itsmytuberculosis's review against another edition
5.0
This book came to me in a time in my life where I too felt like my life was falling apart and that there wasn't a meaning to anything. I wasn't publicly shamed, but it was comforting to read and see how each of the members of the improvement group dealt with their own short comings. I loved the way she ended up apologizing in the end, and I think Sales makes some really good point about what it means to be online - and how disingenuous it is.
I was also stunned to find that this book was inspired by Jon Ronson's book, "So You've Been Publicly Shamed", which was one of the books I was reading at the same time. I can see the inspiration from the true events depicted in the characterization in Sales' book.
I was also stunned to find that this book was inspired by Jon Ronson's book, "So You've Been Publicly Shamed", which was one of the books I was reading at the same time. I can see the inspiration from the true events depicted in the characterization in Sales' book.
cgreens's review
1.0
How does stuff like this even get published?
I haven't disliked a book this much in a long time, and I absolutely don't recommend it to anyone.
One of the biggest faults for me is that it's really, really boring. One redeeming factor is that it dives right into the "action" in that it begins with Winter tweeting a racist comment. However, this relatively not-that-exciting plot point (in the sense that it's just some girl posting a message online) is actually one of the more exciting parts. There isn't really a plot. Winter makes the Tweet, everyone hates her, and then she goes to a super boring rehabilitation center to try to be a better person. The pacing is weird, you don't come to care about any of the characters, the setting isn't really described, and Winter never grows or becomes better. Awful.
I do really like the premise of the story and think it has a lot of potential.
However, I think the moral implications of this book are AWFUL. I don't know how this was green lit??
Winter NEVER takes full responsibility for making an offensive, racist Tweet. The slap in the face is that in the end
WHY does she go to an expensive white Malibu rehab facility to "become a better person?" WHY doesn't she do ANYTHING related to racism or becoming less racist? It is so insulting that all she cares about in the end and all she dedicates herself to is helping people who get piled up on on the internet and not people who are the victims of racism.
I think it's super crappy that the author chose the action she did--Winter Tweeting that she is surprised a black person won the national spelling bee--because there's absolutely no nuance to whether the Tweet is racist or not, but it's also a small thing that doesn't directly hurt anyone, so it's hard to get super up in arms or offended as a reader. I think the reader SHOULD have been greatly offended by Winter's actions, like the feeling of reading all those news articles of white people calling the police on a black family barbecuing outside, or a white woman telling a black person he doesn't live in the house next to hers and that she knows "who lives there" (spoiler: it was him), or the white man who called the police on a Latino man in the parking garage of the building they both lived in, or the white "CEO" who said racial slurs to an Asian family, etc. etc. forever. These are real events that happen regularly and incite people who hear about them, so why something so passive for this story?
The story could also be a lot better if the initial racist action was more nuanced (e.g. I just finished Such a Fun Age, where there's a great example of an ambiguously racist action by one of the main characters). The author deliberately chose something pretty passive and forgettable, and I feel like it serves only to make the reader not really question how racist and hurtful Winter and people like Winter actually are.
And the moral of the story should NOT be that people get unfairly piled up on the Internet. Winter should NOT be happy that she is a role model for other people who do something racist, or happy to be a role model for anyone for that matter. Winter should have worked to redeem herself by working to help the community she wronged, and she never even thinks to do this yet still emerges as a "positive" character. The implications of this book are super disturbing. So when we keep seeing news reports of people who aren't white in America being wronged due to their ethnicities, are we supposed to be super understanding, polite, and respectful to the people who wronged them? Not alienate friends who do racist things?
What messages is this book sending exactly?
I haven't disliked a book this much in a long time, and I absolutely don't recommend it to anyone.
One of the biggest faults for me is that it's really, really boring. One redeeming factor is that it dives right into the "action" in that it begins with Winter tweeting a racist comment. However, this relatively not-that-exciting plot point (in the sense that it's just some girl posting a message online) is actually one of the more exciting parts. There isn't really a plot. Winter makes the Tweet, everyone hates her, and then she goes to a super boring rehabilitation center to try to be a better person. The pacing is weird, you don't come to care about any of the characters, the setting isn't really described, and Winter never grows or becomes better. Awful.
I do really like the premise of the story and think it has a lot of potential.
However, I think the moral implications of this book are AWFUL. I don't know how this was green lit??
