1 Followers
Good intention but executed poorly :/
There were a few things I liked about this book. I liked the dual pov structure, and I think the topics it tries to explore are incredibly important and not talked about enough in YA books. Mental health, trauma, and emotional struggles deserve thoughtful representation. Unfortunately, this book completely missed the mark for me because of how insensitive it felt at times, especially from the male protagonist’s perspective. One scene in particular really bothered me: Shelbi was crying and opening up about something deeply painful, but instead of focusing on her emotions, the narration kept shifting to descriptions of her body and the guy trying to control his sexual thoughts. It felt uncomfortable and tonedeaf. For a book centered around mental health struggles, moments like that made it hard for me to take the emotional aspects seriously. I can appreciate the intention behind the story, but the execution really didn’t work.
May 23, 2026
Good intention but executed poorly :/
There were a few things I liked about this book. I liked the dual pov structure, and I think the topics it tries to explore are incredibly important and not talked about enough in YA books. Mental health, trauma, and emotional struggles deserve thoughtful representation. Unfortunately, this book completely missed the mark for me because of how insensitive it felt at times, especially from the male protagonist’s perspective. One scene in particular really bothered me: Shelbi was crying and opening up about something deeply painful, but instead of focusing on her emotions, the narration kept shifting to descriptions of her body and the guy trying to control his sexual thoughts. It felt uncomfortable and tonedeaf. For a book centered around mental health struggles, moments like that made it hard for me to take the emotional aspects seriously. I can appreciate the intention behind the story, but the execution really didn’t work.
May 23, 2026
