Idris’s Reviews > Love Is Love > Status Update

There's something very questionable about how she's equating mental illness with abnormality, and then acting as though it's the preferred state of being because it's not...boring? Somebody tell me if I'm reading this wrong. I'm also unimpressed how her mother is just on the page long enough to act as a halfhearted foil to Emmy's nonexistent romance with Jude. SURE.

Are there any redeeming aspects to this story? If so, where? Jude can't carry this on his own. Emmy's a trainwreck! Paige is a paper doll. When will it end?

YIKES. There's nothing about this I don't dislike at this point. Emmy and Paige are both melodramatic and frankly not awesome people. I can't root for them. I can't even sympathize with them and I'm usually pretty good at that sort of thing. I'm not sure how I'm supposed to take any of this. (To
be fair, Emmy's actions aren't that bad, they're just kinda weird and obsessive? Eh...)

The 'I'm not like other girls/teenagers" is way too strong here. Kurt Cobain is not some alt trademark. Literally everyone has heard of Kurt Cobain, whether Nirvana is their musical thing or not. Paige is not a person, Paige is a foil and that makes it really hard to feel anything but annoyed when the MC is compared favorably to her. She only exists to be the bad alternative!