LaShel

I hate when I (either intentionally or subconsciously) resist reading a very popular bestseller for years only to discover when I finally crack the cover that everyone was right and it's absolutely incredible.

Important themes, to be sure, but the characters struck me flat and underdeveloped, the pacing was off, and some of the racism felt cartoonish. Also, small quibble, but a deposition doesn't happen in a courtoom in front of a judge. It's a YA book so it's not damning that it felt like a Disney Channel tv show, but I was hoping for more.

I hated this book. So much so that I wasn't able to bring myself to read anything else for a month after I finally powered through this (in retrospect, I shouldn't have been so stubborn about finishing it). Absolutely nothing about this book was funny to me - it made me sick to my stomach. I only realized while reading other reviews after I finished that all the horrible, mean, and offensive bits were supposed to be “satire” (maybe I missed this in part because of all of the pop culture references that I didn't get? Or maybe I just don't find horrific child abuse, mental illness, and sexism funny?). Clearly there's something here that's resonating with others but the humor just didn't connect for me.

Obnoxious characters. Beautiful writing.

Fluffy and predictable. I didn't love the “moral” (everyone's lives look perfect on Instagram but are actually a mess - that maybe would have felt fresh in 2013 but not in 2017 when it was published and definitely not in 2020 when I read it) especially paired with a main character who felt like a bit of a Mary Sue (she's just brilliant at her career and effortlessly beautiful and all the emotionally unavailable guys can't help being in love with her, you know?) but it was an easy, fun read.