charminglyretro's review against another edition
4.0
Super interesting and atmospheric. Need more time to digest. The prose was a bit much but it was obviously a choice.
I think it's clear that this book is not meant to be taken at face value and most people unfortunately seem unable or unwilling to read in to it at all. A characters thoughts and actions are not always a reflection of the authors beliefs and can be intended as commentary on those thoughts and actions.
Falls into the manic pixie dream girl trap a bit but the epilogue helps.
I think it's clear that this book is not meant to be taken at face value and most people unfortunately seem unable or unwilling to read in to it at all. A characters thoughts and actions are not always a reflection of the authors beliefs and can be intended as commentary on those thoughts and actions.
Falls into the manic pixie dream girl trap a bit but the epilogue helps.
novelheartbeat's review against another edition
Thanks to HarperTeen for providing a copy for review!
ACTUAL RATING: 0/5, DNF
Honestly, I didn’t even plan on reading this book. Just from the synopsis I wasn’t sure I’d even like it. But I got an ARC in one of my Harper packages, so I figured, why the hell not? Sigh. Now I know why.
I would never call anyone’s hard work crap, because I know writing a book is hard and time-consuming and probably devours a little piece of your soul; but it’s been a very long time since I’ve read anything this terrible (since I read Catcher in the Rye in high school, actually). It sounds mean, but that’s just how I feel. I probably should have run screaming when I started to see the horrible reviews trickling in, but I couldn’t help myself. I needed to see what everyone was ranting about. (Why oh why didn’t I run screaming?)
First of all, there is NO way on God’s green Earth that this book should ever be labeled as Young Adult. EVER. I’m extremely surprised that HarperTeen even published it. (I still love you, Harper.) It needs to be labeled as New Adult at the very least. I personally would never want my 14 year old reading this (if I had one, that is), and we all know there are YA book bloggers younger than that. *looks to Nikki and Eileen* I am disgusted and astounded that this book has passed for YA.
I had so many problems with this book just in the first 1/3 it’s not even funny:
1) The cursing. Now mind you, I curse like a sailor at times and I am by no means a lady. *snickers* But what. The. Hell. Even I have limits! I don’t mind it if the F word is used in YA, but only in very small doses; and it should really only be used in dire circumstances. Sometimes it can help rather than hinder because it conveys that desperation or anger. BUT. Small doses. Very small doses. I should have known I was in for it when the F word popped up in the first 2 pages. I actually had to start counting after I noticed it 5 or 6 times in twice as many pages – and I kid you not, the count got to sixty fucks before I gave up at page 100. SIXTY. That’s at least every other page and sometimes even multiple times on one page. This is not okay. And it wasn’t just the F word, words like ‘shithead’ and ‘ass’ and a myriad of other curse words were used in abundance. So many that there were at least 2-3 on every page. And just randomly inserted into the dialogue. Pointless!
2) The sexual innuendos and comments about sex. Masturbation is not an appropriate topic in YA. It’s unnecessary and serves no purpose to the story.
“Come on,” he said. “Let’s go look at the ocean. Might as well, right?”
“Man, I just want to go to bed,” I said. I was exhausted. I wanted to jerk off and fall asleep.
See, why is that even necessary? Just because you masturbate doesn’t mean we need to hear about it.
It felt good to be alone, especially after the previous day’s cramped and endless journey. I consider myself a social person, but sometimes I feel best being sociable with myself. I guess that’s why I enjoy masturbation.
What the hell? Because that’s totally what I think about when I’m alone. Most people would say ‘I guess that’s why I enjoy reading’ or ‘I guess that’s why I enjoy listening to my iPod’ but nope, his hobby is apparently masturbating. Nice.
I can say without too much ego that I am attractive enough, but usually feel more awkward than handsome. I’m never sure of how I’m supposed to move. [...] This morning at the beach was different. I felt the muscles in my shoulders pumping with blood. I felt ocean in my eyelashes and a heaviness in my dick.
NOT. NECESSARY. *awkward turtle*
Something seemed to be bothering him. I figured it had to be the lack of sex, which he’d previously made a point of indicating he was used to on a very regular basis.
