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eleanorryd's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
I read these books when I was 12-13? Ish? With my friends and while I didn't love the books as much as my friends did, I thought they were okay. Now, at 21, I definitely don't think they're okay. Zoey is the meanest most unsympathetic and unlikeable main character I have ever read and I absolutely hate that everyone thinks she's the ultimate good guy. She is the chosen, the saviour, the love interest, on top of all of the qualities that are almost given for a YA heroine (humble, pretty, smart, funny, sarcastic). Except, she's not. Her ego is so fucking massive and yet she looks down on other people (mainly Aphrodite) for also having an ego?
There are a bunch of problematic terms just casually thrown in there for no good reason ('retard' is used several time, she uses 'midget' about corn, so I don't know if that counts but it definitely made me cringe), the only lgbtqia+ character is described by his friends as the 'token guy friend of the group' but, eh, yeah, no. The only black character of the main cast is described as looking like an 'African princess' until we learn her name (and that she's not African at all, she's from Connecticut with Jamaican heritage?). The main character's grandma is Cherokee and 'her people' are described as 'barbaric'. I mean, I'm white as they come, but if even I react then that feels like a sign they should have hired (some more) sensitivity readers.
The plot was not good, much like the writing, but that's really all I have to say about that.When tension actually starting building up and the story got closer to its climax, I was actually getting invested and thinking "wow this could actually be something? The stakes seem pretty high right now" but no. They pull the most cliché deus ex machina and all of Zoey's friends show up so she can save the day and look like the hero. After spending half the book talking about how she wanted to 'bring [Aphrodite] down', she then tells Aphrodite that she 'never wanted to win anything'?? That is simply not true. And then Zoey says that they don't have to 'continue playing their roles' and, again, 100 pages ago or something you called her a 'ho' for being comfortable in herself and her sexuality?
Zoey is so mean and judgemental and rather than being 'wise beyond her years' she just acts like everyone's mum Karen and judges all the 'kids today' for being just that - kids. It's so horrible to read and I can't believe I didn't notice it when I was younger - which is exactly the problem! A book aimed at young kids (girls, most likely) tells them that if you're mean to everyone, and I mean EVERYONE (who isn't, like, super-attractive), you're still the good guy. That whole message is huuuugely problematic and absolutely disgusting.
Here is an incomplete list of people Zoey thinks she's better than:
1. Fat people
2. People who condone drinking
3. Her step-dad
4. Her sister
5. Dorks
6. Emos
7. Goths
8. Vampyres
9. Kathy Richter, 'the biggest ho in school'
10. Aphrodite
11. Her mum
12. Enyo, Deino, and whatever the third girl was called (the Wasp)
13. Elliott
14. All of the Dark Sons and Daughters
15. Stevie Rae (geez just let the girl enjoy her cowboy boots)
16. Heath
17. Kayla
18. Aphrodite again
There are a bunch of problematic terms just casually thrown in there for no good reason ('retard' is used several time, she uses 'midget' about corn, so I don't know if that counts but it definitely made me cringe), the only lgbtqia+ character is described by his friends as the 'token guy friend of the group' but, eh, yeah, no. The only black character of the main cast is described as looking like an 'African princess' until we learn her name (and that she's not African at all, she's from Connecticut with Jamaican heritage?). The main character's grandma is Cherokee and 'her people' are described as 'barbaric'. I mean, I'm white as they come, but if even I react then that feels like a sign they should have hired (some more) sensitivity readers.
The plot was not good, much like the writing, but that's really all I have to say about that.
Zoey is so mean and judgemental and rather than being 'wise beyond her years' she just acts like everyone's mum Karen and judges all the 'kids today' for being just that - kids. It's so horrible to read and I can't believe I didn't notice it when I was younger - which is exactly the problem! A book aimed at young kids (girls, most likely) tells them that if you're mean to everyone, and I mean EVERYONE (who isn't, like, super-attractive), you're still the good guy. That whole message is huuuugely problematic and absolutely disgusting.
Here is an incomplete list of people Zoey thinks she's better than:
1. Fat people
2. People who condone drinking
3. Her step-dad
4. Her sister
5. Dorks
6. Emos
7. Goths
8. Vampyres
9. Kathy Richter, 'the biggest ho in school'
10. Aphrodite
11. Her mum
12. Enyo, Deino, and whatever the third girl was called (the Wasp)
13. Elliott
14. All of the Dark Sons and Daughters
15. Stevie Rae (geez just let the girl enjoy her cowboy boots)
16. Heath
17. Kayla
18. Aphrodite again
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Child death, Death, Sexual content, and Vomit
Minor: Ableism, Fatphobia, and Xenophobia