Top 20 Most Disappointing 3-Star Books of 2018

I'm quite busy now, as I've said before. With Christmas, work, driving, family, TV. In the wake of this development, I've decided to do my end-of-year book lists a little early, when I know I will have the time.

I will start off by writing my overall assessment of 2018 so far:


IT. IS. TERRIBLE.


Good god. If 2016 is the year of despair and the death of faith in humanity, and 2017 is the year of righteous anger and rage, then 2018 is the year of giving up. The year of apathy, of running on fumes, of "Oh, what's the point anymore?" and "Who gives a shit anymore? I'm too tired". Yes, it has been extremely tiring. Don't even get me started on my own country's disastrous political climate. I might not have a job next year. I'm ashamed and embarrassed to be British, more than usual.

Another aspect that makes 2018 awful is my reading material. I said in my The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo review that 2018 is looking to be a promising year.

BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Being wrong is soul crushing.

I have read a total of 132 books in 2018. And I have never rated so many 3 stars, 2 stars, and 1 stars in a single year, ever. It's been so bad that I have decided to make individual lists of those books, since a single post listing them all would take far too long. So it's crap divided into three parts, basically. Then I will list the good books I've read this year. Get the negative out of the way before I reach the positive and feel better about life again.

Starting out this festive endeavour is my Top 20 Most Disappointing 3-Star Books of 2018. These are not bad, per say, just not as good as I'd hoped. They are not as good as they should be. These are the over-hyped, the wasted potential, the missed opportunities, the misguided, the misleading, the bad endings, the unfortunates, and so on.

Here we go, then: My many, many, aching disappointments of 2018:





20. Blue Is the Warmest Color by Julie Maroh


A Bury Your Gays graphic novel story with as much angst as the pretty watercolours depict. And it is nice artwork, and the drama and relationships themselves aren't bad. It is realistic and sad. But the ending threw me and left me cold and unsatisfied. Haven't seen the film adaptation, which I've heard has pornographic overtones. Like the LBGTQ community hasn't been undermined, exploited, perverted and fetishized by the "adult" media enough, like heterosexual romances are not.


19. Sword of Sorcery, Vol. 1: Amethyst (The New 52 Sword of Sorcery 0-8) by Christy Marx (Writer), Aaron Lopresti (Artist), Various (Writers, Artists)


The story itself is interesting enough, and I like the worldbuilding, action, and character dynamics. I LOVE the artwork. I didn't even mind the rushed ending due to the series' cancellation (oh, thank you, DC's New 52, you sure knew what you were doing). But as soon as I got to the other, unrelated stories in the volume, I was lost. Why were they included? As individual DC issues that needed to go somewhere in a trade? As proof of their existence? But this is an Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld book. The issues are either boring or disturbing or horrific or confusing or all of the above. They don't fit the tone of the Amethyst story at all. Very poor marketing decision on DC's part (but what's new?)


18. The Frog Princess by E.D Baker


So, this is the book that partly inspired Disney's The Princess and the Frog? It's okay. Well-written, with good action set pieces and memorable characters. Good twist on a fairy tale as well, and interesting female friendships. I just didn't care for the romance at all. The male lead is capricious, inconsistent, arrogant and chauvinistic, and the strong female lead (a clumsy, messy and smart princess) ends up falling for him for some reason anyway. Because that is the way of fairy tales, apparently. Girls have to love boys, regardless of how he treats them and how long they have actually known each other. Wait, that's true of nearly all stories, not only fairy tales. But if your kid likes talking animals and witches, then they'll like this, I guess.


17. I Kill Giants by Joe Kelly (Writer), J.M. Ken Niimura (Artist)


A good graphic novel, just not for me. The politically incorrect moments (for 2009) made me uncomfortable. For a comic supposedly about female power, featuring a relatively ordinary yet extraordinarily interesting female protagonist, there is a lot of internalised misogyny on display. Aside from this, it is like a graphic novel version of A Monster Calls. Good representation of anxiety and grief from a teenager's perspective - the dark, sketchy artwork does a fantastic job. Some of the characters, while certainly not always likeable, are okay, as well. I thought the ending could have had more to it.