Because naturally, if someone is bothered by something, it’s their lack of sex. Couldn’t be anything else, really.
She reached out and dragged her long, red nail from my shoulder down to my chest, swaying her hips as she did it. Her eyes were burning: green with gold rings around the pupils. I tried to look away but I found that I could not. I instantly had a raging boner.
“You sleep with some girl once, and before you know it you’re like trapped in her crazy pussy-web,” he said, nodding sagely to himself.
….I can’t even formulate a sarcastic reply for that. Pussy-web? Who talks like that? Then he goes off on a 2 page tangent about his ‘small success in [the sex] department last year’ that is completely irrelevant to the story and just makes the character look even more like an ass; talking about how he groped this girl’s chest while she was drunk, that it could have gone farther if her ‘horrible friend’ hadn’t interrupted (because in no way shape or form is that anywhere close to rape, taking advantage of a totally wasted chick), and:
Although Sasha remained obviously into me in the weeks following the party – texting me nonstop and leaving long and pointless handwritten notes in my locker – I’d quickly decided that she was annoying and not even all that hot.
This pisses me off on so many levels. First of all, you don’t like her because she’s ‘not hot?’ Really? If a girl takes the time to write you a letter and you ditch her because she’s not hot enough, you’re clearly not worthy of her anyway. To all you young ladies, I swear to you not all guys are like that. There are many that would appreciate such a gesture. Proving even more that this book is disgusting. (And again, that story wasn’t even relevant to the book and could have been left out, saving him from looking like a total asshole.)
3) All the Girls were blonde, ‘insanely hot,’ and had big boobs. ALL of them. Honestly, it just sounded like some dude’s wet dream to me. Oodles of ‘hot’ girls, everywhere, coming on to the main character, because they have to have sex with a male virgin to break their mermaid curse. Sounds more like fanfic than a good story line. And this:
We learn the small pleasures of this place: press-on nails and eye makeup and hair dye, Chinese slippers with sequins and little embroidered flowers. Wine coolers and soap operas. We don’t like meat, but we have a weakness for french fries. Not to mention french tips.
Because that’s all that girls care about. How ’bout learning to read? Or getting a fucking education? Oops, sorry, the book has apparently rubbed off on me. ‘Scuse my poor manners. But the sexism of that really irked me! It was glaringly obvious that this book was written by a male, not to be sexist myself here. But seriously.
4) The random, imbecilic comments such as:
I mean, I’m not an idiot [gee, that's hilarious]. I’m ninety-nine percent convinced that the world is not flat. But I believe you can’t be sure of anything until you’ve seen it with your own two eyes. And maybe it’s just the limitations of photography, but I’ve seen those pictures of the earth from outer space and it looks flat as a quarter to me.
Seriously? Are you 5? I think even a 3rd grader knows the difference between 2D and 3D. This was just plain ridiculous.
She had the same accent that Kristle had. It was soft and fluid and could have been French or Scottish or South African or anything really.
Yeah, because all three of those sound exactly alike. Dumbass.
“Where do you think she is?” [...]
“I think she’s gone,” I told him.
“Well, clearly,” he said. “But where is she? I mean where?”
“She’s in the land of women,” I said. “A place we cannot even begin to comprehend. Don’t think too hard about it; it’s like staring directly into the sun.”
Right. The mystical Land of Women. That’s where we all reside when we can’t be found. And if you try to find it, you’ll wander in circles, lost, for the rest of your sad and miserable life.
I read 100 pages of this ridiculousness before I gave up, then skimmed through to the end to see if there was any point to the book (and really, to satisfy my curiosity about the Girls). There wasn’t. This book was crass and inappropriate and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone, ever.
OVERALL ASSESSMENT
Plot: 0/5
Writing style: 1/5
Characters: 0/5
Pace: 1/5
Cover: 3/5
Overall rating: 0/5 starfish
linguana's review against another edition
1.0
This sounded like something I had to read myself, and boy, do I wish I hadn’t.
My full review can be found at SFF Book Review. I don't have the wish or energy to post it here (and do all the reformatting and stuff).
