A review by larakaa
Dead End Girls by Wendy Heard
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.25
It was a quick read, I'll give it that.
I didn't like the protagonist, her initial motivation is way too low a bar to do all that. I get that this is kind of a what-if story and I don't live in the US, so I don't know how authentic all of this is, but it just didn't feel very believable. The way she just found someone who can forge perfect passports. The way they just stumble on helpful random people when they need one.
While the switching of the PoVs is a neat narrative tool, it really didn't work for me here. It's just so imbalanced and makes the plot flow suddenly clunky. Usually, we have it to get a second perspective on events and get to learn more about a certain character, but the way it's separated into super small pieces and also being mostly about the past it just breaks the storytelling.
Also, the main protagonist doesn't really evolve much. The tiny shreds of self-reflection and realization aren't enough. And the ending also didn't work for me. But I wont get into details here because of spoilers.
Queer representation is nice, but that alone doesn't make a good book.
I know it's a young adult book, which often focuses more on plot and action, but still I've read better ones.
I didn't like the protagonist, her initial motivation is way too low a bar to do all that. I get that this is kind of a what-if story and I don't live in the US, so I don't know how authentic all of this is, but it just didn't feel very believable. The way she just found someone who can forge perfect passports. The way they just stumble on helpful random people when they need one.
While the switching of the PoVs is a neat narrative tool, it really didn't work for me here. It's just so imbalanced and makes the plot flow suddenly clunky. Usually, we have it to get a second perspective on events and get to learn more about a certain character, but the way it's separated into super small pieces and also being mostly about the past it just breaks the storytelling.
Also, the main protagonist doesn't really evolve much. The tiny shreds of self-reflection and realization aren't enough. And the ending also didn't work for me. But I wont get into details here because of spoilers.
Queer representation is nice, but that alone doesn't make a good book.
I know it's a young adult book, which often focuses more on plot and action, but still I've read better ones.