In this case I feel like it's a bit too early to tell if I would like this or not. But I'm certainly intrigued how the author is gonna go about the rest of the book!
My biggest issue as of right now is that the main character seems a bit too one-dimensional and clichéd for my taste: An outcast among the girls, mistreated by boys who use her for her body, poorer than her classmates and probably all these people she will encounter in the industry, abandoned by her father and not understood by her mother. And, of course, she's beautiful, but she doesn't know it yet. The underdog trope is just very very on the nose. She would have seemed more human, rather than a Cinderella-figure, if she was already introduced as someone who has character flaws, who is occasionally known to make a mistake etc.
That being said, I really liked a lot about this.
For instance, the language and metaphors etc. are really cool. ("I think daughters must lie inside their mothers like Russian dolls. Stacked bowls, one on top of the other." slayed!! Like, hello???) The author has a talent for portraying the feeling of a space, for instance, the constrictive energy of her new home. Unexpected but precise descriptions like "I fish my underwear out of my butt crack" or "My mom licks her hand and flattens my flyaways with her spit" really make the scenes come to life.
I love the mystery beginning, our main protagonist other than the narrator being just "A girl"... it doesn't matter who, I suppose.
"Let’s begin with my body." Is a killer first sentence. And the author gets refreshingly real about bodies. I have definitely already seen authors portray girls' horror at their budding breasts, but I was pleasantly surprised at "I am afraid of the hair growing between my legs". Similarly, I liked that Amber's first experience with her own sexual desire is shown. Like yes, let teenage girls in books be horny and sexually curious!! In general, there was a matter of factness about the way bodies are described so far, like that guy's small penis, the mention of a girl fishing underwear out of her butt crack etc.
All in all, based off what I've seen I think this book could contain some really interesting takes on girl- and womanhood, I just hope the main character will get a believable personality soon.
My biggest issue as of right now is that the main character seems a bit too one-dimensional and clichéd for my taste: An outcast among the girls, mistreated by boys who use her for her body, poorer than her classmates and probably all these people she will encounter in the industry, abandoned by her father and not understood by her mother. And, of course, she's beautiful, but she doesn't know it yet. The underdog trope is just very very on the nose. She would have seemed more human, rather than a Cinderella-figure, if she was already introduced as someone who has character flaws, who is occasionally known to make a mistake etc.
That being said, I really liked a lot about this.
For instance, the language and metaphors etc. are really cool. ("I think daughters must lie inside their mothers like Russian dolls. Stacked bowls, one on top of the other." slayed!! Like, hello???) The author has a talent for portraying the feeling of a space, for instance, the constrictive energy of her new home. Unexpected but precise descriptions like "I fish my underwear out of my butt crack" or "My mom licks her hand and flattens my flyaways with her spit" really make the scenes come to life.
I love the mystery beginning, our main protagonist other than the narrator being just "A girl"... it doesn't matter who, I suppose.
"Let’s begin with my body." Is a killer first sentence. And the author gets refreshingly real about bodies. I have definitely already seen authors portray girls' horror at their budding breasts, but I was pleasantly surprised at "I am afraid of the hair growing between my legs". Similarly, I liked that Amber's first experience with her own sexual desire is shown. Like yes, let teenage girls in books be horny and sexually curious!! In general, there was a matter of factness about the way bodies are described so far, like that guy's small penis, the mention of a girl fishing underwear out of her butt crack etc.
All in all, based off what I've seen I think this book could contain some really interesting takes on girl- and womanhood, I just hope the main character will get a believable personality soon.