Boy oh boy did I hate read this whole book. We received a box of galleys and this was sitting in there. And it continued to sit there for a while and I got it in my head that someone on the staff needed to read it. I thought to myself well, his kids books are really popular and I’ve heard good things so why don’t I give this one a try? I made a huge mistake.
This book is the perfect example of why I am hating on YA right now. Reading through, I felt like Colfer thought to himself, “I am a young gay celebrity. I must write a book for teenagers in the LGBTQ+ community. What characters will they relate to? Oh yeah, stereotypes! I know all about those because I was on Glee!” Each time he introduced a character, I felt like he was checking off a stereotypical character from a list he had created. It was infuriating. This book could have been important. It could have helped teens see themselves in characters. Instead, it turned them into flat characters. I found myself yelling, “WHY? STOP! I HATE THIS!” so many times but just couldn’t stop reading. Part of the reason was that, each time I was about to quit, Colfer would have a great one-liner. I would think, well, if he can do this, then maybe he can save this book. I was wrong.
The end was supposed to be a huge, shocking twist, but I saw it coming from very early on. I cannot explain how disappointed I was. I guess I am mostly disappointed in myself for expecting something more.
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