The Reader's Shire - Book Reviews

Book Review: After (RANT)

Disclaimer:
(Fans of After, please read.)

This review is going to be painfully negative. If you're offended by anyone bashing your favourite book, aggressivity and foul language, if you can't stomach anyone critisizing your favourite book, then don't bloody read this. If you want to go on about how beautiful this book is, please write your own review instead of bashing mine. I'd love to read it. Ya'll can read and love whatever the hell you want, I really don't care. If you loved this book, then great. I'm so happy for you but you can't force me to enjoy it. I'm sorry to burst your bubble but everyone's got different opinions. I don't care if I sound harsh but with that said, let's begin.

Title: After
Author: Anna Todd
Series: After #1
Genre: New Adult Romance, sociology (abuse).
Format: eBook
Publication Date: October 21st, 2014
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Goodreads Avg. Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars.
My Rating: 1 out of 5 stars

"We live in a time where people ask which school you went to before asking your last name"

This is one of the opening lines of the published and edited version of After and it's actually pretty catchy and it really caught my interest. I was expecting this book to be a typical and dramatic, yet entertaining NA novel about college life, work, dealing with society and family's expectations, a well-written toxic relationship, impacts of drugs, with romance and lust being subplots but I was awfully mistaken.

This wasn't a well written NA fiction. It was a romance. This wasn't a beautiful tale about a girl entering a boy's life and changing it. It was a pile of angst and well, bullshit. There were glimmers of other aspects but just that. Only glimmers. If Todd had focused on those instead of only Hardin and Tessa's relationship then this book might have earned at least 2 stars.

So, a plain girl who has no idea how pretty she is gets involved in an unhealthy relationship with a boy but hey, it's okay because he's mysterious, they share the same interest in Wuthering Heights, and damn those abs. How romantic! There's also the horrible, mediocre writing and the badly written sex hanging somewhere.

Hmmm, why does this sound so familiar?

Oh yeah...

*drum roll*

Fifty Shades of Grey, Beautiful Disaster, Hush Hush, Fallen...the list goes on.

a·bu·sive
əˈbyo͞osiv,əˈbyo͞oziv
adjective
1.
extremely offensive and insulting.
2.
engaging in or characterized by habitual violence and cruelty.

Doesn't that sound like a certain character we know?

I just don't understand. There's absolutely nothing romantic or attractive about making out with a boy whose got serious issues and makes you feel like dirt on his shoes, regardless of the silkiness of his hair, the colour of his eyes, his favourite books or the intensity of the make outs. Face it: All of these books are the bloody same. There's the hot, bad, broken boy and the innocent, good girl who magically becomes attracted to him because some bird tells her that he is good at heart and vice versa.

Todd employs a very similar, excruciatingly wrong message - if someone treats you like crap, but has mood changes, it's your job to fix that person, dig up the 'good' in them and give them chances despite how many times they've fucked with you because they will magically find redemption and change.

Well, wake up! That's not how relationships are. I'm terribly sorry but if your partner makes you feel afraid when you're together, you stay the fuck away from him/her. If a guy barges into your room and scatters your notes everywhere and ignores you when you repeatedly tell him to pick them up, you do not fucking make out with him. (Looking at you, Tessa) Yes, arguments tend to occur in a relationship but when it comes to this extent, when the fights exceed the healthy and happy moments, it's time to break it off. People cannot be fixed by a partner and if someone treats you like an object, you gtfo.

Hardin or Harry, whatever the hell his name is, fills those categories and is an asshole - rude, controlling and an overall fucked up person. I know he's got daddy issues but you know what? I, don't give a rat's fart about, well, his sorry past. Before you go on about his "complexity" and how "real and human" his actions are, let me tell you that, if you had anyone abuse you, it doesn't give you any right to treat someone else like that. That is no justification.

Yes, I'm aware that many people feel like their cruel behavior is justified if they had experienced it too but Todd portrayed it positively which is precisely what bothered me. The first half of this book was basically him jumping from chatting with her about books, to insulting her in front of friends and ending it with snogging the shit out of her. Like, wtf? Make your mind up! Anyway, Four from Divergent had an abusive father but he is one of the most amazing fictional guys I've ever read about.

As for Tessa, she has some good points - she's a literature student (woop woop), she was feisty, determined and confident. However, that didn't last long since she stopped standing up for herself, became a whiny, self-centered bitch and started falling for that git. So, you're upset because your boyfriend (Noah) is decent, doesn't bang you and his kisses are no match for Hardin's. Boohoo, so sad. I mean, wow okay, nice problems. Quit complaining and cheating on him!!

And no, I didn't hate this book because of the sex. Yes, it was pretty shit and awfully written but I avoided it. I always do that but when they did the do when she was on her period I had to put my foot down. *barfs*

And exactly what is this crap about this garbage is being turned into a movie? There's a script? No. Just no. There are so many better books out there which have been around for years. They deserve recognition and to be adapted into movies and this stinking cowshit is getting that privilege?

On top of that, the entire story was a mixture and modern version of the Infernal Devices, Wuthering Heights and Pride and Prejudice. Todd added quotes from them which little 12 year old directioners blindly believed to be original. But hey, After got those 1 billion reads on Wattpad somehow and BOOM! It's a global phenomena now! As an aspiring Editor, it upsets me and it scares me and it angers me to learn that Literature and Writing has become mostly Marketting than the love for telling stories.

I know this is a bit rich coming from someone who mistrusts fan fiction but please consider reading the zombies version of After. It's a thousand times better than the original book as Tessa is actually strong and independent and takes no shit from Hardin. Much.  

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