prlaw1517's review against another edition
1.0
What on earth did I just read? Lacking the finesse I expected from Daniel Handler’s prose, All the Dirty Parts describes love found and lost from a sex addicted teenager.
The main character has no redeeming qualities. He is predatory towards girls, objectifies women, is dismissive towards his friends, etc. Yet he never learns that his misogynistic attitudes are wrong. He never grows up, not even the slightest.
I think this book could have been redeemed if Cole actually realized he had a problem—that he was addicted to sex and pornography. That’s a growing issue for young men today, and Handler could have written a book wherein young men reading it realize how their sex drives are warped by the over abundance of porn and the commodification of women’s bodies. But he didn’t write that book. Instead he wrote a “romance” with a flimsy female lead and an unredeemable ass of a male lead. What a disappointment.
The main character has no redeeming qualities. He is predatory towards girls, objectifies women, is dismissive towards his friends, etc. Yet he never learns that his misogynistic attitudes are wrong. He never grows up, not even the slightest.
I think this book could have been redeemed if Cole actually realized he had a problem—that he was addicted to sex and pornography. That’s a growing issue for young men today, and Handler could have written a book wherein young men reading it realize how their sex drives are warped by the over abundance of porn and the commodification of women’s bodies. But he didn’t write that book. Instead he wrote a “romance” with a flimsy female lead and an unredeemable ass of a male lead. What a disappointment.
ladyofaragon's review against another edition
2.0
I wasn't going to review this because, simply put, it's complicated and I'm tired. All I can say is that the bad reviews lambasting the protagonist for being morally reprehensible are missing the point. Now direct your eyes to my own two-star rating. That is because it was, like, not very good at what it was trying to do. Okay cool.
nickie184's review against another edition
4.0
Stars for a really good effort at getting into this boy’s head. I think we all knew people who had a bad reputation in school.
There is lots of sex in the book, fyi ARC copy.
There is lots of sex in the book, fyi ARC copy.
ellieafterall's review against another edition
1.0
Yikes. Could not even finish it. It normalizes sex and everything but like...every single page?! And he’s cheating on girls & sleeping with one like every single page and of course he doesn’t get called out for it, just told in a side conversation that people think he’s being sleazy. If a girl did this, she’d be slutshamed to hell and back???
And that’s why this book isn’t important. It’s not necessary. Sex is already seen as natural and a thing guys seek and that’s considered normal but never for girls. If this was written in the POV of a girl, I think I would’ve kept going. Even if she was describing sucking a dick every single day, I would be right there with her going “Yes baby!!! Defy those gender expectations!!! You do what you want!” But frankly, I do not care about this dude. He genuinely acts like all girls are good for is sex. I mean, really, I don’t even mean that as a joke. He literally says that? Every time he mentions a girl, it’s in relation to the pleasure he feels. So, bye.
P.S. I wrote this at 2am thoroughly disgusted so ignore the grammar issues
And that’s why this book isn’t important. It’s not necessary. Sex is already seen as natural and a thing guys seek and that’s considered normal but never for girls. If this was written in the POV of a girl, I think I would’ve kept going. Even if she was describing sucking a dick every single day, I would be right there with her going “Yes baby!!! Defy those gender expectations!!! You do what you want!” But frankly, I do not care about this dude. He genuinely acts like all girls are good for is sex. I mean, really, I don’t even mean that as a joke. He literally says that? Every time he mentions a girl, it’s in relation to the pleasure he feels. So, bye.
P.S. I wrote this at 2am thoroughly disgusted so ignore the grammar issues
graciefl's review against another edition
4.0
my feelings about this book are definitely complicated and hard to articulate which i feel is in part the goal. i think i need more time to actually formulate my thoughts
9.18.17:
Now that I've had some time to think about it, I think my feelings about this book are a little more synthesized (but I'm not sure by how much). This book pushed some limits for me at first. It felt a bit challenging almost, and I think this was because so rarely do books present themselves or their central characters in this way. Very few books focused on young adults mention "the dirty parts" let alone only the dirty parts. Unlike some, I didn't feel particularly repulsed or horrified by Cole or his behavior; it was genuinely behavior I expected from a teen boy, just not necessarily expected to see in print. I think Daniel Handler does a really strong job encouraging the reader to think about what it's like to be a teen exposed to sexuality everywhere without any real conversations about it; the book sort of felt like it was asking you to think about Cole and the teenagers like him and compare it to your own teenhood. A friend mentioned seeing it as a "thought experiment" and I'm inclined to agree. It felt more like the encouragement to think than a novel, but that was also partially because I couldn't connect with Cole or other characters on a deep level and become emotionally invested like with other novels (but I don't think you need to to enjoy the book). Towards the end, there are moments that had me rooting for him slightly, and invested in his emotional wellbeing, but overall the book left me with more thoughts than feelings. The writing was spectacular as one would expect, just don't expect this book to hit you like other novels would.
9.18.17:
Now that I've had some time to think about it, I think my feelings about this book are a little more synthesized (but I'm not sure by how much). This book pushed some limits for me at first. It felt a bit challenging almost, and I think this was because so rarely do books present themselves or their central characters in this way. Very few books focused on young adults mention "the dirty parts" let alone only the dirty parts. Unlike some, I didn't feel particularly repulsed or horrified by Cole or his behavior; it was genuinely behavior I expected from a teen boy, just not necessarily expected to see in print. I think Daniel Handler does a really strong job encouraging the reader to think about what it's like to be a teen exposed to sexuality everywhere without any real conversations about it; the book sort of felt like it was asking you to think about Cole and the teenagers like him and compare it to your own teenhood. A friend mentioned seeing it as a "thought experiment" and I'm inclined to agree. It felt more like the encouragement to think than a novel, but that was also partially because I couldn't connect with Cole or other characters on a deep level and become emotionally invested like with other novels (but I don't think you need to to enjoy the book). Towards the end, there are moments that had me rooting for him slightly, and invested in his emotional wellbeing, but overall the book left me with more thoughts than feelings. The writing was spectacular as one would expect, just don't expect this book to hit you like other novels would.
jheinemann287's review against another edition
3.0
This is maybe the first book I've read in a long time that I don't think I could booktalk to students.
suannelaqueur's review against another edition
5.0
HOLY CRAP WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST READ?! I read this in an hour, half of which was in the salon chair getting my hair cut. My stylist kept leaning over my shoulder, "My God, what are you reading?" And I was like, "I. DON'T. KNOW." Holy crap, I don't think I know a more aptly-titled book. This is a book about sex. No ifs ands or buts. This is a horny young man in all his young horny glory and yes, it's all the dirty parts. Literally parts - it moves along in these bite-sized chunks. But...wow. I don't know if I can describe this. It was raw, but it wasn't lewd or lascivious or raunchy or gratuitous. It was real. And honest. And tender. And deep. And.... Could someone else I know read this please? It'll take an hour. I swear. Wow. Lemony Snicket has some serious game.
robinsbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Still thinking...
Update:
Lemony Snicket author, eh? This could be interesting since it's billed as an adult book.
This is an intriguing book in that there are many questions in my mind: Because I'm old and don't really know, are today's teens that much more aware of their own sexuality and experiences? Is this a book a librarian could recommend to a mature teen? And what will younger teens think if they read it because they are Lemony Snicket fans? Since is billed as a book for adults, will it appeal to them?
This could easily appeal to older teens, especially if they read the Snicket books when younger; however, it's most definitely a book with explicit adult content, even if the main character is a teen. I'll be very curious to see if youth services librarians would consider giving this to any of their teen readers.
With all of *that* being said, it reminds me a little of when I read Judy Blume's "Forever" although "All the Dirty Parts" is much more graphic.
Thanks to the publisher for the advance reading copy.
Update:
Lemony Snicket author, eh? This could be interesting since it's billed as an adult book.
This is an intriguing book in that there are many questions in my mind: Because I'm old and don't really know, are today's teens that much more aware of their own sexuality and experiences? Is this a book a librarian could recommend to a mature teen? And what will younger teens think if they read it because they are Lemony Snicket fans? Since is billed as a book for adults, will it appeal to them?
This could easily appeal to older teens, especially if they read the Snicket books when younger; however, it's most definitely a book with explicit adult content, even if the main character is a teen. I'll be very curious to see if youth services librarians would consider giving this to any of their teen readers.
With all of *that* being said, it reminds me a little of when I read Judy Blume's "Forever" although "All the Dirty Parts" is much more graphic.
Thanks to the publisher for the advance reading copy.
tiffani_reads's review against another edition
3.0
* I received this book from Goodreads in exchange for an honest review. *
This book is about sex, plain and simple.
Cole is a guy who likes sex, and doesn't really care where he gets it from. That has earned him a reputation with girls. So much so, that they are avoiding him. Which leads to a period of experimentation with his best friend Alec. Then he meets Grisaille, the perfect girl for him. She likes sex as much as he does, maybe even more. She treats him the way he treated all those girls in the past, like they're disposable.
This book does a good job of exploring the world of sex from a teenage prospective but I didn't like the format that the book was written in. Also, there is little to no character development. You don't know much about Cole besides that he likes sex. No physical description of characters at all. It makes it hard to connect with the book.
If you want to read a book about sex but don't want to go all 50 shades of grey, then this is the book for you.
This book is about sex, plain and simple.
Cole is a guy who likes sex, and doesn't really care where he gets it from. That has earned him a reputation with girls. So much so, that they are avoiding him. Which leads to a period of experimentation with his best friend Alec. Then he meets Grisaille, the perfect girl for him. She likes sex as much as he does, maybe even more. She treats him the way he treated all those girls in the past, like they're disposable.
This book does a good job of exploring the world of sex from a teenage prospective but I didn't like the format that the book was written in. Also, there is little to no character development. You don't know much about Cole besides that he likes sex. No physical description of characters at all. It makes it hard to connect with the book.
If you want to read a book about sex but don't want to go all 50 shades of grey, then this is the book for you.