction - and especially in fantasy - is when the main female characters are staunchly opposed to the idea of femininity and being feminine. FYI - there's nothing wrong being feminine or liking what are considered "feminine" things. And it pisses me off that there's this idea that to be a "strong female character" a woman has to be "unfeminine" or be opposed to femininity (basically implying that for a woman to be a "strong female character" she needs to be a man). FUCK. THAT.
Second - Carys talks about getting whipped and beat, which is apparently a regular occurrence - and everyone seems okay with this - including Carys herself. She just accepts it. WHY?? Even her brother is totally okay with her continuously taking awful punishment for him (which is supposed to be justified because of his "curse", but Andreus never ONCE spoke up for his sister and was like "Yo, literally WHIPPING MY SISTER is wrong"?????)
Rant aside - The world building elements of the novel were good, but the characters were generally unlikable. None of them resonated with me at all.
Overall, it was okay, but the occasional and casual sexism was garbage.
IDK if this is a spoiler but -
Okay so I have some feelings about this book, most of which have to do with Charbonneau's treatment of women in the novel. First off, on two occasions when Carys talks to her friend Larkin, their exchanges were just... ugh:
"Ladies are boring. Every move on every situation already prescribed. Gods, they're barely even people."
"'I've been told that not being considered a lady is a compliment.' She smiled and waited for Larkin's grin in return. 'That it is.'"
These lines bothered me SO. MUCH. The way Carys and Larkin casually degrade and belittle women is honestly disgusting. One of my pet peeves in fiction - and especially in fantasy - is when the main female characters are staunchly opposed to the idea of femininity and being feminine. FYI - there's nothing wrong being feminine or liking what are considered "feminine" things. And it pisses me off that there's this idea that to be a "strong female character" a woman has to be "unfeminine" or be opposed to femininity (basically implying that for a woman to be a "strong female character" she needs to be a man). FUCK. THAT.
Second - Carys talks about getting whipped and beat, which is apparently a regular occurrence - and everyone seems okay with this - including Carys herself. She just accepts it. WHY?? Even her brother is totally okay with her continuously taking awful punishment for him (which is supposed to be justified because of his "curse", but Andreus never ONCE spoke up for his sister and was like "Yo, literally WHIPPING MY SISTER is wrong"?????)
Rant aside - The world building elements of the novel were good, but the characters were generally unlikable. None of them resonated with me at all.
Overall, it was okay, but the occasional and casual sexism was garbage.
IDK if this is a spoiler but -