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A review by omnombailey
Gena/Finn by Kat Helgeson, Hannah Moskowitz
emotional
funny
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This would be five stars if it wasn't for the last 20% of the book.
I picked this up because I wanted to read something about long-distance communication. I also had this recommended after reading Fangirl. And I was immediately hooked, too. I'm not one for epistolary stories, but it made sense. It reminded me of the friendships I've made via fandom. I was able to relate with both of the characters for completely different reasons and I loved that.
And then you get to That Part of the book and I just couldn't suspend my disbelief enough to keep enjoying it. Had I not been so far into the book, I would have stopped reading it.
Honestly, the incident itself took me off guard, which was delightful, because I love being able to read something and have the story surprise me. But then I had too many questions circulating the event. The utter disregard to how hospitals and mental health work together and on their own was baffling. I can't imagine what happened in the book to actually happen in real life.
Some people complained about Gena's poetry towards the end. I actually loved it, but then again, I grew up writing a lot of poetry similar to hers, so it made a lot of sense to me. What didn't make sense, however, was what the hell happened to Gena and Finn's relationship after That Part of the book. I feel like there was a scene or twenty missing in between all of that and the final scene. Are things better? Are they not? Are they magically in some awkward and possibly unhealthy poly thing with Charlie? I don't know. The book is never explicit about it and while I appreciate some things being left to my imagination, the fact none of this is addressed just pissed me off.
And that's the other thing. Apparently, this book is tagged as a LGBTQ+ book. I didn't realize that until after I read it and I would never call it that. Yeah, there are moments when Gena and Finn say they love each other, but it felt no different from the strong platonic love I have for some of my close fandom friends. It never felt like there was any romance or even sexual attraction. They were just really good friends. Friends can say "I love you." That's ok. I got zero vibes between them outside of that. Maybe if there was more shown than just text messages and journal posts, it would have been evident, but in its current state, the book isn't a LGBTQ+ story imo.
I still thoroughly enjoyed reading this. It was a quick read and I was attached immediately, only to be super turned off by the third part of the story. I feel like this did a better job at diving into fandom than Fangirl did by a long stretch and if it wasn't for the last part of the book, this would have a much higher rating.
I picked this up because I wanted to read something about long-distance communication. I also had this recommended after reading Fangirl. And I was immediately hooked, too. I'm not one for epistolary stories, but it made sense. It reminded me of the friendships I've made via fandom. I was able to relate with both of the characters for completely different reasons and I loved that.
And then you get to That Part of the book and I just couldn't suspend my disbelief enough to keep enjoying it. Had I not been so far into the book, I would have stopped reading it.
Honestly, the incident itself took me off guard, which was delightful, because I love being able to read something and have the story surprise me. But then I had too many questions circulating the event. The utter disregard to how hospitals and mental health work together and on their own was baffling. I can't imagine what happened in the book to actually happen in real life.
Some people complained about Gena's poetry towards the end. I actually loved it, but then again, I grew up writing a lot of poetry similar to hers, so it made a lot of sense to me. What didn't make sense, however, was what the hell happened to Gena and Finn's relationship after That Part of the book. I feel like there was a scene or twenty missing in between all of that and the final scene.
And that's the other thing. Apparently, this book is tagged as a LGBTQ+ book. I didn't realize that until after I read it and I would never call it that. Yeah, there are moments when Gena and Finn say they love each other, but it felt no different from the strong platonic love I have for some of my close fandom friends. It never felt like there was any romance or even sexual attraction. They were just really good friends. Friends can say "I love you." That's ok. I got zero vibes between them outside of that. Maybe if there was more shown than just text messages and journal posts, it would have been evident, but in its current state, the book isn't a LGBTQ+ story imo.
I still thoroughly enjoyed reading this. It was a quick read and I was attached immediately, only to be super turned off by the third part of the story. I feel like this did a better job at diving into fandom than Fangirl did by a long stretch and if it wasn't for the last part of the book, this would have a much higher rating.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Medical content, and Medical trauma
A lot of hospital/medical stuff in the last 20% of the book along with caregiving