itsmytuberculosis's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars
one time in my college adaptation class I wrote a screenplay that was a "what if" about the trials and tribulations of the children of batman rogues so I can't say shit when it comes to speculative fiction within the DC universe.
being one of those bitches that hand wrote batman fanfic as a child I was so excited when Harley seemed to be a person with complex trauma and ideology and not just a propped up walking tumblr shit post that says things like "ZOMG i rawr like unicorn". There were certain moments she felt over the top in her excitement, or consumption of coffee, but it never reached a level where it was making fun of the character or a distraction from both her intelligence and her boeing 747 load of mental issues.
The majority of the book is dealing with the sexism and sexual harassment that women deal with in the work place, specifically with women in STEM. I am NOT good with digesting SA content, so I thought this book might be a DNF for me. However, Allen does a phenomenal job of handling all the harassment and SA from the point of view of the women discussing it, in their own time and in their own words instead of the rape porn that like to circulate men's filmography. It was refreshing to see how this effects women besides the initial trauma- but leaves lasting impacts to their psyche and self esteem.
I was surprised at how YOUNG Harleen was in the book, just fresh out of high school at 18. It made some of the stupider choices seem normal but also I am not sure, no matter how jiggy your IQ is, no university professor is going to let you touch a mass array. It was a thing that keep coming up in the back of my mind as her and Bernice were working in the lab. Like, you can't drink no WAY are they letting you do anything other then supervised pipetting.
The group of girls Harleen surrounds herself with to create the Reckoning have dramatic character traits - sometimes painting them as caricatures. Jasmin is the cold hearted bitch with "eye brows to kill a man". Bianca is the gym buff who randomly does push ups. And Kylie is the giggly screaming sorority girl. I find it ironic that Harley says, "Girls can contain multitudes" and yet we never see the divergence from the stereotype for each girl. Yes Kylie might be an neurobio major as well, but we do not see her active in any of those skills within the novel. She is a static figure that chugs cold brew and has a hypothetical potential to her that we are merely told exists. Same is Bianca, who has a hidden past that is alluded to have sent her to juive. You think this would be a moment where her and Harleen bond, and give Biance the opportunity to showcase that you are not your childhood, but NOPE shes got LIFTING to do my BROTHER.
I do wish we had more time with them as friends before ONE OF THEM dies, but as this book pushes 400 pages I hesitate to say it needed any more run time.
For the mystery overall - I was pretty sure of who the BBEG was. The Trent blip was surprising and I have to say i was sHOCKED to discover that Harley was necking him (only within the first couple chapters) after her introduction couldn't have been more unflattering for him. I enjoyed their antics as the Reckoning crew and was thrilled at seeing their inventions and retribution take place. I do not think I could be that creative.
Last but not least shout out to Johnathan Crane love you bitch
one time in my college adaptation class I wrote a screenplay that was a "what if" about the trials and tribulations of the children of batman rogues so I can't say shit when it comes to speculative fiction within the DC universe.
being one of those bitches that hand wrote batman fanfic as a child I was so excited when Harley seemed to be a person with complex trauma and ideology and not just a propped up walking tumblr shit post that says things like "ZOMG i rawr like unicorn". There were certain moments she felt over the top in her excitement, or consumption of coffee, but it never reached a level where it was making fun of the character or a distraction from both her intelligence and her boeing 747 load of mental issues.
The majority of the book is dealing with the sexism and sexual harassment that women deal with in the work place, specifically with women in STEM. I am NOT good with digesting SA content, so I thought this book might be a DNF for me. However, Allen does a phenomenal job of handling all the harassment and SA from the point of view of the women discussing it, in their own time and in their own words instead of the rape porn that like to circulate men's filmography. It was refreshing to see how this effects women besides the initial trauma- but leaves lasting impacts to their psyche and self esteem.
I was surprised at how YOUNG Harleen was in the book, just fresh out of high school at 18. It made some of the stupider choices seem normal but also I am not sure, no matter how jiggy your IQ is, no university professor is going to let you touch a mass array. It was a thing that keep coming up in the back of my mind as her and Bernice were working in the lab. Like, you can't drink no WAY are they letting you do anything other then supervised pipetting.
The group of girls Harleen surrounds herself with to create the Reckoning have dramatic character traits - sometimes painting them as caricatures. Jasmin is the cold hearted bitch with "eye brows to kill a man". Bianca is the gym buff who randomly does push ups. And Kylie is the giggly screaming sorority girl. I find it ironic that Harley says, "Girls can contain multitudes" and yet we never see the divergence from the stereotype for each girl. Yes Kylie might be an neurobio major as well, but we do not see her active in any of those skills within the novel. She is a static figure that chugs cold brew and has a hypothetical potential to her that we are merely told exists. Same is Bianca, who has a hidden past that is alluded to have sent her to juive. You think this would be a moment where her and Harleen bond, and give Biance the opportunity to showcase that you are not your childhood, but NOPE shes got LIFTING to do my BROTHER.
I do wish we had more time with them as friends before ONE OF THEM dies, but as this book pushes 400 pages I hesitate to say it needed any more run time.
For the mystery overall - I was pretty sure of who the BBEG was. The Trent blip was surprising and I have to say i was sHOCKED to discover that Harley was necking him (only within the first couple chapters) after her introduction couldn't have been more unflattering for him. I enjoyed their antics as the Reckoning crew and was thrilled at seeing their inventions and retribution take place. I do not think I could be that creative.
Last but not least shout out to Johnathan Crane love you bitch
leelaamanda's review
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
calistaj29's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
karogers309's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
midsummerbri's review
5.0
Yeah, this was fun. Women is STEM smashing the patriarchy - ok sign me up - and it's a Harley Quinn origin story - just take my money.
There were some really clever explanations for some of the iconic elements of Harley's character. There were a few places where I was like eehh that's kinda annoying but at the same time that is totally something Harley would do.
Not going to lie, the sexual assault parts were hard (content warning for that), but just like the characters I got super angry at the injustice of it all, so when they started their vigilante justice I was all for it. My only other critique would be the time jumps. The chapter headings do have dates on them but I was reading on an e-reader and flipping back to check the other dates for continuity was a bit inconvenient.
All in all just a really fun read and I would definitely recommend this book and not just to Harley fans!
There were some really clever explanations for some of the iconic elements of Harley's character. There were a few places where I was like eehh that's kinda annoying but at the same time that is totally something Harley would do.
Not going to lie, the sexual assault parts were hard (content warning for that), but just like the characters I got super angry at the injustice of it all, so when they started their vigilante justice I was all for it. My only other critique would be the time jumps. The chapter headings do have dates on them but I was reading on an e-reader and flipping back to check the other dates for continuity was a bit inconvenient.
All in all just a really fun read and I would definitely recommend this book and not just to Harley fans!
sknselena's review
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
kylieqrada's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This was fun and hard-hitting at the same time. Teen Harley is super well developed, and the author wrote this novelization so it would fit with her canon backstory without romanticizing some of the more unsavory aspects.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexism, and Misogyny
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, and Sexual assault
Minor: Rape, Death, and Mental illness
mclark224's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
berbs's review
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
clairekimmy's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-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
4.0