laurataylor's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Blood, Death, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Addiction, Car accident, Infidelity, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Rape, and Sexual assault
questingnotcoasting's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Sexism, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, and Misogyny
velvet_young's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Rape, Violence, Misogyny, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, and Infertility
k_kay's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
It felt like the author wanted to explore the fragility of internet fame and how fickle it can be when considering cancel culture, rape culture, incels, toxic workplace, our image/ how we are perceived and who we really are, but it was too much to explore.
I liked the cultural references,
but it felt like there was a lot of telling over showing.
We’re told that Ola and Micheal are in love, but from the moment we’re introduced to them it’s hard to understand why. We keep being told how much they love each other, but there’s nothing to show us this which made it difficult to empathise with Ola when the list goes viral. The book also does not explain how they are influencers, the description given felt more like they posted a pic and that went viral once and then you never here about their influence other than we are told once more. The friendships with Ola and her friends does this better, we can see their dynamic but the author then goes in to spell it out which just takes up words and pages unnecessarily. Likewise there is a lot of description of clothes and jewellery which felt like filler.
Micheal is not a likeable character and it’s difficult to empathise with him
Spoiler
even when he is suicidal after Ola breaks up with him - it’s is a very common thing abusers do so I was over that dude in the first few pagesI also didn’t care to know the thoughts of an accused abuser and all the incel chat, it’s everywhere these days.
The book was overall very predictable, times when Ola thought she didn’t know what she was going to do, but I felt like I did 🙄
The pace is jarring as we cut between Ola and Micheal’s perspectives at the most pressing moments.
The twist also felt unwarranted, I get what the author was going for, it just really didn’t work for me.
Really consider the triggers on this one as it comes off more of an apologists or liberal take, (I don’t think that was the authors intention) probably because there was just too little said on soooo many deep topics.
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Self harm, Alcoholism, Misogyny, and Homophobia
janefinch's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Misogyny, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Sexism, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, and Alcoholism
Minor: Racism
lhodgson26's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
literaryintersections's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Michael is trash. Ola is a mess. But I don't think either of them is the point. I think the point of this book is that no one is perfect. That anyone could be put on the hot seat for their choices and found guilty without any trial. That we are at the whim of social media - people behind a keyboard able to ruin lives anonymously. And that bad men can do bad things and not be pushed because that is how our society was made - it is functioning how it was always supposed to.
"Did the benefits of the internet outweigh the harm of it when the harm could be as horrendous as this?"
There was so much depth in this but I also feel like the ending didn't leave me satisfied. But idk what would've been satisfaction in this book because it is not a feel good story. It is a cautionary tale. That we never truly know the people we tie our lives to. That "boys will be boys" turns into "men will be men" which means they can hurt and harm with no consequence. And that the internet can ruin lives.
Graphic: Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Misogyny
Moderate: Suicide
laileanah's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
This takes a #MeToo movement-esque basic storyline and focuses on the men who are exposed.
I think the author was trying to make a grand statement or say something important, but mostly, this reads as a defense of ain't-shit men.😩
This had the bones of a good story in there, and the author clearly understood the basics of the story.
No one needs a defense of the bad perpetrators, especially when the victims rarely receive any justice.
The author clearly lays out that less than 1% of men accused are impacted while all victims are harmed 100% of the time. The debacle with Meg thee Stallion after being a victim of gun violence is all the proof I need that wr don't need to be worried about the impact of this type of public shaming on perpetrators.
Spoiler
The gag is that this isn't a defense as Michael is a turd and his actions were abusive and harmful while this text focused on framing his ex, misogynistically, as unhinged.Graphic: Alcoholism, Gaslighting, and Misogyny
annashan's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.75
Graphic: Infidelity, Misogyny, Suicide, Racism, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
ropey's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
The final chapter made the story somewhat uncharacteristically removed. It’s as though it spent so much of the first chapters building up this believable set of characters only to turn them cartoonish at the end (I wouldn’t fault the author for this as they did mention that they’d considered writing nonfiction first)
This is the kind of book I’m not certain I could rate. It raises important topics that are normally scoffed at and shrugged off, but I wouldn’t say I enjoyed it, nor would I read it again.
Minor: Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Bullying, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, and Misogyny