The last two ARCs I read were remarkably similar. They were both contemporaries, they both involved planes, they were both about kids separated from their parents somehow because of a plane, and they were both giant disappointments.
THE UPSIDE OF FALLING DOWN by Rebekah Crane
Standalone
247 pages
Published by Skyscape, January 30th, 2018
Diversity: minor gay Jewish character, minor bisexual (probably? no label used) character
Rating: ★★
I really wanted to like this one. There were so many things in it that I really should have loved, but it was rare that I found myself feeling anything other than indifference. I also had a few problems with the book that made it go from "maybe I'm just reading this at the wrong time" to "this is definitely not for me."
Firstly, let's examine our main character, Clementine. There's a difference between having a character who's unlikable but complex and interesting and having actual motivations behind their actions...and having a character who's just plain unlikable. Clementine repeatedly invades other people's privacy with no good reason other than "oh, maybe this will help improve our relationship!" In what world does an invasion of privacy help a relationship? She also repeatedly lies to people, which, okay, does allow the entire premise of the book to happen, but it gets a little ridiculous.
Another thing that bothered me was how the diversity was presented. We have a gay character who's allowed to flat-out say that from literally the first chapter, but the possibly bisexual character only gets to say that he "likes pretty people." There are people who don't describe themselves as bisexual even if it's a term that could apply, and that's fine, but there's already so much stigma around actually using it that having your one character avoid it with no explanation is not the greatest choice. I don't think the gay character was handled perfectly, either. He's a minor enough character that his three defining traits are gay, Jewish, and kind. I'm pretty sure he's literally described as "gay and Jewish" at three separate points during the book, even when those things are relevant once at best. I'm desperate for queer Jewish rep, but this kind of felt like "here's my token character!! don't forget about my token character!!"
The shining star of this book was one of the supporting characters: Siobhan O'Connell. She's the love interest's twin sister, and she's originally placed as Clementine's antagonist (which is another thing I had a bit of a problem with - having your only two female characters dislike each other for what is, at that point, no apparent reason? really?), but she gets a really nice backstory and character development arc. Even after everything I didn't like about this book, I would read an entire book about Siobhan immediately. She's snarky with a soft inside, she's unapologetically opinionated, and she makes mistakes and learns to deal with the consequences.
There were some other things about this book that annoyed me, but they really start to get into spoiler territory and are much more minor than the things I've already said. Basically, for pretty much every interesting thing about this book (besides Siobhan), I think you can find a better option.
LAYOVER by Amy Andelson and Emily Meyer
Standalone
272 pages
Published by Crown Books for Young Readers, February 6th, 2018
Diversity: one of three main characters has OCD, minor Indian character, possibly more
Rating: DNF less than half-way through, no rating
This was...wow. I don't DNF many books (even though I've been doing it more lately), but I just couldn't make myself finish this one. I tried! Out of the three POV characters, there was one I had strong negative feelings about, one I didn't really have much of an opinion on, and one who I really liked, and I tried to keep reading for her, but I couldn't. Everything else was just too much, and the reviews that I read about this book assured me that it wasn't going to get better anytime soon.
The biggest thing that bothered me about this book was the constant deluge of the "I'm/you're/she's not like other girls" idea. Can we stop with this already? I felt like no matter whose point of view I was reading, I just couldn't escape this. I didn't literally keep track, but it felt like it was happening on every page. In any case, it was way too much.
One thing that I shouldn't personally hold against this book because I would have known it if I'd read the blurb a bit more carefully is that this is a step-sibling romance, which I feel...kind of icky about. Granted, they won't be step-siblings much longer, because - super-minor spoiler alert! - their parents are getting a divorce, but still. Even if you're not technically blood relatives, you're family, and I don't want to read about that.
The thing that I almost kept reading for was the OCD rep. At the point that I stopped, it wasn't entirely clear whether Poppy, the younger sibling, had OCD or another anxiety disorder, but it was clear that something was going on, and I am so here for mental illness representation. Especially in younger kids! Even if the book isn't necessarily aimed at younger kids, it's still important to have representation in all ages. In the end though, it wasn't enough to keep me reading. I'm also not the best authority on whether it was handled well, since I don't have OCD myself, so I'd try to find an #ownvoices reviewer for that, if possible.
