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0ivy0's review
adventurous
dark
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Wow, this didn't age well. I love Buffy but I kind of wish I never read this one. The whole plot is about how feminism is bad?
The writing itself was full of exposition with clunky dialogue, but the plot itself wasn't great.
We start by following Allison who has Greek ancestry and a controlling father who has opened Sunnydale's first Greek restaurant. She calls on a goddess ('any goddess') for help to persuade her dad to let her have a life. From here, we follow Buffy and the gang try to fight the goddesses that were called upon from bringing feminism to Sunnydale.
What I liked was Buffy-isms, seeing Oz, Cordy and Anya and the return of Willow's fuzzy pink jumper. As well as it finally being recognised that Giles has some very inappropriate books in the school library!
What I didn't like was that the whole thing felt like it was trying to teach us the dangers of feminism. Women wanting to join the boys basketball team and speaking up about misogyny was likened to racial segregation (in a way that puts feminism as just as bad, which is wild).
They also kept saying female instead of women, which was so odd. And then momen was spelt 'Womyn'.
It felt like the author didn't know the difference between feminism and misandry.
It also somehow felt very TERF-y.
There was also a huge plothole with how the goddesses got to Sunnydale / the mortal realm, too.
I LOVE Buffy, but I hated this.
The writing itself was full of exposition with clunky dialogue, but the plot itself wasn't great.
We start by following Allison who has Greek ancestry and a controlling father who has opened Sunnydale's first Greek restaurant. She calls on a goddess ('any goddess') for help to persuade her dad to let her have a life. From here, we follow Buffy and the gang try to fight the goddesses that were called upon from bringing feminism to Sunnydale.
What I liked was Buffy-isms, seeing Oz, Cordy and Anya and the return of Willow's fuzzy pink jumper. As well as it finally being recognised that Giles has some very inappropriate books in the school library!
What I didn't like was that the whole thing felt like it was trying to teach us the dangers of feminism. Women wanting to join the boys basketball team and speaking up about misogyny was likened to racial segregation (in a way that puts feminism as just as bad, which is wild).
They also kept saying female instead of women, which was so odd. And then momen was spelt 'Womyn'.
It felt like the author didn't know the difference between feminism and misandry.
It also somehow felt very TERF-y.
There was also a huge plothole with how the goddesses got to Sunnydale / the mortal realm, too.
I LOVE Buffy, but I hated this.
niki5055's review
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
fruitkate's review
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
littlepanda's review against another edition
1.0
I love the tv show Buffy The Vampire Slayer, but this book was not at all what I expected. I thought the story was boring and not well put together.
alexampersand's review
2.5
Ooh dear. I had a bad feeling just reading the blurb of this book - a group of girls come in and try to take over the school with feminism. I felt like it would either be really good or really bad..... and unfortunately it is the latter.
The premise of the plot itself might not be too bad (and that's where the 2 stars do come from), if it wasn't framed around all of our characters talking about how unreasonable it was for any form of feminism to exist, because "things were bad in the past, but I don't think it's fair to want any more rights"...........
Combine that with some very clunky dialogue, and it just didn't add up to a good book.
And to add insult to injury, the resolution felt very anticlimactic. Giles is released from the trance in a very convenient way (although it is sort of tied into the plot later), and no spoilers but the end of the villains is literally written as "her arms fell and she died" and then we move on.
There is one slightly touching (but still very, very clunky) scene where Buffy and Oz talk about gender expectations... the resolution of their conversation, where they decide they can be masculine and feminine however they want to be, is nice but unfortunately the road to get their is incredibly awkward and stilted.
The premise of the plot itself might not be too bad (and that's where the 2 stars do come from), if it wasn't framed around all of our characters talking about how unreasonable it was for any form of feminism to exist, because "things were bad in the past, but I don't think it's fair to want any more rights"...........
Combine that with some very clunky dialogue, and it just didn't add up to a good book.
And to add insult to injury, the resolution felt very anticlimactic. Giles is released from the trance in a very convenient way (although it is sort of tied into the plot later), and no spoilers but the end of the villains is literally written as "her arms fell and she died" and then we move on.
There is one slightly touching (but still very, very clunky) scene where Buffy and Oz talk about gender expectations... the resolution of their conversation, where they decide they can be masculine and feminine however they want to be, is nice but unfortunately the road to get their is incredibly awkward and stilted.
jennykeery's review against another edition
3.0
I thought Massie did a fairly decent job, despite a tendency to overstate plot developments in a way that makes them seem clunky instead of clever. It was a fun read, she wrote Cordelia and Anya really well and the MotW was cool enough to keep me interested.
rachael_amber's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
lauriereadslohf's review
4.0
If you're a fan of Buffy The Vampire Slayer and are a big reader (why else would you be here?) you really ought to do yourself a favor and read these books. Author Elizabeth Massie captures the feel of "Buffy's" world so well that I could clearly see the characters come to life in my head. Although I did find the normally conversation challenged Oz to be a bit wordy here at times. He's the quiet sexy one (the perfect man, if you ask me) but he seemed to have quite a bit of dialogue in this story and it stuck out.
This is an original novel and not a novelization based on a TV episode about a young girl with a dictator-like father who is totally fed up with his attempts to run her life and prays to the "goddess" for help.
Then a new library administrator, Ms. Moon, and her two too-perfect-to-be-true girls arrive in Sunnydale and quietly begin to stir up discontent between the sexes. Soon the female students are carrying on about "inequality" and "injustice" and, much to Cordelia Chase's dismay, are rallying around the Moon girls who have become the most popular students in school. The guy's aren't immune either and walk around in a dazed state blindly worshiping the Moon sisters. Even poor Giles is affected. Momma Moon wants to do away with all of his "weird" books and even though he finds the idea offensive his brain gets muddled and he begins to pack them. Buffy catches him in the act and realizes that someone is once again up to no good in Sunnydale and she intends to stop it.
I saw where this one was going immediately but that's okay because reading it was *almost* as much fun as watching a Buffy episode. There's a little wit, there's Slayer action and there's lots of hanging out with the Buffy gang. Worked for me.
This is an original novel and not a novelization based on a TV episode about a young girl with a dictator-like father who is totally fed up with his attempts to run her life and prays to the "goddess" for help.
Then a new library administrator, Ms. Moon, and her two too-perfect-to-be-true girls arrive in Sunnydale and quietly begin to stir up discontent between the sexes. Soon the female students are carrying on about "inequality" and "injustice" and, much to Cordelia Chase's dismay, are rallying around the Moon girls who have become the most popular students in school. The guy's aren't immune either and walk around in a dazed state blindly worshiping the Moon sisters. Even poor Giles is affected. Momma Moon wants to do away with all of his "weird" books and even though he finds the idea offensive his brain gets muddled and he begins to pack them. Buffy catches him in the act and realizes that someone is once again up to no good in Sunnydale and she intends to stop it.
I saw where this one was going immediately but that's okay because reading it was *almost* as much fun as watching a Buffy episode. There's a little wit, there's Slayer action and there's lots of hanging out with the Buffy gang. Worked for me.