Flores en el ático

I started reading this because my friend picked it up. I won't judge them for their choices, they probably just wanted to read a work of horror, but the book in question... ugh.

Why I hated reading this book:

1. No self-awareness coupled with bad execution -

This book contains taboo subjects and utilizes them like a toddler throwing darts of a truck. Edgy stories can be great, but this one has horrible morals that make no sense, is written like a telenovela, and then acts like it's appropriate for teens. One moment you will see something not age-appropriate and another a character saying “Golly-lolly that's terrible! Gosh!”. Why is this written? You can say it's to show how abuse works, but for that, there are far better stories. You can say that you have to consider the timeframe this book was released in, but that means, it did not stand the test of time.

2. Bad character voices -

The kids, especially in the beginning, while being aged 12 and 14, speak like the elderly trying to get up the chair. Should I assume that reading a lot of books and being locked up for a little while made them that way? No, books don't do that and they had plenty of time outside before. Their parents sound more youthful, why can't the kids?

There's plenty of contradictions and leaps of logic they make which is common in abusive relationships, but here their struggles feel more like plot devices to delay the inevitable and drag out the story. They give up their strong convictions as fast as a bullet train when they need to.

3. Dull narration -

The main character narrates the story. You can excuse her bad storytelling by saying she's 12, but regardless of the intention, the book is still dull and unenjoyable. She spends a long time on descriptions of objects, throws way too many adjectives, and tells irrelevant plot details.

Some amusing things:

She spoke with her brother and told him that this method of long narration is more immersive and made him use it, he was narrating his story fine before.In the prologue, the narrator compares herself to Charles Dickens and boasts that her craft has a lot more sweat, tears, and blood, she also calls him her favorite author, so it's hard to understand her intention, just like the intentions of this book overall.

Because of the narration, it's hard to even laugh at how horrible the writing is. If an editor looked through this book, it would become a pamphlet.

4. Terrible pacing -

Time passes and it never feels satisfying. Certain characters disappear for long stretches of time, even if they are there every day according to the story. A lot of scenes could be shorter or avoided. The drama and the quiet are not balanced, the first part of the book goes on forever with barely any drama.

5. Toxic masculinity -

The narrator just has to comment on her mom's swelling breasts, her figure, which makes her into a woman according to her. She also comments on her sister's panties in detail, I get that taking care of children can be gross, but maybe keep it to a few sentences, nobody wants to know about the ruffles on your sister's panties. Her brother can't keep hands to himself either, he wants his woman to be without a flaw, to not abandon him even when he's deep in debt and lost all his money. He can describe them as bad as her.

As the book goes along it gets worse, the peak is blaming the rape victims for being too seductive.

Redeeming points that I tried to find:

1. Not gatekeeping art -

The author is an artist and she clearly doesn't believe in talent, but skill and hard work. Most people can do it if they try long enough.

2. Somewhat trying to educate you, a little -

There are references to other books and there's random trivia that's thrown sometimes.

. . .

Ye, this is just bad djshahdhsadhashd