Winter NEVER takes full responsibility for making an offensive, racist Tweet. The slap in the face is that in the end
Spoiler
she becomes an advocate for online defamation????WHY does she go to an expensive white Malibu rehab facility to "become a better person?" WHY doesn't she do ANYTHING related to racism or becoming less racist? It is so insulting that all she cares about in the end and all she dedicates herself to is helping people who get piled up on on the internet and not people who are the victims of racism.
I think it's super crappy that the author chose the action she did--Winter Tweeting that she is surprised a black person won the national spelling bee--because there's absolutely no nuance to whether the Tweet is racist or not, but it's also a small thing that doesn't directly hurt anyone, so it's hard to get super up in arms or offended as a reader. I think the reader SHOULD have been greatly offended by Winter's actions, like the feeling of reading all those news articles of white people calling the police on a black family barbecuing outside, or a white woman telling a black person he doesn't live in the house next to hers and that she knows "who lives there" (spoiler: it was him), or the white man who called the police on a Latino man in the parking garage of the building they both lived in, or the white "CEO" who said racial slurs to an Asian family, etc. etc. forever. These are real events that happen regularly and incite people who hear about them, so why something so passive for this story?
The story could also be a lot better if the initial racist action was more nuanced (e.g. I just finished Such a Fun Age, where there's a great example of an ambiguously racist action by one of the main characters). The author deliberately chose something pretty passive and forgettable, and I feel like it serves only to make the reader not really question how racist and hurtful Winter and people like Winter actually are.
And the moral of the story should NOT be that people get unfairly piled up on the Internet. Winter should NOT be happy that she is a role model for other people who do something racist, or happy to be a role model for anyone for that matter. Winter should have worked to redeem herself by working to help the community she wronged, and she never even thinks to do this yet still emerges as a "positive" character. The implications of this book are super disturbing. So when we keep seeing news reports of people who aren't white in America being wronged due to their ethnicities, are we supposed to be super understanding, polite, and respectful to the people who wronged them? Not alienate friends who do racist things?
What messages is this book sending exactly?
notlikethebeer's review
2.0
I don't know. I just don't know.
If this book wasn't centred around a racist comment, if it was just about online backlash and the age of trial by social media, I think it would be great. If Winter had taken any responsibility at any point, it would have been better. If it hadn't ended with Winter ultimately profiting off of individual and institutional racism, it would have been better. If it hadn't ended by sympathising with a homophobic d*ckhead, it would have been better.
As it is, it didn't do any of those things, so... I don't know, and it's not my position to give this book credit. I'll leave it there.
If this book wasn't centred around a racist comment, if it was just about online backlash and the age of trial by social media, I think it would be great. If Winter had taken any responsibility at any point, it would have been better. If it hadn't ended with Winter ultimately profiting off of individual and institutional racism, it would have been better. If it hadn't ended by sympathising with a homophobic d*ckhead, it would have been better.
As it is, it didn't do any of those things, so... I don't know, and it's not my position to give this book credit. I'll leave it there.
bizzybee429's review
**UPDATE MARCH 11 2018**
Wow, okay, sorry for bringing this ranty review back onto your feed, but I’ve been giving this book a lot of thought lately and I feel like, now that it’s been awhile since I read it, I need to rearrange my thoughts and criticisms in a more constructive way. To be honest, what has really stood out to me after a bit of thinking, is a major thematic issue in this book (among many): this novel claims to be an observation and critique of “callout culture.”
This book makes the collective Internet (and a good half of the characters of color) the enemy in this story. And though I’m definitely not saying that call-out culture on the internet is perfect, I wish that this book had actually acknowledged the parts of callout culture that are real issues. Mainly, racism and homophobia.
While Marvel fans were calling for a boycott of Black Panther over literally one thing Chadwick Boseman said a year ago, they excuse the constant homophobia/racism/transphobia/slut-shaming of Benedict Cumberbatch, ScarJo, and Mark Ruffalo (I would provide links but honestly?? there is way too much to fit in one review. Google it if you don't believe me lmao).
While people were (and are!) calling for a boycott of Love, Simon because Becky Abertalli is straight, they’re lifting up and publicizing freaking Call Me By Your Name, which is literally a romanticized story of a pedophilic relationship (written by a straight man,,, and also directed by a straight man,,,, and acted by straight guys,,, unlike Love, Simon which has a gay director and an out mlm in the cast).
I would have enjoyed an observation of problems like these. Instead, I got this s***. People calling someone out for saying copious amounts of racist stuff =/= bad or unfair. People ruining someone’s life for literally outing closeted gay men by asking them on fake dates and publishing about it in an online magazine =/= bad or unfair.
