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sarah984's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
This is a dark comedy about a group of teen pageant contestants stranded on an island after a plane crash. Unfortunately, it's just not very funny. The author loves driving already weak jokes into the ground (the trust fund guy with The Corporation says "you misunderestimated me" five or six times, the Borat style jokes with the dictator character go on way too long, the tray in that one girl’s forehead comes up again and again) and the girl power stuff comes off preachy and heavy-handed. Every girl is an embarrassing stereotype and the way the mistreatment of the trans character is brushed off really rubbed me the wrong way.
Graphic: Deadnaming, Outing, and Transphobia
Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Biphobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Colonisation, Confinement, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Violence
Minor: Xenophobia, Vomit, Death, and Islamophobia
obviousthings's review against another edition
DNF at 29%. The author clearly tried to be trans-inclusive, which I appreciate, but the way the one trans character is incorporated into the plot just... really sucks. Some of the transphobia is addressed, and probably will be addressed further later in the book, but the way transness is framed here really doesn't sit right with me. Spoilers if you want to know the details: Petra herself says she's "not technically a girl yet" because she hasn't had "the surgery" (ugh). The fact that she's trans is revealed when someone sees her naked, and the narrative doesn't do anything to counter the idea that she's been "deceiving" the rest of the group.
Frankly, I don't like the book enough to keep reading and see how this turns out.
Frankly, I don't like the book enough to keep reading and see how this turns out.
Graphic: Transphobia
Moderate: Racism, Antisemitism, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Fatphobia, Medical content, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, and Gun violence
Minor: Eating disorder, Cancer, Cannibalism, and Deadnaming
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