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A review by minimicropup
We Run the Tides by Vendela Vida
Did not finish book. Stopped at 60%.
DNF. I wanna say soft, but I’d only return to this if I exhausted my TBR.
I started off liking it. It was fast-paced, witty, realistic and crude but the way early teen minds are. It wasn’t sugar coating the coming of age trope. Our 13 year old MC seems to know more about the world than we like to think 13 year olds know, but if you remember being 13 it’s not so far off. However, the writing style made it too hard for me to get through. It is not a linear plot and is seemingly random, which I usually love, but the characters developed into shells as the novel progressed. The witty comments started to become repetitive and overdone (like a kid telling a joke that gets a laugh and then won’t stop repeating it).
Maybe if I finished it I’d have answers, but so far I was annoyed by cringey wit and unexplained inconsistency that knocked me out of the story:
I started off liking it. It was fast-paced, witty, realistic and crude but the way early teen minds are. It wasn’t sugar coating the coming of age trope. Our 13 year old MC seems to know more about the world than we like to think 13 year olds know, but if you remember being 13 it’s not so far off. However, the writing style made it too hard for me to get through. It is not a linear plot and is seemingly random, which I usually love, but the characters developed into shells as the novel progressed. The witty comments started to become repetitive and overdone (like a kid telling a joke that gets a laugh and then won’t stop repeating it).
Maybe if I finished it I’d have answers, but so far I was annoyed by cringey wit and unexplained inconsistency that knocked me out of the story:
- The characters seem to live in a wealthy area of San Francisco, yet live like they’re struggling? Christmas involves getting underwear, pencils, and recycling wrapping paper?
- Eulabee starts off as witty, smart, candid…and devolves to satirical and OTT trying to be comedic and clever. Her character starts to fall apart and become a stereotype the way TV shows that have moved past their prime become shadows of what they once were. Liking starting off Simpsons season 4, but immediately following up with season 18.
- WTF is wrong with San Fran? Are there really that many sexual predators roaming the streets (I’m excluding the fakes) and stalking the schools with no one noticing or intervening?
Content Heads-Up (up to ~50%): Sexual harassment. Pedophilia (presented as consentual). Bullying.
Format: Paperback