My issue isn’t with the idea that this book criticizes call out culture, it’s that its reasons are in the completely wrong place. We should be talking about the ACTUAL victims of call-out culture, not the privileged a-holes who get whiny when they can’t be bigots in peace.
--
Original Review:
Disclaimer: I am white. All my opinions of this book are coming from my white perspective.
Do you ever read something so atrociously god-awful that when you finish it, all you can do is just sit there, stare at your kindle, and think what the hell. WhatthehellwhatthehellWHATTHEHELL and how in the name of all that is good in the world did this book ever get published? how did this not get thrown immediately in the bin of every publishing agency it got sent to?
I try not to swear often, but if any book deserves to be cussed out like a sailor, it’s If You Don’t Have Anything Nice to Say.
Guess what?? I have N O T H I N G nice to say about this book. ;)))))
I definitely am opposed to burning books, but if anyone ever asked me, “if you could choose one book and you HAD to burn every copy of it that exists, which would you choose?” I would know immediately which book I’d pick. I’d strike the match and this novel would be done for. Goodbye forever. If the entire world were destroyed and the only reading material left was this story, I would never read again. My kindle feels dirty now. I don’t want this thing anywhere near me.
If You Don’t Have Anything Nice to Say fulfills the wet dream of every person who has unironically said they’re anti-PC, anti-SJW, anti-anti, or anti-whatever else conservatives are calling people that don’t put up with bigotry nowadays. God forbid people, like, call others out for saying racist stuff on the Internet. GOD FORBID there’s actually, like, consequences for the stuff you say. God freaking forbid.
I requested this book without reading the blurb. I saw that the cover was in the same palette as the bi pride flag and assumed that it was a story about a bi girl. It wasn’t.
Instead it was an “observation” of “internet-shaming culture” or whatever the frick that means (disclaimer: yes I know what it means, please don’t try to explain it to me. I know).
If You Don’t Have Anything Nice to Say is the story of a white girl named Winter, who won the Scripps National Spelling Bee five years ago. After the spelling bee this year, she makes a racist tweet, goes to bed, and wakes up to realize that the tweet has gone viral, she’s been memed, and everyone hates her. I’m not going to state the tweet in this review because I don’t want to type out the words, but suffice it to say, it was bad. Winter (now deemed “White Winter” by the internet) doesn’t know what she did wrong, and refuses to take the blame for her actions. Her world starts to come down all around her. As the book progresses, she does some more blatantly racist stuff, and has a “character arc” where she realizes that: omg! what she said was racist and gross and wrong! (but she barely realizes this. barely.)
Sounds like a pretty daring story to try to write, and idk maybe it isn’t a book that ever SHOULD be written (why are we giving people like this a voice??) but honestly what gets me really in a bend is the fact that the moral isn’t “don’t be racist” it’s “hey, um, maybe you shouldn’t attack people on the Internet :/ even if they’re saying racist, mean things, that doesn’t mean you should be mean back :///”
Which really freaking sucks!!
Listen, there’s a point in the book where one of the characters describes the Internet as a “lawless land.” And when the people of the Internet decide that someone is bad, they crucify them and they don’t ever get redeemed. But listen, even though that may be one of the iffy parts of the “law of the Internet” or whatever you want to call it, the Internet being a “lawless land” is actually a POSITIVE thing. You wanna know why? Because people can educate. People can be educated. I have learned so much more about the privilege that I have as a white person because of the Internet, but instead of this book making it all about white privilege and coming to terms with it and the good parts of the Internet it decided to go with the “uwu all those SJWs getting mad over everything omg just shut up it’s not a big deal :///” and that’s. bad.
The entire book is full of Winter justifying her racist thoughts and actions with "I'm not that bad of a person!!" and "if you knew me you would know I'm not racist!" here's the deal tho: every white person is racist because every white person has systematic privilege. and Winter actively REFUSES to believe this.
We’re expected to feel pity for this Winter girl, but I don’t. She has done nothing to deserve my pity. She has done nothing to deserve the reader’s pity. I don’t feel an inch of pity. I feel disgust.
Another awful thing about this is, hey!! the 2 (two) characters of color are basically stereotypes to help further the white woman’s narrative. Literally from the first scene with Jason, all his character does is fill the role of “black person helping educate their white friend on racism” stereotype. Corey is just there to fill the “see, not ALL black people are angry about this” role. That’s so awful??? Like jfc write a freaking book.
