Broken
I read 25% of this while I had insomnia last night, and I really wanted to like it, but I ultimately ended up DNFing for two main reasons:
1. The characters are insufferable. I tried to have empathy for the protagonist because of her condition. I DID. But I gave up after she refused to stand up for herself at all. I mean a bully literally lights her sweater on FIRE and she gets burned, and all she does is vomit on the floor. Not to mention, WHAT SCHOOL doesn't suspend or even EXPEL a child that lights another child on fire in science class?? WHAT?!
And then, her mother is the school nurse in a high school, and she treats her teenage daughter like she is a 5 year old. She walks up to her in the hallway and babies her in front of the entire school. Also does this in the cafeteria during lunchtime and it made me so freaking angry. What mother doesn't understand that that shit is social SUICIDE in high school? And of course when she leaves the cafeteria the other kids attack Scarlet and throw food and tampons at her and somehow her mother doesn't hear this from out in the hallway?
2. Plot holes. Which I basically mentioned already above, but things were NOT adding up here. I really wanted to leave notes in the margins as if I was editing it but it was on my Kindle so I couldn't. I am sure if I had read on, this would have continued and since I could not tolerate the characters, I just didn't want to bother.
I also felt the book really lacked a focus. Was it just trying to be a YA contemporary? There was a mystery starting just as I was quitting, so I think there was more to it but the entire first 25% of the book was about a girl's first day at school and everything she endured and the people she met. I feel it took too long to get going, and if it was to be a thriller which is what the blurb made it seem, where was the thrilling part of the story?
The writing itself wasn't bad though it was nothing special. I think there were a lot of good ideas here but the execution was pretty all over the place. I know this author writes adult novels as well, so maybe those are better. I hope.
8
