Reviewed by nannah on
Book content warnings:
ableist slurs
lesbophobic slurs
Basically, this book is about Barbara Thorson, a young girl who "kills giants" both imaginary and real. Sooner or later, though, she's going to have to face her ultimate fear: the Titan.
Only, the titan isn't so imaginary and is something that's all to real to many people (and kids). I won't spoil it for you, but to be honest, the family drama, and this reality is what I enjoyed. This and the ending, which did fill me up with contented feelings and a smile.
But there was so much I didn't like. I get Barbara is dealing with a ton, but to have this child yelling out slurs (that are also an issue with kids? like the "r" word and the "d" lesbian slur) just seemed like overkill. She also had the worst case of the "I'm not like other girls because they're stupid" attitude I've ever seen or read. This thinking needs to die immediately.
And then there's the matter of the fact that Joe Kelly can't write girls for shit. Especially young girls. He has no idea what they're like. "It's weird that you like all this boy stuff . . . but it's cool. How do you know about baseball?" says Barbara's friend.
??? what. You're right, no girls like baseball. None. Except for Barbara Thorson, apparently.
I also groaned when he fell back on the "fat girl bully" stereotype. Can we be done with this already? She was the only fat character in the graphic novel, also. You have to know what you're doing when you so obviously set your cast like that.
Soooo, I guess there were a ton more that I disliked than liked. The good just doesn't make reading it worth it.
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 15 April, 2016: Finished reading
- 15 April, 2016: Reviewed