kathleencoughlin's review
slow-paced
2.0
I feel like I don't know who this book was for. Purportedly young queer women (Gutowitz talk a lot about what "we" experienced), but there is so much explaining and surface level analysis that it feels like it's written for some other audience. Also, I think Gutowitz needs to investigate who this "we" is when she talks about what "we" felt and experienced in relation to celebrity culture. Seemingly women who grew up in the 90s and 2000s, but the unsaid part is that it's really middle+ class white women who had the closest experience to hers, and even that group (of which I am a part) did not have a universal experience. The overly casual/slangy style felt like another forced attempt at familiarity and quite affected as if I was reading a tumblr post instead of a book. I think the essays that were the most successful were where she really reflected on her own personal experience and relation to celebrity culture, rather than making broad generalizations.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Rape
Moderate: Lesbophobia, Homophobia, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Misogyny, Car accident, and Outing
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