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Sounds like more feminazi/man hate to me. Boys will be boys, and that IS ok. Thanks for helping me steer clear of this.

Great review. I feel the same about YA books and have become very picky about them. But this one sounds great. It might be the time travel aspect or the fact that male protagonists are rare in YA or both. I’m looking forward to reading this when I’m in the mood for a darker story.

soda wrote: "Sounds like more feminazi/man hate to me. Boys will be boys, and that IS ok. Thanks for helping me steer clear of this."

Not at all! It is man-hating to say that boys are programmed to sexually assault and harass women. I believe boys are much smarter and more capable than that.

Genuinely, what do you mean by "boys will be boys"?

NiaKantorka wrote: "Great review. I feel the same about YA books and have become very picky about them. But this one sounds great. It might be the time travel aspect or the fact that male protagonists are rare in YA o..."

Thank you! Hope you "enjoy" it also, though that may be the wrong word :)

Men are programed to want sex; it's primal. I'm not saying they should assault anyone but honestly the way women are today some of them deserve it. Boys WILL be boys; masculinity is not toxic and I'm sick of feminazis saying it is. Men used to go to war, work in factories, and lead the family. Now they're gender confused sissies. Good bye

soda wrote: "Men are programed to want sex; it's primal. I'm not saying they should assault anyone but honestly the way women are today some of them deserve it. Boys WILL be boys; masculinity is not toxic and I..."

Nobody deserves sexual assault. I never said masculinity was toxic; I said lad culture is toxic, which it is. To be honest, I've never found anyone who has been able to give a solid definition of "masculinity" anyway, toxic or otherwise, so I've stopped using it. You still haven't explained what you think "boys will be boys" means.

But you have made it clear that we will never see eye to eye. "gender confused sissies" makes it pretty obvious where you're getting your information. Goodbye.

Since where I get my information matters, I am working from Joseph Campbell. A writer I highly endorse. A deceased professor of literature at Sarah Lawrence College who worked in comparative mythology and comparative religion.

He once observed that in most cultures, coming of age rituals for boys was usually dangerous, demanding and demeaning. The point being, you are not your momma's boy any more, you must find your way among and under males.

Girls, on the other hand were more typically set in a space, alone urged to contemplate that by becoming women (experiencing their Menarche) they were in touch with and part of the magic in nature.

All of this is so I can ask about: “But boys, like girls, choose how to act.� The business of choice is waved about like some kind of magic. I fear it is very misused or maybe misunderstood by the users. True a person can always choose to throw themselves off the nearest cliff, but does that have any functional meaning? Some do and will, most will be constrained by some combination of a instinct to survive and huge society pressures against suicide. So it goes when expecting people, male or female to approach any decision point as if they had the freedoms implied by that statement.

That ability to chose implies a community that teaches or abides a lot of freedoms that most do not. One can chose to stand out from the many on Japan. It can be done, but it is not only frowned upon but almost explicitly a taboo decision. In the US there is a ‘free the nipple� movement, widely regarded as something between a joke and a crime. Madam, I have no objection if you wish to go topless in public, but I have no money to offer you towards bail, nor will I condemn all of the things you are likely to hear.

Choice exists. It is real. But like the universe itself, it is subject to constraints and being shaped by forces external and internal.

Phrodrick wrote: "Since where I get my information matters, I am working from Joseph Campbell. A writer I highly endorse. A deceased professor of literature at Sarah Lawrence College who worked in comparative mythol..."

I think you make my point quite well for me, Phrodrick. I absolutely agree. The barrier between boys/men and their choices is social and cultural, not innate. That is precisely why we need to change a culture that throws around "boys will be boys" like all male behaviour is inevitable.

I’m so glad you liked it! It’s been on my TBR list for a while, but I hesitant. Now, it’s going to the top!
Thank you!

Brooke wrote: "I’m so glad you liked it! It’s been on my TBR list for a while, but I hesitant. Now, it’s going to the top!
Thank you!"

I hope you like it too, Brooke! A friend of mine pushed it to the top of my TBR and I'm so glad she did :)

What are your plans for fantasy this year? Are you interested in Divine Rivals, Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faerie and The Will of the Many?

Also, you never reviewed The Book that Couldn't Burn. I was looking forward to your review of Sword Catcher but then it disappeared from your lists. You are one of the coolest and most reliable reviewers I know of.

I haven't read this book yet but it does sound a lot similar to Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver which I read back in 2014. Now I want to read both of these books together and see how the authors were different in their approaches and the stories they decided to tell. Will add this to my TBR list.

It's not you... certainly not that you are moving away from being a young adult. I'm almost fifty, and it's only been in the last few years that I've started finding YA to be a bit of a slog. Too many publishers just cranking out whatever they think will sell and letting mediocre work get through. And I don't know what happened to all the editors but wherever they went, I want them back.

Robin wrote: "What are your plans for fantasy this year? Are you interested in Divine Rivals, Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faerie and The Will of the Many?

Also, you never reviewed The Book that Couldn't Bur..."

Thank you. I am not really interested in YA fantasy anymore unless it's by an author I've already enjoyed. I wanted to give Cassandra Clare another chance after never getting into Mortal Instruments, but then I read some so-so reviews. Think maybe she's just not for me.

Riddhi wrote: "I haven't read this book yet but it does sound a lot similar to Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver which I read back in 2014. Now I want to read both of these books together and see how the authors wer..."

Ooh, that's a blast from the past. I really enjoyed Before I Fall back in the day, though can't say this immediately brought it to mind so I imagine they're quite different. But it's been so long I can't be sure... curious to see what you think.

Ryn wrote: "It's not you... certainly not that you are moving away from being a young adult. I'm almost fifty, and it's only been in the last few years that I've started finding YA to be a bit of a slog. Too m..."

Yes, I agree. I've found a lot of the blurbs sound virtually identical with names changed. I'm just not someone who enjoys reading the same thing over and over.

Just to add my unsolicited two cents following Robin's question, it would be a shame to write off Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries as YA fantasy. In strength of writing and character development it far exceeded what my expectations would be for a YA novel, not that I read many. If you're ever feeling generous, Emily, perhaps you could read an excerpt of it? I'm sure quite a few of your audience out here would love to know your opinion of it. Thanks for your wonderful, thoughtful reviews.