rbernstein's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
readabookorfive's review against another edition
3.0
3.5/5
Trigger Warning: homophobia, mentions of misgensering a non binary character
I did enjoy Pulp, more than I originally thought I would and I’m really happy about that. In this book, we follow two different timelines, Janet Jones an eighteen year old in 1955 who finds some books about lesbians and wants to write her own because she knows she’s a lesbian, she’s in love with her best friend but nobody can know because in 1955, it was still a sin to be gay and people got arrested for it and then we follow Abby in 2017 who has recently broken up with her girlfriend, her family is falling apart and to distract herself she dives into her senior project about 1950’s lesbian pulp fiction and becomes entranced with Janet’s book and relates to it heavily.
What I really loved about this book was the amount of important conversations that were had about how far we’ve come in terms of acceptance and how far we have yet to go, like, there’s a character named Vanessa who is non binary but their parents refuse to use their correct pronouns and I thought that was an important conversation. Also the conversations within about how reading a book can change your life and how it’s unfair that all lgbtq+ stories seem to become massive tragedies and why can’t we have the beautiful and fluffy stories too?
Also, we have lots of rep! Abby herself is a lesbian as is Janet, Janets love interest is also into girls but her sexuality is never said on page, Abby ex girlfriend, Linh is bi and Vietnamese, another side character called Ben is black and bisexual, Savannah is again queer and Vanessa is non binary and queer.
Overall, Pulp was a solid novel that I enjoyed my time reading. The reason it didn’t get a higher rating was because Abby annoyed me a lot at some points, there was so much miscommunication and sometimes when jumping between timelines it made the story feel slightly disjointed but I’d recommend this book to anyone!
Trigger Warning: homophobia, mentions of misgensering a non binary character
I did enjoy Pulp, more than I originally thought I would and I’m really happy about that. In this book, we follow two different timelines, Janet Jones an eighteen year old in 1955 who finds some books about lesbians and wants to write her own because she knows she’s a lesbian, she’s in love with her best friend but nobody can know because in 1955, it was still a sin to be gay and people got arrested for it and then we follow Abby in 2017 who has recently broken up with her girlfriend, her family is falling apart and to distract herself she dives into her senior project about 1950’s lesbian pulp fiction and becomes entranced with Janet’s book and relates to it heavily.
What I really loved about this book was the amount of important conversations that were had about how far we’ve come in terms of acceptance and how far we have yet to go, like, there’s a character named Vanessa who is non binary but their parents refuse to use their correct pronouns and I thought that was an important conversation. Also the conversations within about how reading a book can change your life and how it’s unfair that all lgbtq+ stories seem to become massive tragedies and why can’t we have the beautiful and fluffy stories too?
Also, we have lots of rep! Abby herself is a lesbian as is Janet, Janets love interest is also into girls but her sexuality is never said on page, Abby ex girlfriend, Linh is bi and Vietnamese, another side character called Ben is black and bisexual, Savannah is again queer and Vanessa is non binary and queer.
Overall, Pulp was a solid novel that I enjoyed my time reading. The reason it didn’t get a higher rating was because Abby annoyed me a lot at some points, there was so much miscommunication and sometimes when jumping between timelines it made the story feel slightly disjointed but I’d recommend this book to anyone!
haylisreading's review against another edition
5.0
I had so much fun listening to this audiobook! I was totally immersed in Janet’s life in the 1950’s as a young, closeted lesbian during the lavender scare. It’s obvious Talley did a lot of research about that time period for, not only lesbian pulp novels, but also what it was like for gay and lesbian people in the workplace. The detail was incredible, and more than I was expecting before getting into this book.
Now, onto my favorite part.... the lesbian pulp fiction!! While listening to this audiobook I was constantly looking up different pulp novels of the time to read because they sounded like so much fun. (Minus the horrible endings just about all of them had.) Without this book, I would have never even known about the entire world of lesbian pulp novels! So, I thank you, Robin Talley.
Now, onto my favorite part.... the lesbian pulp fiction!! While listening to this audiobook I was constantly looking up different pulp novels of the time to read because they sounded like so much fun. (Minus the horrible endings just about all of them had.) Without this book, I would have never even known about the entire world of lesbian pulp novels! So, I thank you, Robin Talley.
astridmark's review
2.0
I was very excited to read this, and though the idea behind it was really great. But that excitement very quickly died, and became indifference. Normally I don't really mind a slow story, but this was way too slow, and way too long.
ameliamariewoo's review
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
danicampbell0506's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Lesbophobia
basonok's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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
3.0
delicatewatkins's review against another edition
5.0
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC copy for Kindle. I enjoyed this book. I like this style of historical fiction and the multiple viewpoints from the two main characters from different times as well as the multiple stories written by those characters. Lesbian pulp of the 50s made for a good backdrop and I will take Talley up on her list of suggestions and learn more about authors and titles in the genre. I am excited to recommend this to readers at my library.
Reread December 2020: Definitely earns the five stars a second time. Talley writes four distinct stories and weaves them together brilliantly. Read in audiobook this time. Great production.
Reread December 2020: Definitely earns the five stars a second time. Talley writes four distinct stories and weaves them together brilliantly. Read in audiobook this time. Great production.
psalva's review
3.75
This is probably one of the best YA/Teen novels I’ve read in a long time. The story is told in two timelines, which allowed for the story of 1950s pulp to be put into context for a modern teen audience. However, I found myself losing interest in the 2017 characters, often wanting to get back to the 1955 timeline. It comes together in the end though, and I think I would have related more to it if I was in the target demographic, so I can’t fault it. Also, I learned something new about the “In God We Trust” Bill, so it gets bonus points. I really want to read some more pulp lesbian authors now.