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A review by pastelpaperback
The Against Taffy Sinclair Club by Betsy Haynes
emotional
lighthearted
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
The Against Taffy Sinclair Club is a complicated book. Because at the root of it, forming a club to hate someone is pretty awful.
But when I put myself in the shoes of Jana and her friends, I can *feel* why they're so upset at Taffy. She's not an innocent character. She teases and torments the girls, and I remember being a Jana, and not feeling adequate and also being picked on by the same girls that seemed to have it all. You really understand why they've made her the focus of their adolescent wrath.
The book would be silly fluff in lesser hands, but Betsy Haynes really packs a lot of punch in the first entry in the series. Jana is such a sympathetic but complex character. She's going through a ton of emotions and changes and it just felt so true to life—worrying about your breast size, wondering if you have B.O., figuring out relationships with your family and friends etc..
I really didn't have many expectations going into this re-read, but I was pleasantly surprised at how well it held up and the emotional beats it struck. I'm looking forward to finishing the rest of the Taffy books and then finally diving into a full The Fabulous Five re-read.
But when I put myself in the shoes of Jana and her friends, I can *feel* why they're so upset at Taffy. She's not an innocent character. She teases and torments the girls, and I remember being a Jana, and not feeling adequate and also being picked on by the same girls that seemed to have it all. You really understand why they've made her the focus of their adolescent wrath.
The book would be silly fluff in lesser hands, but Betsy Haynes really packs a lot of punch in the first entry in the series. Jana is such a sympathetic but complex character. She's going through a ton of emotions and changes and it just felt so true to life—worrying about your breast size, wondering if you have B.O., figuring out relationships with your family and friends etc..
I really didn't have many expectations going into this re-read, but I was pleasantly surprised at how well it held up and the emotional beats it struck. I'm looking forward to finishing the rest of the Taffy books and then finally diving into a full The Fabulous Five re-read.