And here at book #3, we finally have some character development!

Not to say the book doesn't have problems. I was curious if Zoey and co. would get less judgemental and rude as the series went on, so I made a tally sheet! We have 15 counts of calling people "slut" or "ho," 13 counts of "hag," 6 counts of really weird remarks around being gay, 3 very judgemental and unnecessary moments, and 1 use of the R-word. Look at that: growth. (Yes, the previous two books were worse, but I didn't get a 100% accurate tally for them, because I kept forgetting my little notebook.)

The base story, the plot, is still the best part of these books. I could live with a lot less teenage angst and drama. I was a teenager not that long ago--about a decade, if you must know. It's 2024 currently--I remember what it was like. And uh, a lot of how this book portrays teens just isn't it. The authors, just like last time, seem out of touch and trying to make up for it by excessive use of clichés.

And I'm only going to say one thing about the adult/minor relationship in this book: the authors did a terrible job making it extremely clear that kind of relationship is always inappropriate and wrong. These books are marketed directly to young girls. Do better.