16. As the Crow Flies by Melanie Gillman


You have no idea how excited I was to read this. The protagonist is a thirteen-year-old queer, fat, bespectacled girl of colour, attending an all-white, all-female Christian youth camp, and her possible love interest is transgender. The art is tremendous, and the story is very interesting. What a premise! What could go wrong? Well, a few un-self-aware moments bogged it down. The protagonist herself is ignorant of things she should really know better about, like thinking that feminism is about bra-burning and man-hating. She is quite gleeful and sadistic in thinking about abandoning and even committing manslaughter on her fellow campers - I know she's thirteen and lonely amongst these people, but seriously. None of the campers and adult guides (one of whom is POC herself, and the protag's crush) even seem that bad, just ignorant on subjects concerning race and adapting their religion to 2013 (who would still think that feminists burn bras by then?!). So an unlikable lead - and I hate to say that about such a diverse one - made me ultimately decide to give this comic three stars. It does show girls having periods, is a critique on white feminism, and a realistic depiction of camping, hiking, and the Christian experiences concerning them. Making my rating even more tragic. Its intersectional feminism is confusing, at best.


15. A Dash of Trouble (Love Sugar Magic #1) by Anna Meriano


An average middle school book, in my opinion. Kind of boring, for a fantasy children's story. But maybe I've read too many similar fantasy books before, as this does seem a bit been-there-done-that for me. Not much happens, or anything interesting happens. Where are the stakes? Good for sisterhood and diversity, however. It's about the Dia de los Muertos festival. I just don't care for the love lives of preteens. Everybody - the young female protag, the ordinary American people - is a little too accepting of magic existing, too. Still better than Kat, Incorrigible.


14. Les Misérables by Victor Hugo


The longest novel I've read this year. Included because it starts out so well, but peters out towards the end. Read my review here.


13. The Reluctant Queen by Sarah Beth Durst


The sequel to one of my favourite fantasy books, The Queen of Blood. Boy, what a disappointment. So Daelina isn't dying; she's just been poisoned by a rival kingdom, eh? She'll be cured by the end of the book? Didn't see that coming! But okay, sure, tension eradicated, tragedy averted, good job. Some characters are very good, like the mother (the titular reluctant queen) and her two children. The pain and inner conflicts of these people are well-written. But the so-called "plot twist" is so obvious (like, literally the one person who isn't suspected of poisoning Queen Daelina? Turns out they did it! Who would have guessed?!), it's insulting. I thought that the author would have known better - she can write YA that respects its audience's intelligence, and she can tell an exciting story. Another thing I have to point out is that The Reluctant Queen is an additional example in the fantasy and sci-fi genres where a violation of a person's free will isn't made a big deal of at all. Not even by the victim. Without revealing spoilers, this issue is just brushed aside: "Oh, you cast a spell on me and made me your happy and obedient slave? Made me forget my dying loved ones? Oh well, it worked, and I have my free will back now, so it's all good; you're good at what you do, so where's my apprenticeship contract with you?" Seriously. Writers of fantasy and science fiction: Think through your implications when it comes to mind control. Stop doing this.


12. Sovereign by April Daniels


Speaking of disappointing sequels to YA fantasy novels, here is Sovereign, right off the heels of Dreadnought, about a teen transgender superhero. Again, it's not bad, really. Only not as great as it could have been. Danny Tozer is scary in how violent and temperamental she is - I was actually concerned she was going to seriously injure and kill the people who love her and want to help her. She isn't aware of how power hungry and abusive she is (she actually enjoys hurting people in her anger as a world famous superhero) until the very end of the book, and even then it is hardly enough. It's not even clear if she is aware of becoming like her abusive father. She's cynical and unpleasant for the majority of the book. Danny's character seems to have gone downhill, unlike the beautiful and tragic, yet purely altruistic and heroic person she was in Dreadnought. Fame and fortune got to her head? Her estranged parents? Who knows. And a bit of a spoiler here, but the TERF, Graywytch, is a straight-up villain here. Right at the end (out of nowhere, actually) she tries to kill every single male on earth. I am not joking. She's turned into a Strawman Feminist of the worst imaginable kind. She very almost succeeds in killing over half the human population (because some women, including Graywytch, not that she will ever accept it, don't have all X chromosomes, and male doctors, builders, pilots and drivers dying on the job isn't good for anyone). But is this global tragedy the downer ending it should be? Treated with the gravitas it deserves? Nope! A couple of pages infodumping and it's back to Danny's happy love life! In space, over the devastated planet! Her romantic relationship is rather forced as well, only positive in racial and sexuality diversity. On second thought, maybe I should have given Sovereign two stars. But it isn't badly written, considering.