This book is also full of other characters supporting Winter in her racism, saying "hey, it's not that bad." and that's so annoying to read?? like one character says "'But if I had to say? I think what you did is no worse than what a zillion other people do every day... You made the mistake that so many people make online, of thinking you were just talking to your friends.'" This quote effectively makes it seem like the problem is Winter not realizing that social media isn't private, not that she freaking said that racist stuff in the first place. That's so wrong??
We also get a nice dash of homophobia in here too. There's another a****** character that asked out closeted gay people on a gay dating app, only to write articles and publish them online, outing them to the entire Internet. That's awful, awful, awful, and WINTER WRITES A LETTER TO HIM SAYING SHE FEELS BAD FOR HIM. WHAT THE F***.
And listen, I am usually pretty lenient when it comes to characters saying SOME crappy stuff, as long as it’s part of their character arc, but Winter took being problematic way over the line, has no redeeming qualities, and here’s the deal: if you want readers to appreciate the arc, they character has to secretly be a good person on the inside. Which Winter isn’t. She’s just not. And the things she said at the beginning, middle, and end of this book are I N E X C U S A B L E. I literally don't even care about her character arc. Character arcs are my favorite thing in books but she is such an awful human being for the first ~90% of this that I don't even care. She’s a bad person who said bad things and doesn’t want to freaking take the blame. I hate her and if I had a shelf called “worst main characters” she would be top of the freaking list.
People of color don’t deserve to have to see a book like this, with these opinions, in print. It’s bigotry at it’s worst and I can’t believe it’s being published. This entire concept, everything about this is so backwards-thinking that I’m surprised it wasn’t a thing in 2014. Screw this book. I hate that I read this. I hate it so much.
I was provided an eARC copy through NetGalley in exchange for a complete and honest review. All opinions are taken from an unfinished copy.
p.s. thanks to kayla for the awesome review starter sentence lolol
--
Pre-review:
Wow, okay, sorry for bringing this ranty review back onto your feed, but I’ve been giving this book a lot of thought lately and I feel like, now that it’s been awhile since I read it, I need to rearrange my thoughts and criticisms in a more constructive way. To be honest, what has really stood out to me after a bit of thinking, is a major thematic issue in this book (among many): this novel claims to be an observation and critique of “callout culture.”
This book makes the collective Internet (and a good half of the characters of color) the enemy in this story. And though I’m definitely not saying that call-out culture on the internet is perfect, I wish that this book had actually acknowledged the parts of callout culture that are real issues. Mainly, racism and homophobia.
While Marvel fans were calling for a boycott of Black Panther over literally one thing Chadwick Boseman said a year ago, they excuse the constant homophobia/racism/transphobia/slut-shaming of Benedict Cumberbatch, ScarJo, and Mark Ruffalo (I would provide links but honestly?? there is way too much to fit in one review. Google it if you don't believe me lmao).
While people were (and are!) calling for a boycott of Love, Simon because Becky Abertalli is straight, they’re lifting up and publicizing freaking Call Me By Your Name, which is literally a romanticized story of a pedophilic relationship (written by a straight man,,, and also directed by a straight man,,,, and acted by straight guys,,, unlike Love, Simon which has a gay director and an out mlm in the cast).
I would have enjoyed an observation of problems like these. Instead, I got this s***. People calling someone out for saying copious amounts of racist stuff =/= bad or unfair. People ruining someone’s life for literally outing closeted gay men by asking them on fake dates and publishing about it in an online magazine =/= bad or unfair.
My issue isn’t with the idea that this book criticizes call out culture, it’s that its reasons are in the completely wrong place. We should be talking about the ACTUAL victims of call-out culture, not the privileged a-holes who get whiny when they can’t be bigots in peace.
--
Original Review:
Disclaimer: I am white. All my opinions of this book are coming from my white perspective.
"Of couse I wasn't that terrible person. I couldn't be. I was a good girl. [sic] I'd never once gotten detention. I didn't even run in the halls. I was nothing like the person being described online."Before we go any further, I want you to understand this: this is not a good book.
Do you ever read something so atrociously god-awful that when you finish it, all you can do is just sit there, stare at your kindle, and think what the hell. WhatthehellwhatthehellWHATTHEHELL and how in the name of all that is good in the world did this book ever get published? how did this not get thrown immediately in the bin of every publishing agency it got sent to?
I try not to swear often, but if any book deserves to be cussed out like a sailor, it’s If You Don’t Have Anything Nice to Say.
Guess what?? I have N O T H I N G nice to say about this book. ;)))))
I definitely am opposed to burning books, but if anyone ever asked me, “if you could choose one book and you HAD to burn every copy of it that exists, which would you choose?” I would know immediately which book I’d pick. I’d strike the match and this novel would be done for. Goodbye forever. If the entire world were destroyed and the only reading material left was this story, I would never read again. My kindle feels dirty now. I don’t want this thing anywhere near me.
If You Don’t Have Anything Nice to Say fulfills the wet dream of every person who has unironically said they’re anti-PC, anti-SJW, anti-anti, or anti-whatever else conservatives are calling people that don’t put up with bigotry nowadays. God forbid people, like, call others out for saying racist stuff on the Internet. GOD FORBID there’s actually, like, consequences for the stuff you say. God freaking forbid.
I requested this book without reading the blurb. I saw that the cover was in the same palette as the bi pride flag and assumed that it was a story about a bi girl. It wasn’t.
Instead it was an “observation” of “internet-shaming culture” or whatever the frick that means (disclaimer: yes I know what it means, please don’t try to explain it to me. I know).
If You Don’t Have Anything Nice to Say is the story of a white girl named Winter, who won the Scripps National Spelling Bee five years ago. After the spelling bee this year, she makes a racist tweet, goes to bed, and wakes up to realize that the tweet has gone viral, she’s been memed, and everyone hates her. I’m not going to state the tweet in this review because I don’t want to type out the words, but suffice it to say, it was bad. Winter (now deemed “White Winter” by the internet) doesn’t know what she did wrong, and refuses to take the blame for her actions. Her world starts to come down all around her. As the book progresses, she does some more blatantly racist stuff, and has a “character arc” where she realizes that: omg! what she said was racist and gross and wrong! (but she barely realizes this. barely.)
Sounds like a pretty daring story to try to write, and idk maybe it isn’t a book that ever SHOULD be written (why are we giving people like this a voice??) but honestly what gets me really in a bend is the fact that the moral isn’t “don’t be racist” it’s “hey, um, maybe you shouldn’t attack people on the Internet :/ even if they’re saying racist, mean things, that doesn’t mean you should be mean back :///”
Which really freaking sucks!!
Listen, there’s a point in the book where one of the characters describes the Internet as a “lawless land.” And when the people of the Internet decide that someone is bad, they crucify them and they don’t ever get redeemed. But listen, even though that may be one of the iffy parts of the “law of the Internet” or whatever you want to call it, the Internet being a “lawless land” is actually a POSITIVE thing. You wanna know why? Because people can educate. People can be educated. I have learned so much more about the privilege that I have as a white person because of the Internet, but instead of this book making it all about white privilege and coming to terms with it and the good parts of the Internet it decided to go with the “uwu all those SJWs getting mad over everything omg just shut up it’s not a big deal :///” and that’s. bad.
The entire book is full of Winter justifying her racist thoughts and actions with "I'm not that bad of a person!!" and "if you knew me you would know I'm not racist!" here's the deal tho: every white person is racist because every white person has systematic privilege. and Winter actively REFUSES to believe this.
We’re expected to feel pity for this Winter girl, but I don’t. She has done nothing to deserve my pity. She has done nothing to deserve the reader’s pity. I don’t feel an inch of pity. I feel disgust.
Another awful thing about this is, hey!! the 2 (two) characters of color are basically stereotypes to help further the white woman’s narrative. Literally from the first scene with Jason, all his character does is fill the role of “black person helping educate their white friend on racism” stereotype. Corey is just there to fill the “see, not ALL black people are angry about this” role. That’s so awful??? Like jfc write a freaking book.
This book is also full of other characters supporting Winter in her racism, saying "hey, it's not that bad." and that's so annoying to read?? like one character says "'But if I had to say? I think what you did is no worse than what a zillion other people do every day... You made the mistake that so many people make online, of thinking you were just talking to your friends.'" This quote effectively makes it seem like the problem is Winter not realizing that social media isn't private, not that she freaking said that racist stuff in the first place. That's so wrong??
We also get a nice dash of homophobia in here too. There's another a****** character that asked out closeted gay people on a gay dating app, only to write articles and publish them online, outing them to the entire Internet. That's awful, awful, awful, and WINTER WRITES A LETTER TO HIM SAYING SHE FEELS BAD FOR HIM. WHAT THE F***.
