A review by a_ab
Like a Love Song by Gabriela Martins
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
I am trying to be very generous, but the book hasn't given me much to work with. It is offensively shallow, oversimplified, and bordering on vapid. I was lured in by the dedication and only kept reading hoping that at some point that dedication would become relevant, but apparently that was a random non sequitur.
However, there's one thing that this book has going for it - all that inquiry into PR tactics and publicity stunts has paid off: this book reads like one of them. It has a laundry list of trendy representations (atrociously tokenized, but prominently there), a carefully ticked checklist of most popular "teen themes" and tropes, and a sprinkle of randomly thrown in social commentary (mostly irrelevant to the plot, scenes and characters) - all forming an iron-clad recipe for publisher approval.
Far be it from me to reproach anyone for their hard-earned path to success, especially when it's not done by means of hurting others, so I am genuinely glad for the author. But I did not enjoy this book.
However, there's one thing that this book has going for it - all that inquiry into PR tactics and publicity stunts has paid off: this book reads like one of them. It has a laundry list of trendy representations (atrociously tokenized, but prominently there), a carefully ticked checklist of most popular "teen themes" and tropes, and a sprinkle of randomly thrown in social commentary (mostly irrelevant to the plot, scenes and characters) - all forming an iron-clad recipe for publisher approval.
Far be it from me to reproach anyone for their hard-earned path to success, especially when it's not done by means of hurting others, so I am genuinely glad for the author. But I did not enjoy this book.