11. Faith, Volume 1: Hollywood & Vine (Faith #1) by Jody Houser (Writer), Various (Artists)


It's wonderful to see a fat female superhero get her own solo comic book series. She's refreshingly positive, and her appearance does not define her, and is never remarked upon. A shame that the story in this volume is rather cliched and confusing. Am I missing something from other comics? LOADS of pop culture references here. The art, while colourful, soft and serviceable, makes the men's torsos and chests look huge! With abs bigger than their heads! It might be the first time in comic book history where sexual objectification and unrealistic anatomy in males, in their trunks, is clearly present. And the ending reveals a typical mind control plot in the superhero genre. I am so tired of seeing those. Not as subversive as advertised. Good protagonist, not much else to go on, I'm afraid.


10. Moonstruck, Vol. 1: Magic to Brew (Moonstruck #1) by Grace Ellis, Shae Beagle


Another graphic novel that's just confusing. The artwork is soft and absolutely lovely, and so is the diversity - race, sexuality, trans, nonbinary, etc, it's gorgeous. It all needed a better told story, however. Characters are introduced out of nowhere and the reader is expected to know them the way the other characters do. Subplots go nowhere, side characters go nowhere, or end up in weird places, almost at random. Conflicts between characters in relationships are suddenly sprung up out of nowhere, for the sake of a conflict. Rushed and underdeveloped fantasy narrative. Really wish I could have enjoyed it as much as I wanted to.


9. How to Repair a Mechanical Heart by J.C. Lillis


Heard about this book by chance and bought it almost instantly. It is about a romance between two gay teenage boys, but one of them is dealing with internalised homophobia as a result of a religious upbringing (specifically, Catholic). He wasn't sent to a conversion therapy camp, but he might as well have. A priest's voice in his head is his barrier to true happiness. Mechanical Heart isn't anti-religion, it's about living life to the full and loving the way you are, and how people, regardless of background, should support others. I thought it would be like Queens of Geek and Geekerella; YA about geek culture and conventions. And it is. But to me it isn't as well-written. Or maybe it's too complicated. I didn't understand the boys' antagonism towards the m/m fanfiction of their favourite characters in their favourite Star Trek-like show - they seem to be making fun of "deluded" and silly heterosexual teenage girls. Wouldn't they want and support queer rep in television? There's no indication that they are against queerbaiting and fans fetishizing male relationships, interpreting something perverse for their own personal fantasies. I got irritated with the main boy's lies towards his friend-to-lover: they're both out of the closet, and are very close - why aren't they together yet? Also, there are some too many characters that aren't developed well, like the guys' female companion on their convention trip whose name I can't remember. Why is she in this? As moral support? Disposable female support, that's new in storytelling. An interesting look into internet culture and convention culture, at least, plus queerbaiting in TV shows. Nicely written, as well. Not for me, perhaps, or I don't get it.


