I was so excited to get this book in the mail, as it was also my first book from BookishFirst, but upon settling down with it and getting into the first two chapters, I was utterly disappointed.
The plot description on the back of the book – and as was described on BookishFirst's website caught my attention and carried me all the way into the second chapter, but I just couldn't get past the author's incessant need to over-describe absolutely everything. The way she moves her hand through her hair, the way she eats her salad, the way she washes her face while ignoring those in the other room... it was just too much. It came across as a "show don't tell" demonstration, but one that needed to show these events through actions rather than narrative description.
This book is written in a third person narration and could have likely benefitted from a first-person point of view, as the author really wants readers to connect with Emily, the protagonist.
Between the over-describing, the insecurity around her lack of pronouns due to same gender characters in a scene, and the slow progress from one movement to the next, this book could have used some additional editing and skimming down on the descriptions in order to make it more enticing for readers.
This book has a lot of potential, but could have definitely used a few more rounds of editing before being published. It reads more like a student's MFA Creative Writing project where they are constantly told to "describe more".
The plot description on the back of the book – and as was described on BookishFirst's website caught my attention and carried me all the way into the second chapter, but I just couldn't get past the author's incessant need to over-describe absolutely everything. The way she moves her hand through her hair, the way she eats her salad, the way she washes her face while ignoring those in the other room... it was just too much. It came across as a "show don't tell" demonstration, but one that needed to show these events through actions rather than narrative description.
This book is written in a third person narration and could have likely benefitted from a first-person point of view, as the author really wants readers to connect with Emily, the protagonist.
Between the over-describing, the insecurity around her lack of pronouns due to same gender characters in a scene, and the slow progress from one movement to the next, this book could have used some additional editing and skimming down on the descriptions in order to make it more enticing for readers.
This book has a lot of potential, but could have definitely used a few more rounds of editing before being published. It reads more like a student's MFA Creative Writing project where they are constantly told to "describe more".