And listen, I am usually pretty lenient when it comes to characters saying SOME crappy stuff, as long as it’s part of their character arc, but Winter took being problematic way over the line, has no redeeming qualities, and here’s the deal: if you want readers to appreciate the arc, they character has to secretly be a good person on the inside. Which Winter isn’t. She’s just not. And the things she said at the beginning, middle, and end of this book are I N E X C U S A B L E. I literally don't even care about her character arc. Character arcs are my favorite thing in books but she is such an awful human being for the first ~90% of this that I don't even care. She’s a bad person who said bad things and doesn’t want to freaking take the blame. I hate her and if I had a shelf called “worst main characters” she would be top of the freaking list.
People of color don’t deserve to have to see a book like this, with these opinions, in print. It’s bigotry at it’s worst and I can’t believe it’s being published. This entire concept, everything about this is so backwards-thinking that I’m surprised it wasn’t a thing in 2014. Screw this book. I hate that I read this. I hate it so much.
I was provided an eARC copy through NetGalley in exchange for a complete and honest review. All opinions are taken from an unfinished copy.
p.s. thanks to kayla for the awesome review starter sentence lolol
--
Pre-review:
me: 2018 is going to be a great year!!full rtc
also me: *looks at this book* *looks at the 2018 Heathers remake* *looks into the camera like they're on the office*
awxhhlilla's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Cursing, and Grief
missprint_'s review against another edition
4.0
"It takes such a brief time to destroy someone’s life and forget that you ever did it. But rebuilding a life—that’s different. That takes forever."
What happens when the worst thing you ever said is the only thing people know about you?
Winter Halperin has always been good with words—something that served her well as a National Spelling Bee champion a few years ago.
Now, after thoughtlessly sharing one insensitive comment online, words (and the entirety of the internet) have turned against Winter.She is stripped of her Spelling Bee title, condemned by strangers, and loses her college acceptance.
Winter always thought she was a good person. She still does. But mounting evidence online suggests otherwise. So does the mounting panic Winter feels every time she looks herself up online. Because how can she stop looking when some new horror could be added at any moment?
As she grapples with the aftermath of The Incident Winter is forced to confront hard truths about her own bigotry and its role in what happened as well as the nature of public shaming in the internet age in If You Don't Have Anything Nice to Say (2018) by Leila Sales.
Sales' latest standalone novel is a timely, sometimes brutal contemporary novel. Winter is a white girl from a fairly well off family. Her comment--meant, she claims, as a fact-based joke on historical Bee winners--suggests that the latest winner of the National Spelling Bee (a twelve-year-old African American girl) can't spell and is a surprising winner.
If You Don't Have Anything Nice to Say starts with Winter posting that comment before bed and waking up to a nightmare of notifications, hateful messages, and other bad publicity as awareness of her comment grows and grows.
Although the novel is written in the first person Sales is careful to neither condone nor condemn Winter's actions throughout. It's up to readers to decide what punishment (or forgiveness) Winter may or may not deserve. When Winter develops crippling anxiety and panic attacks surrounding her online presence and what people are saying about her she enters a program to try and make amends for her actions and also to cope with the very public and very painful online shaming.
If You Don't Have Anything Nice to Say is very plot driven without being high action. The focus of the story is squarely on what Winter did and the aftermath. The contrast between Winter confronting her own internalized bigotry/racism while also being subjected to such intense online shaming is incredibly powerful and thought provoking.
Winter is not always a likable character. It's easy to feel bad for her as she faces death threats, of course. But it's also hard to understand her thoughtlessness or how she is more focused on how many likes her joke might receive than on how hurtful it could be. In other words, Winter is a lot like many people who are active on social media.
Winter’s character arc balances dealing with the fallout both internally as she confronts her own biases/bigotry that she hasn’t grappled with before with the very public shaming. Does Winter learn anything from The Incident? Maybe, probably. Is it enough? Readers will have to judge that on their own.
If You Don't Have Anything Nice to Say is a timely novel that will start a lot of hard but necessary conversations.
Possible Pairings: Love, Hate, and Other Filters by Samira Ahmed, Social Media Wellness: Helping Tweens and Teens Thrive in an Unbalanced Digital World by Ana Homayoun, All American Boys by Brendan Kiely and Jason Reynolds, The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, Hit Makers: The Science of Popularity in an Age of Distraction by Derek Thompson, American Street by Ibi Zoboi
What happens when the worst thing you ever said is the only thing people know about you?
