thinking i might DNF this YA novel it's simply not that good…
i really wanted to give it a good shot but i’m only like 50% of the way through and the romance is shite and the protagonist is completely lacking in perspective and i don’t want to do this all over again
this author does a really good job of portraying like, a local immigrant community in an urban context, but is absolutely AWFUL at connecting its ideas of “activism” or “justice” to any kind of historical perspective; it’s like maybe if i, a twenty‐something, get a radio show and say the right words, i can inspire change
which is obviously just wishful thinking on the part of the author, who is trying to say the right words and inspire change, but that’s not how the game works. words will not defeat colonialism and the whole thing reads as youthful naïveté
which is a right missed opportunity for an author who could be spending their time educating the youth on how actual successful activism and historical activist/justice movements have operated and succeeded
but it doesn’t feel like they’ve done that homework
in the end it feels extremely self‐aggrandizing regarding the power of words to enact change, which is a pervasive problem among writers in general and not in any way historically or scientifically founded
it’s excusable in a sense in that it is entirely in‐character and understandable for the protagonist to feel these ways and have these misunderstandings, but i really don’t want to have to listen to them for 52 bloody chapters lol
“in Canada, women are encouraged to embrace an individualist mindset and abandon collective responsibility”
please just give me a book which is not entirely about some youthful protagonist achieving her own, highly‐specific, individual dreams slash power fantasies
please just give me a book about someone who understands collective responsibility and has a historical perspective regarding activism and change