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A review by karis321
Leaving the Station by Jake Maia Arlow
2.0
~~Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the ARC!~~
2.5/5 stars rounded down.
I feel . . . conflicted on this book.
As someone who's contently cis, I don't have a deep understanding of struggling/deconstructing gender like Zoe does throughout this whole book. I was able to sympathize because the writing and their actions screamed they were struggling a lot. They also had identity issues outside of gender revolving around the perception they should be the mature, doctorate-pursuing daughter they were raised to be. While I was able to understand the whys of Zoe, the people who aren't inside Zoe's head shouldn't, but they do because the story calls for it.
Despite the constant neglect and usage of their friends and boyfriend in the three-ish months they spent at college, Zoe is forgiven by these people at the end of the book far too quickly. When they explained they were going through a gender identity crisis, their friends were instantly understanding and asked if they could hang out again?? And when Zoe admitted to using Alden, the boyfriend, to project their ideal gender self onto, he's too nonchalant about it?? The narrative insists there was still a genuine connection even if it wasn't romantic, that Zoe and Alden could still be friends, but I cannot imagine that. That kind of devastation of being used for as an experiment is something that I don't think is easy to get past. For my own sake, I'm hoping Zoe never speaks to her friends and her ex again so everyone can move on with their lives.
The romance with Oakley also didn't really sit right with me? I really like how both characters were both struggling with deconstruction, gender with Zoe and religion with Oakley. Oakley being an (semi) ex-Mormon was interesting, too, which was an interesting perspective I haven't really seen in YA before, especially from a queer character, too. I found the conversations about that with Zoe and comparisons to Judaism to be the most enjoyable parts of the book. Other than that, their banter, for a lot of it, felt kinda mean. Because of the way she was raised, Oakley was determined to learn a lot and, as proclaimed by Zoe many-a-times, is pretty smart, but in a "I know and will brag about it" kind of way. This trait of her makes the sarcastic banter between them not fun. I feel like she's trying to outsmart Zoe when it really isn't necessary. It really doesn't help that she interferes on family matters she had no right to and not even apologizing for doing so afterward. I was just really soured by Oakley and couldn't get into the romance because of it.
The side characters are nothing much, either. One-note personalities with no intrigue beyond what's shown. There's also so many weird instances that I can't really overlook without a side-eye, like the scene with the mom, baby, and the guy peeping on them?? No one outside Zoe and Oakley felt like a real person, just stereotypes for them to bounce off of to fill in the story.
All in al, while there are good pieces here, I find the narrative as a whole to not stand up with it. I still wanna read Arlow's other works, though, but probably not any time soon.
2.5/5 stars rounded down.
I feel . . . conflicted on this book.
As someone who's contently cis, I don't have a deep understanding of struggling/deconstructing gender like Zoe does throughout this whole book. I was able to sympathize because the writing and their actions screamed they were struggling a lot. They also had identity issues outside of gender revolving around the perception they should be the mature, doctorate-pursuing daughter they were raised to be. While I was able to understand the whys of Zoe, the people who aren't inside Zoe's head shouldn't, but they do because the story calls for it.
Despite the constant neglect and usage of their friends and boyfriend in the three-ish months they spent at college, Zoe is forgiven by these people at the end of the book far too quickly. When they explained they were going through a gender identity crisis, their friends were instantly understanding and asked if they could hang out again?? And when Zoe admitted to using Alden, the boyfriend, to project their ideal gender self onto, he's too nonchalant about it?? The narrative insists there was still a genuine connection even if it wasn't romantic, that Zoe and Alden could still be friends, but I cannot imagine that. That kind of devastation of being used for as an experiment is something that I don't think is easy to get past. For my own sake, I'm hoping Zoe never speaks to her friends and her ex again so everyone can move on with their lives.
The romance with Oakley also didn't really sit right with me? I really like how both characters were both struggling with deconstruction, gender with Zoe and religion with Oakley. Oakley being an (semi) ex-Mormon was interesting, too, which was an interesting perspective I haven't really seen in YA before, especially from a queer character, too. I found the conversations about that with Zoe and comparisons to Judaism to be the most enjoyable parts of the book. Other than that, their banter, for a lot of it, felt kinda mean. Because of the way she was raised, Oakley was determined to learn a lot and, as proclaimed by Zoe many-a-times, is pretty smart, but in a "I know and will brag about it" kind of way. This trait of her makes the sarcastic banter between them not fun. I feel like she's trying to outsmart Zoe when it really isn't necessary. It really doesn't help that she interferes on family matters she had no right to and not even apologizing for doing so afterward. I was just really soured by Oakley and couldn't get into the romance because of it.
The side characters are nothing much, either. One-note personalities with no intrigue beyond what's shown. There's also so many weird instances that I can't really overlook without a side-eye, like the scene with the mom, baby, and the guy peeping on them?? No one outside Zoe and Oakley felt like a real person, just stereotypes for them to bounce off of to fill in the story.
All in al, while there are good pieces here, I find the narrative as a whole to not stand up with it. I still wanna read Arlow's other works, though, but probably not any time soon.