By Your Side

I know this is a short story but I went more of the story. I want to see more of Emma and her two best friends. It was a good short story though. 

2 stars is a generous rating coming from me and here's why!
–>Spoilers ahead–>






Im gonna start positive, i liked the idea of a queerplatonic relationship seen from an allo perspective as i kind of had to deal with that in my life as well. But oh boy this was not a fun read...

1. Cliché character typology. We have the classic fuckboy Albert who cheats, which aint a surprise to anybody, not even his gf. And poor her got heartbroken after loving him- oh, nvm. In her words: she was just attracted to him, but never loved him. And she was also losing that attraction. So her being furious about the dude cheating makes little sense to me, especially since she knew from the beginning about his cheaty behavior

Yeah speaking of which, 2. Ironic how Emma has amazing communication skills with Noah, but awful ones with Albert and all her exes. All her relationships, except the one with Olive, would've probably been less disastrous if it just occured to her “hey! Im worrying this relationship aint working! It doesn't make me feel good! I should bring this up to my partner!”

3. No, but this is what irked me the most: the miscommunication (which suddenly disappears around Noah)

4. Noah the rebound? I know it wasnt meant to be, but thats what it looks like and its hard to ignore


In my next points ill try to be more constructive in my criticism:

5. Is it really a queerplatonic story? Just because the idea of such a relationship is suggested, it doesn't make it the theme of the book. The theme felt more like “how do i get over my toxic ex and all my failures in dating”. I would've much rather had the story start with the ending. And actually get to see them trying out being in a queerplatonic relationship

6. Too much “this is this and that, and this is how i feel about it” and too little “this is the result of this”. In other words, please more show and less tell

7. Related to the previous, i wish the characters would've been described more, especially through more significant actions. Even through some flashbacks, like, involuntarily remembering key moments in their relationships, to see why they feel the way they do in the present, would've made them more interesting, or just anything really


All in all, not for me, disappointed, but i cant say i hate it from the depths of my soul

I didn't think I'd feel so seen and understood in a book that is 50 pages. I ended up crying tears, not of sadness but rejoicing in seeing a part of myself being put into words. A piece of myself that I might've not been fully aware of, and that is beautiful. I can foresee this being a comfort read that I revisit when I need a boost of serotonin.