Zsofia

Though this book had a unique and very promising premise, I was personally underwhelmed with the result.

First off, there's a lot of slut-shaming going on. Taylor is constantly mocked for wearing revealing clothing, and our protagonist even dislikes it when at one point Taylor wears jeans and a "sleazy top." And yet, when Rei and Seth walk around shirtless after a run, they're not criticized a bit. I'm not usually a fan of books that send the message that women embracing their sexuality are sluts, so this rubbed me the wrong away. However, this could have been redeemed if the book had otherwise been more interesting.

This slut-shaming also played a part in making Taylor's character seem more stereotypical and two-dimensional, and while I realize Taylor was supposed to be shallow, we only just touch the surface of any depth she possesses. Because she's the antagonist, I felt like it cheapened the plot and made that more shallow as well (which wasn't particularly complex in the first place).

I did enjoy Rei and Anna's romance though, for one. It was refreshing to see a cute, monogamous romance instead of a love triangle with guys who are either abusive, immortal, or crazy. It was pretty clean and was really only the beginnings of their relationship.

I actually sort of wish that this were a series - the astral projecting would be pretty interesting to explore, but sadly we only explore this possibility - in which Taylor takes over Anna's body after dying. This somehow strikes me as a bit contrite, but perhaps it's just because we've seen the mean girl switching places with the average girl a few times before.

2 stars