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A review by happiestwhenreading
Victim by Andrew Boryga
4.0
I mentioned recently that I am probably done reading satirical novels for awhile, but I also knew that I wanted to read Victim before I followed through with that statement. When I heard that it does for journalism what Yellowface did to publishing, I wasn't going to miss out!
Despite all the buzzwords we currently associate with "victims" - raised by a single-mom, minority, lower income home/neighborhood, gang-activity, drugs, murdered father - Javier has never felt like an underdog. But when it comes time to start applying for colleges, a well-meaning professor encourages him to embellish the hard truths of his life to increase his liklihood of acceptance.
It works, and once Javi gets a taste of avenues opening up for him, he is hooked. As he navigates his personal relationships, college experience, and eventually his career, he gets sucked deeper and deeper into the cycle. So far into it, that it eventually becomes difficult to dicipher the truth from fiction.
Watching Javi's descent is hard, and he increasinly becomes a very unlikeable character, but through the use of satire, Boryga challenges his readers to examine thier own thoughts regarding diversity, social acceptance, and our personal hypocrisies. Boryga not only puts Javi in the glaring spotlight, but his readers as well.
I do believe this would make a great book club because I definitely feel like I have a lot to discuss after finishing!
Despite all the buzzwords we currently associate with "victims" - raised by a single-mom, minority, lower income home/neighborhood, gang-activity, drugs, murdered father - Javier has never felt like an underdog. But when it comes time to start applying for colleges, a well-meaning professor encourages him to embellish the hard truths of his life to increase his liklihood of acceptance.
It works, and once Javi gets a taste of avenues opening up for him, he is hooked. As he navigates his personal relationships, college experience, and eventually his career, he gets sucked deeper and deeper into the cycle. So far into it, that it eventually becomes difficult to dicipher the truth from fiction.
Watching Javi's descent is hard, and he increasinly becomes a very unlikeable character, but through the use of satire, Boryga challenges his readers to examine thier own thoughts regarding diversity, social acceptance, and our personal hypocrisies. Boryga not only puts Javi in the glaring spotlight, but his readers as well.
I do believe this would make a great book club because I definitely feel like I have a lot to discuss after finishing!