Perry
I love Archie. I will always love Archie, to the point of loving Riverdale. Ahem. And there was some real fun in this, from artists I would read in reprints as a kid. But some of the gags just don't age well at this point. It's a little weird to read them now, with how far Archie has come.
Still. I will always read me some Archie Comics.
2.5 stars rounded up. It's fine. But more of the same style. Gimmick? Thrillers are always gimmicky. But at least the “crazy” person murdered someone whom everyone actually feared. But it IS always the crazy person.
There's a lot going on, and some of it works, and some of it doesn't. Some characters are naturally more interesting than others. Some of the subplots needed a bit more story to them.
There is murder, adultery, abuse, Eyes Wide Shut, immigration issues, and more. And I appreciate the concern for that latter issue, but it's too important a topic. It becomes almost just plot enhancement, rather than an actual issue. Very thrillery.
That being said, I was fascinated by the sexual/romantic relationships everyone had with Ben. Very melodramatic, but also very fun. I can always use more of that. Probably my favorite aspect of the book. Theo and Jess, not so much. That was pretty forced.
As far as the twist, I called it pretty early on.
Basically my intro to Ratajkowski
I'd vaguely heard of her a couple years ago, but had no clue who she was until this book came out. And she's a good writer. If one views this as essays about a young woman trying to figure life and feminism out, it will work better for the reader. She is young, she is contradictory, but she knows it. Even were she not a model, I feel like she delves into the complications of being hot, hounded by men for that hotness, and trying to maneuver her way around those things. I appreciate that she's vulnerable and honest about her need for male validation, even as she realizes that's a monumentally bad idea. I get some people hated this. That's completely valid. But I couldn't be more than frustrated by her, in the same way there are women I love who are treated similarly by men and crave their validation. Yes, she's a hot girl; but why does the world feel like it has a right to a woman's body, no matter who she is, how she looks, or what she shows to the public? This is just her story, her experience with that, even if it's a narrow one. Basically a woman can't win. Really, I just wanted to scold her and then give her a big hug.
My first book by Ms Morrow, even though I intended to read Mem. I'm definitely going to read that now.
Cherish Farrah is about the (basically toxic) friendship between Farrah (our titular narrator, who is also probably clinically psychopathic) and her bestie Cherish (the other titular character, who is White Girl Spoiled by her white parents, though she is Black). Their relationship is incredibly intense, so intense that it comes off as a bit queer, though both girls are either crushing on or involved with boys; they also don't have sexual tension, so much as romantic.
Farrah's parents are upper middle class and end up losing their house. Farrah ends up staying with Cherish, as the former's parents move into a smaller place that she want nothing to do with. So, mind full of machinations, overthinking, paranoia, and obsession over Cherish, Farrah plots ways to stay with Cherish and her family.
A very mild spoiler
Farrah has mother issues and is convinced her mother is just like her. She's obsessive when it comes to Cherish and only really loves Cherish. You might think this will be about a girl trying to supplant another girl in the affections of rich parents, but it isn't. By the time one character was giving another character a very specific gift, I knew things were going very badly indeed.
I found this book interesting not just for the social horror aspect, but because of our heroine. She's not likeable. She's sinister and functions on a completely different level than Cherish. Farrah is incredibly intelligent. She lacks empathy for most people. She's downright awful sometimes. She's obsessed with Cherish; the feelings are apparently mutual, even though Farrah often hurts Cherish's feelings. Farrah is dangerous but functional and uses Cherish to learn how to gauge people. She's endlessly fascinating.
In all, I plowed through this book. I enjoyed it immensely, flaws and all. And Farrah is one of the more fascinating anti-heroes I've read in a while. I didn't like her, but I loved her.