Here's the really short version:
THE GOOD: The chapters in italics, told by the Girls.
THE BAD: Everything else. Misogyny, sexism, homophobes, a boring plot, douchebag characters, no romance, no mystery (!), and writing that ranges from okay to absolutely terrible!
THE VERDICT: A waste of time and money. An incredibly boring, pretentious story that spews hate for women on almost every page and does NOT examine it or make its protagonist grow. Fail.
RATING: 3/10 – Really bad.
My full review can be found at SFF Book Review. I don't have the wish or energy to post it here (and do all the reformatting and stuff).
Here's the really short version:
THE GOOD: The chapters in italics, told by the Girls.
THE BAD: Everything else. Misogyny, sexism, homophobes, a boring plot, douchebag characters, no romance, no mystery (!), and writing that ranges from okay to absolutely terrible!
THE VERDICT: A waste of time and money. An incredibly boring, pretentious story that spews hate for women on almost every page and does NOT examine it or make its protagonist grow. Fail.
RATING: 3/10 – Really bad.
valeriefm's review against another edition
5.0
Oh, September Girls...welcome my favorites shelf. Your sisters Tigerlily, Stolen and Something Like Normal will take care of you.
cupcakegirly's review against another edition
This was my initial thought regarding this book ---> The best thing about this book is the cover.
While my overall feelings about SEPTEMBER GIRLS have not necessarily changed, they have been altered a bit and here's why...
I had a fantastic conversation about this book today with the equally fantastic Diana Peterfreund (FOR DARKNESS SHOWS THE STARS) who shed some new light on this for me.
What originally attracted me to this book was a combination of hype, synopsis and serious cover love. I was expecting a romantic summer read about mermaids but that is not what I got. I'll be honest, the characters came across as sarcastic and cynical to the point of offense to me (I can only speak for myself) and much of the content turned me off. I struggled to even finish it because I was not enjoying it at all.
HOWEVER, after having chatted with Diana, I have come to the conclusion that this book was wrongly covered - it doesn't accurately depict the story inside. It's still not a story for me per say, but there is a definite audience for it. (Fans of Chris Cutcher would most likely enjoy this.) Regardless of my feels, it's a well written story and one that should be given a chance, in my humble reader opinion.
If you decide it's not for you, great.
If you read it and love it, awesome.
But at least you'll know going into it (assuming you bother to give this blog post a glance) what it is not. (The flowery summer romance mentioned above.)
I think Bennett Madison is a talented young writer whose book is being judged (unfairly) by it's cover.
I also think it's author is being judged unfairly as well, but that's just me. *shrugs* :)
While my overall feelings about SEPTEMBER GIRLS have not necessarily changed, they have been altered a bit and here's why...
I had a fantastic conversation about this book today with the equally fantastic Diana Peterfreund (FOR DARKNESS SHOWS THE STARS) who shed some new light on this for me.
What originally attracted me to this book was a combination of hype, synopsis and serious cover love. I was expecting a romantic summer read about mermaids but that is not what I got. I'll be honest, the characters came across as sarcastic and cynical to the point of offense to me (I can only speak for myself) and much of the content turned me off. I struggled to even finish it because I was not enjoying it at all.
HOWEVER, after having chatted with Diana, I have come to the conclusion that this book was wrongly covered - it doesn't accurately depict the story inside. It's still not a story for me per say, but there is a definite audience for it. (Fans of Chris Cutcher would most likely enjoy this.) Regardless of my feels, it's a well written story and one that should be given a chance, in my humble reader opinion.
If you decide it's not for you, great.
If you read it and love it, awesome.
But at least you'll know going into it (assuming you bother to give this blog post a glance) what it is not. (The flowery summer romance mentioned above.)
I think Bennett Madison is a talented young writer whose book is being judged (unfairly) by it's cover.