Winter Halperin has always been good with words—something that served her well as a National Spelling Bee champion a few years ago.
Now, after thoughtlessly sharing one insensitive comment online, words (and the entirety of the internet) have turned against Winter.She is stripped of her Spelling Bee title, condemned by strangers, and loses her college acceptance.
Winter always thought she was a good person. She still does. But mounting evidence online suggests otherwise. So does the mounting panic Winter feels every time she looks herself up online. Because how can she stop looking when some new horror could be added at any moment?
As she grapples with the aftermath of The Incident Winter is forced to confront hard truths about her own bigotry and its role in what happened as well as the nature of public shaming in the internet age in If You Don't Have Anything Nice to Say (2018) by Leila Sales.
Sales' latest standalone novel is a timely, sometimes brutal contemporary novel. Winter is a white girl from a fairly well off family. Her comment--meant, she claims, as a fact-based joke on historical Bee winners--suggests that the latest winner of the National Spelling Bee (a twelve-year-old African American girl) can't spell and is a surprising winner.
If You Don't Have Anything Nice to Say starts with Winter posting that comment before bed and waking up to a nightmare of notifications, hateful messages, and other bad publicity as awareness of her comment grows and grows.
Although the novel is written in the first person Sales is careful to neither condone nor condemn Winter's actions throughout. It's up to readers to decide what punishment (or forgiveness) Winter may or may not deserve. When Winter develops crippling anxiety and panic attacks surrounding her online presence and what people are saying about her she enters a program to try and make amends for her actions and also to cope with the very public and very painful online shaming.
If You Don't Have Anything Nice to Say is very plot driven without being high action. The focus of the story is squarely on what Winter did and the aftermath. The contrast between Winter confronting her own internalized bigotry/racism while also being subjected to such intense online shaming is incredibly powerful and thought provoking.
Winter is not always a likable character. It's easy to feel bad for her as she faces death threats, of course. But it's also hard to understand her thoughtlessness or how she is more focused on how many likes her joke might receive than on how hurtful it could be. In other words, Winter is a lot like many people who are active on social media.
Winter’s character arc balances dealing with the fallout both internally as she confronts her own biases/bigotry that she hasn’t grappled with before with the very public shaming. Does Winter learn anything from The Incident? Maybe, probably. Is it enough? Readers will have to judge that on their own.
If You Don't Have Anything Nice to Say is a timely novel that will start a lot of hard but necessary conversations.
Possible Pairings: Love, Hate, and Other Filters by Samira Ahmed, Social Media Wellness: Helping Tweens and Teens Thrive in an Unbalanced Digital World by Ana Homayoun, All American Boys by Brendan Kiely and Jason Reynolds, The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, Hit Makers: The Science of Popularity in an Age of Distraction by Derek Thompson, American Street by Ibi Zoboi
hanne98's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
lizlaughlove_'s review against another edition
5.0
*4.5 stars
I honestly think that this is one of the best books I've read this year. And it'a not a book for everyone-the main character is hard to like, and there are certain things that I think a lot of people will hate about the book. But I personally loved it because simply put, the main character was so human. And the book speaks pretty accurately about internet culture today. Winter made a statement online that unintentionally undermined the achievements of a black girl. As is common today, it blew up quickly with a lot of backlash. Seeing what she said, I can definitely understand why there was outrage at her statement, especially from the family of the girl herself. But what was also hard to read was how people responded to what she said- with death threats, and rape threats- and it's an accurate reflection of what happens today online. Later on in the book, she mentioned that when things like that happen, people will group you with what they’re fighting against:
"I don't think most of those people actually want me to disappear. They want racism to disappear. They want injustice to disappear. And then we each get made into, like, these personifications of injustice, and then we each get torn down."
And this is especially true today. We're always quick to attack someone we see as the embodiment of an injustice and forget that they are also human. We don't think about the fallout on their lives. And maybe it's true, maybe the are horrible people. But I don't believe that it is our right to decide that. You can believe differently, that's only my opinion.
Another thing I liked that the book addressed was apologies. We've all said hurtful things, and I think that one of the worst ways to address things is to justify yourself. I've done it, it doesn't help anything. Even if what you meant to say wasn't supposed to be hurtful, the best way to move on is to at least understand why it could’ve been hurtful to someone else. At least I think that's what the book was trying to say. This book isn't big on romance. It's about a journey to self healing, for Winter and for others that she encounters. And it is unflinchingly truthful.
