A review by msradiosilence
They Never Learn by Layne Fargo

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

TLDR; 3 rating, I love women’s wrongs, I love queer women, but there is something missing here.
Content warnings at the bottom. :)

I am a sucker for bisexual female main characters, and this one kills men who hurt women?? It sounded so far up my alley. I went in hoping Scarlett and Carly would team up and take down all the horrible men on Gorman’s campus but that’s just…not exactly what happened.

So Scarlett and Carly are the same person. I figured that out just a little bit before the reveal, so cheers!
I really appreciated Carly’s arc, but because the time was ambiguous, the four or five page chapters and then the switches back and forth between Carly and Scarlett did give me whiplash in a few places. I understand why (to keep you on the edge of your seats during tense moments) but there was something lost in the back and forth. 

I’ve seen a lot of people complain about how there’s quite literally a single man in this book who is a genuinely good guy, and it’s sort of explained away because he’s gay. I think people pointing this out are missing the fact that Scarlett is a horrendously unreliable narrator. Someone described this as genderbent American Psycho, and while I’ve never read that book, I’ve seen plenty of reviewers who bite back at incel misogynists who look up to Patrick Bateman enough to realize that the comparison is likely an apt one. Scarlett is so consumed with her belief that men ain’t shit, and while it’s very likely the men she kills haven’t committed crimes egregious enough for the reader to sentence them to death, Scarlett’s had enough. She reads a lot into situations, often colored by her own trauma, and since this is from her perspective, we should take her observations with a grain of salt (in most cases). With the exception of Drew, all the men in this book read as horrible predators, and we as the audience only have Scarlett to rely on until another character confirms it (Mina with Kinnear,
Mikayla with Jasper
, jury’s still out on Stright). But whether you believe Scarlett or not, the point is she’s unreliable, but these men are still pretty awful.

And that’s the point, isn’t it? It’s a cautionary tale against trust, because it’s not always the ones you don’t know. Scarlett is a dream, and one that I’ve heard quite a few of my friends echo. Because even in the year of our lorde 2023, the doctors and the deans in Carly’s storyline are still saying the same shit. I saw it happen in undergrad to friends of mine. We have a long, long way to go before the events in this book are only the work of fiction.

Anyway. I thought the book was fine but it didn’t change my life. So, solid three stars.

Rating: 3
Would I recommend? A tentative yes, but mostly for the TWs and content.

Content warnings: Graphic: Fire, Sexual violence, Stalking, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Gore, Grief, Sexism, Cursing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content (about sexual assault), Sexual content (on page, consensual), Sexual harassment, Blood, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Sexual assault, and Violence. Moderate: Death of parent, Rape (mentioned, not on page), Alcohol, Domestic abuse, and Suicide (mentioned). Minor: Torture (mentioned), Car accident, and Drug use
Expand filter menu Content Warnings