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A review by bookedinsideout
The Long Game by Rachel Reid
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
1.5
“I’ve been mad at the game for a while, and I needed this.”
That’s how I felt after reading the last book, Role Model, but pretty much the opposite after reading this. I’m really upsetfor Ilya and Shane that they were publicly outed, and that the commissioner was so awful as well as Shane’s teammates. Hayden, who inadvertently outed them, was apologetic and it was an accident, but I didn’t think the way he told them was very comforting, that he really gave them as much support as he could have, and Shane’s friend JJ was awful to him — not to mention his teammates. It just left an extremely bad taste in my mouth. Role Model was a comfort book, but this felt like one big downer.
I think if I had been more aware of content warnings it might have helped, or if I hadn’t read it at a particularly low period, but there was just so much heavy in this book. The disordered eating and shaming of other people (with no real resolution or countering of it); the homomisia; the depression that was being treated by a therapist but then kind of left off; theforced outing and treatment of that . There were a lot of cute and funny moments in the book, but the heavy lines and moments made it feel heavier for me than it was probably meant to. I don’t even think it’s that I had high expectations for the book, it’s just how it was. And a little anger too that now that we know what’s going on concurrently with the events of Role Model, I’m not sure I’ll be able to take comfort in it in the same way anymore.
I didn’t mind the pacing in the beginning, but everything happened really quickly at the end and I’m sure a few of the many (many) sex scenes could have been cut to make room for a more rounded and satisfying conclusion. (I’m not usually one to complain about that, but there were a lot, especially noticeable when they’re not doing a lot of communicating outside of that and developing their relationships in other ways.) I can definitely see how there were parts of the book that others will focus on and love, but unfortunately I could only focus on the parts that dragged me down.
That’s how I felt after reading the last book, Role Model, but pretty much the opposite after reading this. I’m really upset
I think if I had been more aware of content warnings it might have helped, or if I hadn’t read it at a particularly low period, but there was just so much heavy in this book. The disordered eating and shaming of other people (with no real resolution or countering of it); the homomisia; the depression that was being treated by a therapist but then kind of left off; the
I didn’t mind the pacing in the beginning, but everything happened really quickly at the end and I’m sure a few of the many (many) sex scenes could have been cut to make room for a more rounded and satisfying conclusion. (I’m not usually one to complain about that, but there were a lot, especially noticeable when they’re not doing a lot of communicating outside of that and developing their relationships in other ways.) I can definitely see how there were parts of the book that others will focus on and love, but unfortunately I could only focus on the parts that dragged me down.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Homophobia, Mental illness, and Outing
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Death of parent
Minor: Suicide