I also think it's author is being judged unfairly as well, but that's just me. *shrugs* :)
coraohare's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
storytimed's review against another edition
2.0
Technically well-written, but it left a bad taste in my mouth. Maybe it was Maybe it was the casual disregard of most of the girls except the one or two that our protagonists deigned to romance. Maybe it was the continued insistence that Sam is a good guy (in fact, according to some, Sam is the best guy, even though he's not: he's a regular teen boy who's kind of a half-assed coward and objectifies women and casually prejudiced. The guy won't even read New Yorker stories if the writers have "too obviously foreign names" (which, what the fuck?). The narrative, however, is enamored of him, and shapes itself around his manpain. There is a beautiful story located somewhere in the depths of September Girls, the story of Kristle and DeeDee and Taffany groping their ways toward selfhood, but, unfortunately, all we get is Sam's.
Also, what the hell was up with the mom? Does Bennet Madison have something against feminists and Farmville? Just a really bizarre characterization that went nowhere.
Edit after reading a bunch of reviews on Goodreads: Yes, I get that this novel is supposed to be deconstructing and criticizing patriarchal notions of sexuality and masculinity. I like that male virginity is paid attention to here, and I like that the myth of masculinity is deconstructed, and I like that the girls attempt to find their own ways. However: the execution, especially the anemic "maybe-let's-ignore-it" response to oppression, is where the book fails, especially since the one woman we do see who interacts with feminism and methods of resisting the patriarchy is criticized for it.
At the end of the book, it's implied that the girls' situation has been going on pretty much for generations, and yet nobody shows any impetus to change things. For example: when Sam first meets Dee, she complains about not having enough to read, and for the whole book I kept waiting for Sam to give her the novel that his brother spends the beginning trying and failing to read, Infinite Jest. And then it never happened.
The Girls never get any good reading material. They live in (essentially) poverty, cramped conditions that necessitate them bunking two to a bed. Why does nobody work to make the beach a big resort town, in order to attract more people? Why, if the Island has an Internet cafe, shitty as it is, do none of the Girls turn to online dating to get guys to come to them? I understand that Bennet Madison's trying to make a point about the ubiquity and force of the patriarchy, but what he does not understand is that, no matter how insurmountable the forces against us, women have always fought.
Spoiler
the fact that nothing really changed for most of the girls: oh, yeah, the one our protagonist fucked is okay, who cares about the rest?Also, what the hell was up with the mom? Does Bennet Madison have something against feminists and Farmville? Just a really bizarre characterization that went nowhere.
Edit after reading a bunch of reviews on Goodreads: Yes, I get that this novel is supposed to be deconstructing and criticizing patriarchal notions of sexuality and masculinity. I like that male virginity is paid attention to here, and I like that the myth of masculinity is deconstructed, and I like that the girls attempt to find their own ways. However: the execution, especially the anemic "maybe-let's-ignore-it" response to oppression, is where the book fails, especially since the one woman we do see who interacts with feminism and methods of resisting the patriarchy is criticized for it.
At the end of the book, it's implied that the girls' situation has been going on pretty much for generations, and yet nobody shows any impetus to change things. For example: when Sam first meets Dee, she complains about not having enough to read, and for the whole book I kept waiting for Sam to give her the novel that his brother spends the beginning trying and failing to read, Infinite Jest. And then it never happened.
The Girls never get any good reading material. They live in (essentially) poverty, cramped conditions that necessitate them bunking two to a bed. Why does nobody work to make the beach a big resort town, in order to attract more people? Why, if the Island has an Internet cafe, shitty as it is, do none of the Girls turn to online dating to get guys to come to them? I understand that Bennet Madison's trying to make a point about the ubiquity and force of the patriarchy, but what he does not understand is that, no matter how insurmountable the forces against us, women have always fought.
disconightwing's review against another edition
2.0
I'm going to attempt to write the review for September Girls in the style of September Girls.
Dude. Dude! I mean, for real, bro. You have like, no fuckin' idea, man. This total bro in this book. This bro! His ho mom like, goes on facebook and farms and shit. Who does that?! Bitches and hos. And then she like, runs off to women land, bro. So this dude and his bro and their dad, a total bro, scratch their balls and fart and go to the beach and shit. They meet these total skanks, and after a party or two they're tangled in some bitches' pussy-webs. And their slut mom shows up. Bitch. And our bro Sam pops his cherry and the dudes all go home. Slut mom may have gone too. Not sure.
