Last month, I posted my DNF reviews of books throughout the first half of 2019 here. In July, I ended up dnfing two earcs.
Not Hungry by Kate Karyus Quinn
A special thank you to Netgalley and West 44 Books for providing a free advance digital copy in exchange for an honest review.
I was looking forward to this book, but it just kept getting worse and worse until I dnfed it at 61%. I rarely ever dnf something this far in, especially when it's this short, but I legitimately couldn't finish it. This may have a few spoilers, but the content was not sensitively portrayed and far too graphic. I felt really uncomfortable with the far too detailed descriptions of June puking after binging, but hoped it would get better. This is also a poorly written verse novel, but I could see that not bothering some other people. The part I ended up dnfing is when someone records June binging and then puking and I just can't read that video being released. None of the characters are likable or really any more than two dimensional. The content was insensitively and horrifically portrayed and if you have ever had issues with food in any context, this book is not a sensitive and respectful portrayal of people with eating disorders.
The Gamer's Guide to Getting the Girl by Kristine Scarrow
A special thank you to Netgalley and Dundurn for providing a free advance digital copy in exchange for an honest review.
Everyone I follow on twitter and goodreads that managed to snag a ARC of this early hated it, but I still wanted to give it a try., especially since I hate not getting to ARCs eventually. However, I can tell only 7% into it that this is a story of a sexist teenage boy who "redeems" himself and becomes a good guy in the end and gets the girl because he's a hero now and she "owes" him. The number of sexist comments that didn't seem intentional on the author's part in this first little bit was impressively high. I just wasn't about to make myself suffer through this story, especially when I have so many other books that aren't full of misogyny. For example, it's a big deal that a girl enters the store because, according to our main character, a girl has never set foot in there... yeah, no I'm not reading that. However, being trapped in the mall during a storm is a cute idea. I didn't want to force myself to read to that point, especially with the sexism leaping off the page.
Have you read either of these? Should I have pushed through and tried to finish them? If not, are you going to give them a try anyway? Sometimes dnfs make the decision to read a book, based on what I didn't like. Be sure to let me know in the comments- or maybe even link up your own review.
Thanks for reading!
Alyssa
Not Hungry by Kate Karyus Quinn
A special thank you to Netgalley and West 44 Books for providing a free advance digital copy in exchange for an honest review.
I was looking forward to this book, but it just kept getting worse and worse until I dnfed it at 61%. I rarely ever dnf something this far in, especially when it's this short, but I legitimately couldn't finish it. This may have a few spoilers, but the content was not sensitively portrayed and far too graphic. I felt really uncomfortable with the far too detailed descriptions of June puking after binging, but hoped it would get better. This is also a poorly written verse novel, but I could see that not bothering some other people. The part I ended up dnfing is when someone records June binging and then puking and I just can't read that video being released. None of the characters are likable or really any more than two dimensional. The content was insensitively and horrifically portrayed and if you have ever had issues with food in any context, this book is not a sensitive and respectful portrayal of people with eating disorders.
The Gamer's Guide to Getting the Girl by Kristine Scarrow
A special thank you to Netgalley and Dundurn for providing a free advance digital copy in exchange for an honest review.
Everyone I follow on twitter and goodreads that managed to snag a ARC of this early hated it, but I still wanted to give it a try., especially since I hate not getting to ARCs eventually. However, I can tell only 7% into it that this is a story of a sexist teenage boy who "redeems" himself and becomes a good guy in the end and gets the girl because he's a hero now and she "owes" him. The number of sexist comments that didn't seem intentional on the author's part in this first little bit was impressively high. I just wasn't about to make myself suffer through this story, especially when I have so many other books that aren't full of misogyny. For example, it's a big deal that a girl enters the store because, according to our main character, a girl has never set foot in there... yeah, no I'm not reading that. However, being trapped in the mall during a storm is a cute idea. I didn't want to force myself to read to that point, especially with the sexism leaping off the page.
Have you read either of these? Should I have pushed through and tried to finish them? If not, are you going to give them a try anyway? Sometimes dnfs make the decision to read a book, based on what I didn't like. Be sure to let me know in the comments- or maybe even link up your own review.
Thanks for reading!
Alyssa
I feel like it's best to DNF books if they don't capture us early on. I used to always have to finish whatever I start, but nowadays, I'm trying to be cooler and more comfortable about letting certain reads "go." Like you say, there are just too many others that in all liklihood we'd enjoy better! :)
ReplyDeleteI always feel like I "have" to finish, but it really great just to go with what grabs us. I still feel like I have to read at least 10%, but I need to work on that in some cases.
DeleteThanks for commenting!