this is a YA book, and i think some of those who went into this title expecting more adult conversations about it have missed the genre. i think YA is meant to be, in part, introductions to the weird and wonderful as well as the hard and overwhelming and devastating. this book was almost an escapist, violent fantasy, and as a former rage-filled teenage girl who was 17 when tr*mp was first elected, there was plenty of anger i would have loved to have an outlet for. 

i'm also not sure we're supposed to see zeitan as a good person, at the end of the day. sure, we're in her head, and she's rationalizing all of the decisions that she makes, but i also think the consequences of her actions are shown to be brutal and hard to stomach. the public keeps watching, though, like the rest of us, because if there's anything we've learned, it's that people cannot look away from tragedy. 

my major qualms with the book do have to do with the ways that the writing sometimes felt intensely "internet speak" and out of time with the way that the rest of the worldbuilding worked. but overall, i think the story did what it set out to do - challenge readers to consider the rules they take for granted. is this The Feminist Take i'd recommend to everyone? no, probably not. but is it a kinda badass story that's worth a week of attention? yeah, absolutely.