What's the last book you read that partially took place on a plane? What about the last disappointing book you read? Tell me in the comments!
THE UPSIDE OF FALLING DOWN by Rebekah CraneStandalone
247 pages
Published by Skyscape, January 30th, 2018
Diversity: minor gay Jewish character, minor bisexual (probably? no label used) character
Rating: ★★
I really wanted to like this one. There were so many things in it that I really should have loved, but it was rare that I found myself feeling anything other than indifference. I also had a few problems with the book that made it go from "maybe I'm just reading this at the wrong time" to "this is definitely not for me."
Firstly, let's examine our main character, Clementine. There's a difference between having a character who's unlikable but complex and interesting and having actual motivations behind their actions...and having a character who's just plain unlikable. Clementine repeatedly invades other people's privacy with no good reason other than "oh, maybe this will help improve our relationship!" In what world does an invasion of privacy help a relationship? She also repeatedly lies to people, which, okay, does allow the entire premise of the book to happen, but it gets a little ridiculous.
Another thing that bothered me was how the diversity was presented. We have a gay character who's allowed to flat-out say that from literally the first chapter, but the possibly bisexual character only gets to say that he "likes pretty people." There are people who don't describe themselves as bisexual even if it's a term that could apply, and that's fine, but there's already so much stigma around actually using it that having your one character avoid it with no explanation is not the greatest choice. I don't think the gay character was handled perfectly, either. He's a minor enough character that his three defining traits are gay, Jewish, and kind. I'm pretty sure he's literally described as "gay and Jewish" at three separate points during the book, even when those things are relevant once at best. I'm desperate for queer Jewish rep, but this kind of felt like "here's my token character!! don't forget about my token character!!"
The shining star of this book was one of the supporting characters: Siobhan O'Connell. She's the love interest's twin sister, and she's originally placed as Clementine's antagonist (which is another thing I had a bit of a problem with - having your only two female characters dislike each other for what is, at that point, no apparent reason? really?), but she gets a really nice backstory and character development arc. Even after everything I didn't like about this book, I would read an entire book about Siobhan immediately. She's snarky with a soft inside, she's unapologetically opinionated, and she makes mistakes and learns to deal with the consequences.
There were some other things about this book that annoyed me, but they really start to get into spoiler territory and are much more minor than the things I've already said. Basically, for pretty much every interesting thing about this book (besides Siobhan), I think you can find a better option.
LAYOVER by Amy Andelson and Emily MeyerStandalone
272 pages
Published by Crown Books for Young Readers, February 6th, 2018
Diversity: one of three main characters has OCD, minor Indian character, possibly more
Rating: DNF less than half-way through, no rating
This was...wow. I don't DNF many books (even though I've been doing it more lately), but I just couldn't make myself finish this one. I tried! Out of the three POV characters, there was one I had strong negative feelings about, one I didn't really have much of an opinion on, and one who I really liked, and I tried to keep reading for her, but I couldn't. Everything else was just too much, and the reviews that I read about this book assured me that it wasn't going to get better anytime soon.
The biggest thing that bothered me about this book was the constant deluge of the "I'm/you're/she's not like other girls" idea. Can we stop with this already? I felt like no matter whose point of view I was reading, I just couldn't escape this. I didn't literally keep track, but it felt like it was happening on every page. In any case, it was way too much.
One thing that I shouldn't personally hold against this book because I would have known it if I'd read the blurb a bit more carefully is that this is a step-sibling romance, which I feel...kind of icky about. Granted, they won't be step-siblings much longer, because - super-minor spoiler alert! - their parents are getting a divorce, but still. Even if you're not technically blood relatives, you're family, and I don't want to read about that.
The thing that I almost kept reading for was the OCD rep. At the point that I stopped, it wasn't entirely clear whether Poppy, the younger sibling, had OCD or another anxiety disorder, but it was clear that something was going on, and I am so here for mental illness representation. Especially in younger kids! Even if the book isn't necessarily aimed at younger kids, it's still important to have representation in all ages. In the end though, it wasn't enough to keep me reading. I'm also not the best authority on whether it was handled well, since I don't have OCD myself, so I'd try to find an #ownvoices reviewer for that, if possible.
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