...okay, so, that's really the book. And I mean, I say dude and sometimes I say bro. But I don't think I've ever met anyone ever who talks like that. And there was actually something about a pussy web. I read that quote to my mom, and she said "is that something we do?"
Yeah, pretty much that. Anyway, our main character, Sam, has lost his mother recently to something called Women's Land which she found through farmville, and in order to make them all feel better, Sam's dad takes him and his brother Jeff to the beach for the summer. Sam is a virgin who constantly reminds us that he has a penis, and Jeff's sole purpose in life is getting Sam laid. Somehow Sam has this friend who is absolutely disgusting who never really shows up in the book and I still hate him. There are some mermaids and
So I could go on some big angry rant, or I could just say don't read this if you're a girl. Or if you do want to read it, you should probably go into it thinking that it's some stoned teenage boy's wet dream. So, you know, dude.
Dude. Dude! I mean, for real, bro. You have like, no fuckin' idea, man. This total bro in this book. This bro! His ho mom like, goes on facebook and farms and shit. Who does that?! Bitches and hos. And then she like, runs off to women land, bro. So this dude and his bro and their dad, a total bro, scratch their balls and fart and go to the beach and shit. They meet these total skanks, and after a party or two they're tangled in some bitches' pussy-webs. And their slut mom shows up. Bitch. And our bro Sam pops his cherry and the dudes all go home. Slut mom may have gone too. Not sure.
...okay, so, that's really the book. And I mean, I say dude and sometimes I say bro. But I don't think I've ever met anyone ever who talks like that. And there was actually something about a pussy web. I read that quote to my mom, and she said "is that something we do?"
Yeah, pretty much that. Anyway, our main character, Sam, has lost his mother recently to something called Women's Land which she found through farmville, and in order to make them all feel better, Sam's dad takes him and his brother Jeff to the beach for the summer. Sam is a virgin who constantly reminds us that he has a penis, and Jeff's sole purpose in life is getting Sam laid. Somehow Sam has this friend who is absolutely disgusting who never really shows up in the book and I still hate him. There are some mermaids and
Spoiler
they need to sleep with a virgin guy to break some magic spell I don't understand in the first place.So I could go on some big angry rant, or I could just say don't read this if you're a girl. Or if you do want to read it, you should probably go into it thinking that it's some stoned teenage boy's wet dream. So, you know, dude.
socbas9247's review against another edition
5.0
I don't usually write reviews on here. I feel it best to keep my opinions in my head, where I can disagree with myself all I wish. However, I am making an exception here.
I love this novel. It is complex, it is unforgiving, it is alive. As readers, we are inserted into the mind of Sam. We can disagree with him. We can even dislike him. But as readers, our job is not to judge. It is to let go and experience this world through Sam's eyes. As a young lady, I loved sitting in Sam's mind. I loved the language he utilized because it was real and uncensored. You compare this to what is occurring around Sam - The Mermaid invasion as I like to call it. - and it is a perfect balance. It is realismo magico. It is fresh and new and different.
The best thing a novel can do it is to make you question, to get you invested emotionally. This book does both and then much more.
I will direct you to this great article addressing this and a few others points concerning September Girls: http://www.mhpbooks.com/a-disservice-to-humanity-when-unlikeable-characters-meet-ya-readers/
I love this novel. It is complex, it is unforgiving, it is alive. As readers, we are inserted into the mind of Sam. We can disagree with him. We can even dislike him. But as readers, our job is not to judge. It is to let go and experience this world through Sam's eyes. As a young lady, I loved sitting in Sam's mind. I loved the language he utilized because it was real and uncensored. You compare this to what is occurring around Sam - The Mermaid invasion as I like to call it. - and it is a perfect balance. It is realismo magico. It is fresh and new and different.
The best thing a novel can do it is to make you question, to get you invested emotionally. This book does both and then much more.
I will direct you to this great article addressing this and a few others points concerning September Girls: http://www.mhpbooks.com/a-disservice-to-humanity-when-unlikeable-characters-meet-ya-readers/