Publisher:
Gallery Books
Release
Date: 7th
May 2013
Edition:
e-book, review copy
From
Goodreads: First it was SLUT scribbled all
over Lizzie Hart’s locker.
But
one week after Lizzie kills herself, SUICIDE SLUT replaces it – in Lizzie’s
looping scrawl.
Lizzie’s
reputation is destroyed when she’s caught in bed with her best friend’s
boyfriend on prom night. With the whole school turned against her, and Angie
not speaking to her, Lizzie takes her own life. But someone isn’t letting her
go quietly. As graffiti and photocopies of Lizzie’s diary plaster the school,
Angie begins a relentless investigation into who, exactly, made Lizzie feel she
didn't deserve to keep living. And while she claims she simply wants to punish
Lizzie’s tormentors, Angie’s own anguish over abandoning her best friend will
drive her deep into the dark, twisted side of Verity High – and she might not
be able to pull herself back out.
I was so, so excited to be
accepted for The S Word on NetGalley
after hearing about it on Goodreads, but I was actually quite disappointed.
First of all I have to get this
off of my chest: good God, the formatting. It drove me batty! The grammar,
spelling, punctuation, capital letters and paragraphing – gah! It kept throwing
me out of the story in frustration. I had to be reading it for a fair amount of
time to become used to it and learn to ignore it.
I really enjoyed the themes of
this novel and the message about slut-shaming in Chelsea Pitcher’s debut. It
was thoughtfully put across and the double standards for Lizzie and Drake’s
actions on prom night were challenged. Pitcher then went on the look at
bullying, suicide and homophobia and they were handled brilliantly and with
sensitivity.
Though Angie was realistic in
her lingering feelings for Drake, her anger and guilt around Lizzie and her
changing relationships with Jesse, I just couldn’t connect with her. I’m fine
with not liking a main character but I couldn’t empathise with her and I didn’t
trust her narration. She’s extremely dramatic and over-the-top and, I don’t
know, we just didn’t gel. I didn’t feel anything for Lizzie either. Even with
her diary entries that helped to unravel the mystery driving The S Word I didn’t feel I got her to
know her at all, and what I did discover, I didn’t like.
Adding on to my dislike of the
characters came a storm of revelations that felt a little off and were far too
dramatic (again). There was just so much going on and the final blow at the end
of the novel felt a little stuck on and out of character. I finished this book
disgruntled, disappointed and actually quite annoyed. All of my annoyances
outweighed the positives if I’m honest.
Though I wasn’t a fan of The S Word, if you like dramatic
American revenge novels, you’re in for a winner.
Thank you to NetGalley and
Gallery Books for the review copy.
Sophie
Shame you were disappointed with this one. Because I too requested it from NetGalley straight as I heard about it on Gopdreads. I was accepted and after seeing mixed reviews, I haven't started it yet. It's a problem for me when I can't connect with the lead character because I need to when I read a book. Thanks for the honest review :D
ReplyDelete- Sunny @ www.asupersunnyspot.blogspot.com
I too get a little overwhelmed by drama, especially if it's all thrown on us at the end. Hopefully a little bit more editing might take place before release? Big shame about the formatting issues too, it happens sometimes with advance galleys!
ReplyDeleteCait x
I'm not too sure if I would like this one. Sometimes I really like gossipy novels and sometimes I hate them.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I noticed you have an authentication box popping up on your blog. I had the same thing happen to me a few days ago! To save you some trouble, all you have to do is get rid of that person from your blogroll. :)
Oh, thank you! That's been bugging me for ages! You're a star :)
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