I honestly think that this is one of the best books I've read this year. And it'a not a book for everyone-the main character is hard to like, and there are certain things that I think a lot of people will hate about the book. But I personally loved it because simply put, the main character was so human. And the book speaks pretty accurately about internet culture today. Winter made a statement online that unintentionally undermined the achievements of a black girl. As is common today, it blew up quickly with a lot of backlash. Seeing what she said, I can definitely understand why there was outrage at her statement, especially from the family of the girl herself. But what was also hard to read was how people responded to what she said- with death threats, and rape threats- and it's an accurate reflection of what happens today online. Later on in the book, she mentioned that when things like that happen, people will group you with what they’re fighting against:
"I don't think most of those people actually want me to disappear. They want racism to disappear. They want injustice to disappear. And then we each get made into, like, these personifications of injustice, and then we each get torn down."
And this is especially true today. We're always quick to attack someone we see as the embodiment of an injustice and forget that they are also human. We don't think about the fallout on their lives. And maybe it's true, maybe the are horrible people. But I don't believe that it is our right to decide that. You can believe differently, that's only my opinion.
Another thing I liked that the book addressed was apologies. We've all said hurtful things, and I think that one of the worst ways to address things is to justify yourself. I've done it, it doesn't help anything. Even if what you meant to say wasn't supposed to be hurtful, the best way to move on is to at least understand why it could’ve been hurtful to someone else. At least I think that's what the book was trying to say. This book isn't big on romance. It's about a journey to self healing, for Winter and for others that she encounters. And it is unflinchingly truthful.
charmaineac's review against another edition
5.0
If you check out the other reviews, it is clear that this is a controversial book. And it's MEANT to be. I think Leila Sales expressed a lot of her own concerns, hesitations, and difficulties writing about race while coming from a privileged white background. There was a line somewhere during Revibe where Winter expressed some sentiment that I could see applying to Sales herself in a very meta way.
I think this book makes you more conscious about what you put out there online. It makes you reflect on how you treat people, and to understand that a lot of awfulness gets broadcasted publicly... and a lot of it doesn't, especially when public opinion has agreed that someone is evil.
There were two key turning points in this book. One, the scene in the convenience store, and two, the phone call in the bathroom. The first, I think, made Winter check her privilege and understand systemic racism a little better. The second taught her what it really means to apologize. Interestingly, I do think Revibe was right in trying to instill that in its attendees. The problem is that it only works when it comes from an internalized place — people have to truly feel repentant, not just say what they need to say to make a problem go away. I'm sure this is true for anyone going through a rehabilitation program; the desire for change has to come from within. Winter learned that in her own way.
I also liked the nuance of Emerson's struggles in the book as well. What a nice touch, and an interesting detail that helped Winter remember that the world doesn't revolve around her. As always, Leila Sales remains one of my favourite authors.
I think this book makes you more conscious about what you put out there online. It makes you reflect on how you treat people, and to understand that a lot of awfulness gets broadcasted publicly... and a lot of it doesn't, especially when public opinion has agreed that someone is evil.
There were two key turning points in this book. One, the scene in the convenience store, and two, the phone call in the bathroom. The first, I think, made Winter check her privilege and understand systemic racism a little better. The second taught her what it really means to apologize. Interestingly, I do think Revibe was right in trying to instill that in its attendees. The problem is that it only works when it comes from an internalized place — people have to truly feel repentant, not just say what they need to say to make a problem go away. I'm sure this is true for anyone going through a rehabilitation program; the desire for change has to come from within. Winter learned that in her own way.
I also liked the nuance of Emerson's struggles in the book as well. What a nice touch, and an interesting detail that helped Winter remember that the world doesn't revolve around her. As always, Leila Sales remains one of my favourite authors.
shogins's review against another edition
4.0
We’ve all said something dumb on the internet. For most of us, it didn’t really matter. When Winter Halperin posted a thoughtless tweet with racial overtones, though, it went viral and suddenly she’s everywhere. She knows she didn’t mean it the way everyone’s reading it, but that doesn’t stop people online from saying they wish she was dead, and it doesn’t keep her friends on her side. Winter wants to become a better person, but how can she rehabilitate her reputation and convince everyone – and herself – that she means it. Winter certainly makes a mistake but she isn’t a monster and this book will make you think about internet outrage and how it could manifest itself in the life of an ordinary person.