Nguyet Tran

Good premise but the book was just too short to explore anything meaningful

Very interesting premise. Both the writing and the audiobook narration were engaging. I was very hooked at first, but ultimately left disappointed.

The book seemed to lack sympathy for women, which feels contradictory because the book was meant for women. Natalie was undeniably misogynistic and abusive. However, she was also born into a traditional family, married into a misogynistic and dysfunctional household, suffered from PPD with no real support system, and was clearly mentally unstable in the final third of her life. Despite all of this, the book treated her with very little sympathy.

It was also unclear why her sister escaped that fate while Natalie did not. Of course, different people have different personalities, and one could argue that Natalie was too prideful to admit her marriage was failing. Still, what fundamentally made her so different from her sister, who was able to accept reality and leave? For a book seemingly aimed at exploring women’s experiences, I wish the author had examined more deeply how systems and societal expectations shaped each woman’s choices and behavior, instead of leaving it so vague and attributing everything to personality.

Additionally, when Natalie was clearly losing her mind, Caleb did almost nothing to help her. She went to jail for child neglect, but shouldn’t Caleb, the fully functional adult in the situation, also have been held severely accountable? Instead, the ending seemed laser-focused on Natalie’s downfall, portraying it in the most pathetic and humiliating way possible.

Overall, it felt like the author simply wanted the worst possible outcome for Natalie and forced the story in that direction.

That said, I still think it’s a very engrossing book. If you’re mainly looking for entertainment and plot twists, it definitely works.

the protagonist is very annoying

interesting viewpoints, engaging narration, and concise argument.

A concise book with interesting takes

I feel embarrassed writing this review because now the internet and all my friends will know I read this book. However, I feel a deep sense of duty to warn society against this mess and a strong desperation to vent. If any friend of mine read this, in my defense, I read the Dutch translation to improve my Dutch as the chapters are short and the writing seems simple, not because I like this kind of thing. And I even had to turn to the English version for the last half because I could not prolong the torture to myself.

First, why isn't this book cancelled? It's literally promoting misogyny. Belly literally slut shamed her best friend and there's one freaking chapter to talk about two best friends competing for male gaze. Okay I would expect that if Belly and Taylor were just teenagers, they might have that phase and they would grow up. However, it was not resolved at all by the end of the book, which clearly shows that Jenny Han is definitely not a girl's girl. Additionally, the whole book revolves around Belly becoming pretty and everyone loving her for being pretty. Isn't that super shallow? It would be a hundred times better if Jenny Han can write more about her other qualities. Instead, she made this super selfish, self-centred character that is so annoying, obnoxious, and delusional, but somehow, everyone falls for her. Do people really buy this?

Second, Jenny Han, I really question your ethics. Why are you violating the bro codes? Why is your protagonist mingling with TWO BIOLOGICAL BROTHERS?????? AND EVEN TWO OTHER BOOKS TO CONTINUE MINGLING WITH TWO BIOLOGICAL BROTHERS?????

Third, I think Jenny Han has some unhealthy fantasies. Belly disliked Cam because he asked for her permissions before kissing and he respected her boundaries and he didn't smoke, drink, or do anything crazy. Belly fell for Conrad who was mentally unstable and emotionally unavailable, who was constantly toying with her emotions. Guess who's the chosen one. I'm really concerned that teenagers might have the wrong perception because of Jenny Han. Respecting others' boundaries is a good thing, you shouldn't discourage it Jenny Han!

The book is so bad that it makes the tv series look like an Oscar-worthy material.

Overall, it is a good introduction to how the brain functions. However, the author can get sidetracked very often. The immense amount of sidetracked information in confusing neuroscientific jargon can make readers lose focus very easily.

I quickly skimmed through the English version because I do not have the patience to read the Dutch version and prolong this folly any longer.

I think all characters need therapy.

Apparently, I'm a masochist because after the disastrous first book, I still pushed myself through the second one. On the bright side, I learned almost 300 new Dutch words and slangs. On the not so bright side I spent hours listening to out-of-touch issues from rich teenagers.

Phenomenal theme and metaphors are diminished by the dull writing. Overall this is still a good read.