shifu (hiatus)'s Reviews > Starry Eyes

You know i promised to myself that i wouldn't under any conditions rant about this book because if i didn't like this book then the joke would be on me. So no rant. Zero. Nada. But there are some problematic things in this book. Things that have been bottled up inside me and are going to burst one day (today). Things that are making me question why everyone gave it five stars.

Let's begin our analysis on this "shitshow".

1. Every character besides Zorie and Lennon is a 2D cutout. Reagan? Her best friend. yeah. She did something Zorie doesn't like. No probs. Zorie will scream at her and then forget (her bf i might remind !!) that she exists. Brett, Avani and Summer. No personalities. They are just there to provide drama and angst and then bye bye.

2. While i understand that they have been friends since they were foetuses but there is literally no concept of consent. I mean she looks into his room using a telescope. And then when he takes of his shirt she still keeps looking through her telescope. HONEY NO.  And what about the time when they are literally fighting and she kisses him in the middle of an argument ​​​​​​​ and doesn't stop/pull back/ask for CONSENT.

3. Zorie's dad is a homphobic, a liar with anger issues who assaults a minor, blackmails him and threatens him BUT these were thrown away like minor problems. Why tho? He is not actively called out for doing all these things because he is villainized in the last chapter for "cheating on his wife". He also calls Lennon's moms "dyke heathens". He manipulates his duaghter and he does oh so many shitty things but he is not called out for ONE !! SINGLE !! THING !!



4. Look i love "best friends enemies to lovers" trope. I even loved Lennon and Zorie up to a point but then "that" thing happened. Zorie wanted to have sex with Lennon .... in the middle of the forest ... so she lied to her mother and her teacher ... who thought she was dead ....

For the first time, it really hits me that if Lennon and I hadn't stayed in the sequoia grove that second night, no one would have worries that we were missing, and we may not have set off the chain of events that led to all of this.
The important thing is I don't have any regrets

hoo boy !! HOO BOY!!



5. There is a line between things being gross and things being good. And then there is line which separates these two from the creepy side.

"You wanted to kiss me when we were fourteen?"
"I wanted to do lots of things to you when we were fourteen. [..] By the time you kissed me, I'd built a Zorie vault of sexual fantasies bigger than Fort Knox."

*chokes on vomit and dies* Bye bye Lennon.



Bye Bye Jenn Bennett.