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A review by isabookabel
We Are All Made of Molecules by Susin Nielsen
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.75
An accessible, enjoyable quick read which included a range of important themes such as grief, divorce, homophobia, hate crimes and sexual assault. It is heartwarming, funny and the characters are well developed. Nielsen did a spectacular job with the character of Jared and managed to make him horribly believable. The relationship with him and Ashley was very well developed and really captured teenage infatuation. Likewise, the choice to make Ashley actively block out the negatives was very well done.
I did genuinely enjoy this book. However, at times I struggled with Ashley's 'using the wrong word' joke - it felt a bit heavy handed and repetitive - but might be more enjoyable for a younger audience.
I also felt like there was an excessive amount of attention paid to weight and dieting. Whilst this narrative is written from the perspective of a image conscious, self absorbed teenage girl so is unsurprising, it also means that we don't really get any critique of why this is a problematic mindset and I felt could normalise/perpetuate unhealthy attitudes around weight and body image/diet culture.
I did genuinely enjoy this book. However, at times I struggled with Ashley's 'using the wrong word' joke - it felt a bit heavy handed and repetitive - but might be more enjoyable for a younger audience.
I also felt like there was an excessive amount of attention paid to weight and dieting. Whilst this narrative is written from the perspective of a image conscious, self absorbed teenage girl so is unsurprising, it also means that we don't really get any critique of why this is a problematic mindset and I felt could normalise/perpetuate unhealthy attitudes around weight and body image/diet culture.
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Hate crime, Homophobia, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment