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A review by slrtwps
Call It What You Want by Brigid Kemmerer
3.0
3.5 Stars.
Another book that was doing well until the last 20%...
It took a second to get used to the writing—the method of exposition at the beginning was one I didn't like, but that's not uncommon and once that was over it was easy to read. I'm not sure what it was about the story, because I didn't particularly like any of the characters, but I didn't want to put it down and had no trouble reading for long periods without even realising I had been reading for so long—something that doesn't usually happen for me anymore. So I enjoyed my time reading it and thought it was going to be at least 4 stars, depending on the ending.
And then the last 20% happened. I've read a string of books in the last few months where I'm loving them and maybe even thinking they'll be 5 stars, only for the last 10-30% to ruin it all. I was hoping this wouldn't be one of them, but it was. Although in its defence, there's nothing really wrong with how it ended, it's just my preference.
The whole book was fairly predictable, but I don't mind predictable if it isn't also frustrating. Reading characters making decisions and doing things that I know are going to end badly is something I find frustrating. Which is why I put the book down when I got to chapter 35 and went to bed last night instead of staying up to finish it because I knew how that was going to go. And then everything after it was equally as frustratingly predictable. I skimmed most of everything beyond that point because I was eye-rolling too hard.
The end was rushed and unrealistic. To be fair, a lot of the book was unrealistic, but the end especially.
And then they have a happily ever after. Everything works out in the end, down to his school librarian having a basement apartment for him to stay in while his mother serves her 90 days. I find nothing more infuriating than a bad guy getting away with screwing people over and there's nothing that can be done about it (which is funny considering I just read and loved the Six of Crows duology), but having it all work out so perfectly isn't any more satisfying.
Same goes for Samantha. She's in this awful situation and it's all resolved with one public confrontation. All that drama and it's over in a chapter. Except that, we don't even get a proper resolution there because what happened to the professor? And she got drunk while pregnant, what were the consequences for that? Or maybe I missed it in my skimming. ***END SPOILERS***
I don't like parties in YA because it almost always leads to unnecessary confrontation and consequences, and this one was no exception. I skimmed parts of those scenes too.
There was insta-love involved between the main characters, but I was in the mood for a romance so I didn't totally mind. They're sort-of-friends and then they're at a party and she realises she really likes him and all of a sudden they're making out and undressing in a stranger's house. They were cute together, Rob was really sweet with her and was big on consent—always checking that Maegan was okay with what was happening—which was refreshing to read, but it felt so fast. I was worried something worse was going to happen between them because there was so much time left in the book and it's pretty rare for a couple to get together so early and not have something go wrong before the end. But it wasn't too much of a fallout.
Rachel cares about Maegan and is worried about her, but also stops all contact with her after one confrontation—a confrontation in which she and her boyfriend were assholes to Maegan and the guy she likes? I don't understand the thought process there, it makes no sense. At least it wasn't all completely forgiven and back to normal with them, I appreciated that Maegan still needed time.
And what happened to the calculus project? All the times they met up to do homework, did they ever actually work on it?
In the end, I liked this way more than Letter to the Lost, although that isn't much of an accomplishment considering how much I disliked Letters to the Lost. This is only the second book I've read from this author but I noticed it followed a similar formula. At least I didn't dislike the characters in this one.
Side note: I love the cover, it was one of the main reasons I picked it up. The other was that it shares a name with one of my favourite Taylor Swift songs.
Review Date: June 27, 2020
Another book that was doing well until the last 20%...
It took a second to get used to the writing—the method of exposition at the beginning was one I didn't like, but that's not uncommon and once that was over it was easy to read. I'm not sure what it was about the story, because I didn't particularly like any of the characters, but I didn't want to put it down and had no trouble reading for long periods without even realising I had been reading for so long—something that doesn't usually happen for me anymore. So I enjoyed my time reading it and thought it was going to be at least 4 stars, depending on the ending.
And then the last 20% happened. I've read a string of books in the last few months where I'm loving them and maybe even thinking they'll be 5 stars, only for the last 10-30% to ruin it all. I was hoping this wouldn't be one of them, but it was. Although in its defence, there's nothing really wrong with how it ended, it's just my preference.
The whole book was fairly predictable, but I don't mind predictable if it isn't also frustrating. Reading characters making decisions and doing things that I know are going to end badly is something I find frustrating. Which is why I put the book down when I got to chapter 35 and went to bed last night instead of staying up to finish it because I knew how that was going to go. And then everything after it was equally as frustratingly predictable. I skimmed most of everything beyond that point because I was eye-rolling too hard.
The end was rushed and unrealistic. To be fair, a lot of the book was unrealistic, but the end especially.
Spoiler
***SPOILERS*** You have a guy clever enough to scam dozens of people while making sure to cover his tracks and set up his friend to take the fall if anything goes wrong, get away with all of it and carry on like the hero even after the police were crawling over everything, only to be thwarted by his teenage son? The guy literally says, "Rob, if the feds didn't find anything when they came after your dad, they're not going to find anything now." But his son goes into the office and magically finds the exact files that prove what his father has been doing?And then they have a happily ever after. Everything works out in the end, down to his school librarian having a basement apartment for him to stay in while his mother serves her 90 days. I find nothing more infuriating than a bad guy getting away with screwing people over and there's nothing that can be done about it (which is funny considering I just read and loved the Six of Crows duology), but having it all work out so perfectly isn't any more satisfying.
Same goes for Samantha. She's in this awful situation and it's all resolved with one public confrontation. All that drama and it's over in a chapter. Except that, we don't even get a proper resolution there because what happened to the professor? And she got drunk while pregnant, what were the consequences for that? Or maybe I missed it in my skimming. ***END SPOILERS***
I don't like parties in YA because it almost always leads to unnecessary confrontation and consequences, and this one was no exception. I skimmed parts of those scenes too.
There was insta-love involved between the main characters, but I was in the mood for a romance so I didn't totally mind. They're sort-of-friends and then they're at a party and she realises she really likes him and all of a sudden they're making out and undressing in a stranger's house. They were cute together, Rob was really sweet with her and was big on consent—always checking that Maegan was okay with what was happening—which was refreshing to read, but it felt so fast. I was worried something worse was going to happen between them because there was so much time left in the book and it's pretty rare for a couple to get together so early and not have something go wrong before the end. But it wasn't too much of a fallout.
Rachel cares about Maegan and is worried about her, but also stops all contact with her after one confrontation—a confrontation in which she and her boyfriend were assholes to Maegan and the guy she likes? I don't understand the thought process there, it makes no sense. At least it wasn't all completely forgiven and back to normal with them, I appreciated that Maegan still needed time.
And what happened to the calculus project? All the times they met up to do homework, did they ever actually work on it?
In the end, I liked this way more than Letter to the Lost, although that isn't much of an accomplishment considering how much I disliked Letters to the Lost. This is only the second book I've read from this author but I noticed it followed a similar formula. At least I didn't dislike the characters in this one.
Side note: I love the cover, it was one of the main reasons I picked it up. The other was that it shares a name with one of my favourite Taylor Swift songs.
Review Date: June 27, 2020