The Desert Prince

DNF - PG 30 (ish, I think)

Why?

The first thing you need to know is that I refused to buy this book because I trusted neither the book or the author (who I'd never read anything from before) enough to spend money on it. I was waiting for my library to get it. They did, but it was the Graphic Audio which is a full cast, cinematic audiobook. Their tagline is ‘a movie in your mind'.

➤ So, first up, I had a major knee-jerk reaction to the accents of most of the characters and Olive specifically. It sounds very southern United States to me, which did nothing but throw me off. Olive's older sister (Mina?) has a completely different accent, which was much closer to what I was expecting.

➤ Then, the first twenty minutes of the audiobook is devoted to, first, copious talk/narration about hair and makeup, then a whole conversation plus (in that it's brought up again before I stopped) about kissing and how Olive's best friend kisses a lot of boys and some girls and Olive hasn't kissed anyone and kissing, kissing, kissing.

Honestly, I don't have ‘traditional' or stereotypical female interests. I have a quick rule about Netflix shows, my own Not-Bechdel Test, if you will: If the first conversation on a show is between two female characters about traditionally feminine things that I have absolutely no interest in, stop watching it. (I have stopped shows that talk about dating/marriage and back-to-school outfits.)

I am, honestly, shocked that this was written by a man. So...Not for me, but good on ya?

➤ Right after that, we are treated to a flashback (that it took me much longer than it should have to realize it was a flashback) where Olive is told that she was from two eggs fertilized at the same time, but ~magic~ and the twins (one boy and one girl) that were going to be born was combined into her and she ‘can bear children as well as father them'.



(But, don't worry, she seems to be raised as a girl and 100% wants to be a girl? I don't know. It's ~magic~.)

And don't forget the fact that Olive's stomach clenches at the prospect of a test like it does in the days before her ‘flow'. (Is it just me or is this a little misogynistic? I've known as many women that think things like that as I have ones that wax rhapsodic over the way their breasts feel in shirts. None.)

➤ Olive is quite determined, when she can find the time through the flashbacks and the prettifying and the talk of not being allowed to kiss boys, to tell you that everyone thinks she's a child, but she's not. She's not!



(And the more she claims she's not a child, the more I think she is.) (Partially (? Maybe?) my fault as I always approach fifteen year olds with caution, but I didn't know she was that young. Maybe the synopsis indicates it, but I didn't realize there was a direct correlational there.)

Very much not for me.