A review by laurenjpegler
After Ever Happy by Anna Todd
2.0
I FINALLY FINISHED THIS BOOK!!! it was awful lmao, but the epilogue was so much better than how Anna ended it on wattpad. It's nice to see hardin happy after everything he went through. he deserves it so much :)))
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okay, I've taken some time to come to terms with this book and I finally want to share my opinions of it with you. firstly, when I read this fanfic for the first time on wattpad, I loved it; however, I now think I only enjoyed it because it was essentially based on Harry Styles. I overlooked the underlying and serious issues that should be illuminated and now that's what I'm here to do.
Essentially this book was an adventure. The amount of crap that Anna Todd put us through with this book was ridiculous. At least in every chapter there was something going on, and in every novel there was a major plot twist - but this still does not make up for the dark and twisted elements that accompany it.
Firstly, in the fanfiction, Anna adopts real life people in her story and makes unspeakable things happen to them. Yes, I know that this is fanfic so the five members of one direction are obviously going to be central the story, but there is no excuse for using Harry's mother, Anne, to be depicted as weak character who was treated like crap (by her own son) and raped. I understand that authors have the liberty to allow whatever they want happen to their character, but Anna used a real woman and wrote about her being raped. She didn't even have the audacity to change her name? As this fanfiction is so popular I have no doubt that either Harry or Anne have heard about it, and if I were one of them and read that I/my mother got raped, I would feel sick. Would you not?
Secondly, this relationship is emotionally abusive. Both Harry/Hardin and Tessa pick fights with each other, uses the others weaknesses to fuel their arguments and are constantly back and forth with each other. It is not a healthy relationship to depict to an audience who seriously look up and aspire to have a relationship like this. The amount of young readers who have read this and think Hardin is the best boyfriend, or that Tessa is the idealistic women to look up to, is just shocking. I'm worried that Anna has overshadowed these negative things about this relationship by suggesting their love is like one "of the novels", but Catherine/Heathcliff and Darcy/Elizabeth are not healthy relationships to have. By portraying their relationship as positive because they'll always be together in some way is really not okay. It sets a bad example for all of Anna's readers.
Thirdly, I question if any of this series is actually original and inventive. As a lover of classics, I see a lot of Austen and Bronte in this novel and nothing that makes it her own. Essentially, her characters and storyline are her own, but the characterisation and language is not. I couldn't even count on one hand how many times she makes references to classic novels, and how many times she uses quotes directly from them. I understand that authors get their inspirations from other authors, but I just feel like she relied on them and their stories far too much throughout the series. She should be reinventing the story and making it her own, but she doesn't and that upsets me. There is no doubt that she's a brilliant writer and her imagination is incredible, and I wish this was reflected more in her series.
There are a lot more stuff that is seriously wrong about this series, for example: Hardin having sex with Tessa for a bet (knowing full well she is a virgin), Hardin being physically abusive towards Zed, etc. and I think it needs to be highlighted. I think what annoys me most about this series is that Anna has taken Harry Styles (and for anyone who knows him knows he a lovely guy) and turned him into someone I hate? Yes, Anna has taken a twist on his character and personality, but it's too much. People who have read this book and never really had an opinion of Harry definitely don't have a positive view on him now.
Despite this, the series wasn't awful - there were some elements that I really enjoyed like the epilogue. In the fanfic, Anna finished with an ending that didn't suit either of the characters we saw develop through the novels, but fortunately she was given the chance to re-write it when this series was published, and I'm so thankful she did. I got to see a character who was so problematic transition into someone who I ended up loving. I was really rooting for Hardin to become better, and for that I'm more than overjoyed with how it ended.
-----------
okay, I've taken some time to come to terms with this book and I finally want to share my opinions of it with you. firstly, when I read this fanfic for the first time on wattpad, I loved it; however, I now think I only enjoyed it because it was essentially based on Harry Styles. I overlooked the underlying and serious issues that should be illuminated and now that's what I'm here to do.
Essentially this book was an adventure. The amount of crap that Anna Todd put us through with this book was ridiculous. At least in every chapter there was something going on, and in every novel there was a major plot twist - but this still does not make up for the dark and twisted elements that accompany it.
Firstly, in the fanfiction, Anna adopts real life people in her story and makes unspeakable things happen to them. Yes, I know that this is fanfic so the five members of one direction are obviously going to be central the story, but there is no excuse for using Harry's mother, Anne, to be depicted as weak character who was treated like crap (by her own son) and raped. I understand that authors have the liberty to allow whatever they want happen to their character, but Anna used a real woman and wrote about her being raped. She didn't even have the audacity to change her name? As this fanfiction is so popular I have no doubt that either Harry or Anne have heard about it, and if I were one of them and read that I/my mother got raped, I would feel sick. Would you not?
Secondly, this relationship is emotionally abusive. Both Harry/Hardin and Tessa pick fights with each other, uses the others weaknesses to fuel their arguments and are constantly back and forth with each other. It is not a healthy relationship to depict to an audience who seriously look up and aspire to have a relationship like this. The amount of young readers who have read this and think Hardin is the best boyfriend, or that Tessa is the idealistic women to look up to, is just shocking. I'm worried that Anna has overshadowed these negative things about this relationship by suggesting their love is like one "of the novels", but Catherine/Heathcliff and Darcy/Elizabeth are not healthy relationships to have. By portraying their relationship as positive because they'll always be together in some way is really not okay. It sets a bad example for all of Anna's readers.
Thirdly, I question if any of this series is actually original and inventive. As a lover of classics, I see a lot of Austen and Bronte in this novel and nothing that makes it her own. Essentially, her characters and storyline are her own, but the characterisation and language is not. I couldn't even count on one hand how many times she makes references to classic novels, and how many times she uses quotes directly from them. I understand that authors get their inspirations from other authors, but I just feel like she relied on them and their stories far too much throughout the series. She should be reinventing the story and making it her own, but she doesn't and that upsets me. There is no doubt that she's a brilliant writer and her imagination is incredible, and I wish this was reflected more in her series.
There are a lot more stuff that is seriously wrong about this series, for example: Hardin having sex with Tessa for a bet (knowing full well she is a virgin), Hardin being physically abusive towards Zed, etc. and I think it needs to be highlighted. I think what annoys me most about this series is that Anna has taken Harry Styles (and for anyone who knows him knows he a lovely guy) and turned him into someone I hate? Yes, Anna has taken a twist on his character and personality, but it's too much. People who have read this book and never really had an opinion of Harry definitely don't have a positive view on him now.
Despite this, the series wasn't awful - there were some elements that I really enjoyed like the epilogue. In the fanfic, Anna finished with an ending that didn't suit either of the characters we saw develop through the novels, but fortunately she was given the chance to re-write it when this series was published, and I'm so thankful she did. I got to see a character who was so problematic transition into someone who I ended up loving. I was really rooting for Hardin to become better, and for that I'm more than overjoyed with how it ended.