8. Solitaire by Alice Oseman


I didn't expect much from this, due to its mixed reviews on Goodreads. But I love the author's graphic novel webseries Heartstopper, and I want to read more of her work. She is someone who has achieved her dream and is writing (and drawing) books, and she is younger than me. Alice Oseman was only eighteen when she wrote Solitaire, and I am impressed. It is surprisingly well-written and addictive. I could have read it in a day. A realistic portrayal of the life of a severely depressed teenage girl in England (not rare, I assure you). It is scary how much I related to Tori, back in my own schooldays. Cynical, antisocial yet very funny, insightful, and caring of others: she is a girl of the 2010s. Solitaire is like a female-led Catcher in the Rye "for the digital age", as one reviewer put it. However, I really don't like the male lead, Michael. He belongs in a mental institution. He stalks Tori constantly, and he hardly gets called out for it. One time he even rides his bike right beside a moving bus and smacks on the window where Tori is seated. WHO DOES THAT?! Get this boy some help! He has anger management issues too. And he wants (not just in his fantasies) to burn his school down. Why isn't he being checked out? I know he is meant to be Tori's exact opposite, but it is far too much. It isn't realistic. Neither is the ridiculous ending, which is as subtle as a sledgehammer to the face. How heartbreaking, and I was really into the book up to that point. Oh, and the tagline, "This is not a love story", is a lie, I'm warning you now. I don't like to be lied to by a book. But I will try out Radio Silence next year, as Alice Oseman does show huge potential, to be met eventually in Heartstopper (Nick and Charlie are in Solitaire, as a couple already, but not as leads - their love will reach their fullest in the webcomic).


7. Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson


A great debut, but it could have been better. It is, like some other books on this list, okay. Nothing spectacular, like the hype promised. It's about witches and zombies in modern times. It's YA that teaches about witchcraft and Wicca practices to go along with its story. The main lead is a young fat Latina Wiccan. It should have been up my alley. But the girl zombies' single reaction to being dead is far too blasé for me. They are typical spoilt, self-absorbed high school teens, and they remain that way throughout. In fact, quite a few of the characters are high school drama stereotypes. Not as much depth as it could have had to be truly subversive and self-aware (a sarcastic narrator doesn't count). The romance is cheesy, cliched and boring, even if it ended untypically, and even that I could see coming from a mile off. I felt sorry for the female lead, who gets treated like shit and used by nearly everyone, but it's not like she treats other people any better, either. It's not hard to sympathise with her, but it gets taxing at times. Not much strong plotting; I didn't care much about what was going on. There is no LBGTQ representation, which for 2018 YA is highly disappointing. Undead Girl Gang is like Heathers with witches. If that sounds like your thing, then give it a go. Maybe you won't mind the flaws like I do.


6. The Apocalypse of Elena Mendoza by Shaun David Hutchinson


I would have loved this if it weren't for the unlikable characters. The premise is BRILLIANT. A queer (bisexual) teen girl of colour is a modern Jesus Christ - product of a virgin birth, can heal people - and she is faced with the impossible choice, forced upon her by talking objects that only she can hear, of healing. Because every time she heals someone, someone else on earth disappears in a light from the sky to who knows where. Another planet? Another dimension? Heaven? Hell? Elena doesn't want to make that choice for other people, but there are people who need healing as well, and she can't just ignore them. Thrilling, exciting, philosophical, harrowing, funny, a social commentary, a satire, a coming-of-age story - Elena Mendoza has it all. And it is extremely well-written, considering its myriad of themes. Pity then that I didn't like any of the characters. Elena herself is okay, but her friends - but especially her love interest, her ex-boyfriend, and her stepfather - are monstrously horrible. Why she puts up with their crap, for someone so assertive and self-aware, I don't know. Her ex won't leave her alone no matter how many times she tells him to piss off - and she actually ends up liking him by the end, as a friend, as a reward for him invading her privacy. Elena's stepfather is cartoonishly stereotypical - a jobless bum who does nothing, is proud to do nothing, and hates Elena for existing. Don't even get me started on her female love interest, Freddie. So if someone insults you for existing and literally tells you to your face that nobody gives a shit about you, that they only care about your "specialness", clearly it means true love! Elena doesn't really do anything wrong in the whole book - she's a teenager who is trying her best, for fuck's sake - but her "friends" call her selfish and stupid for the littlest of reasons. I hate this normalisation of abuse. It's Buffy all over again! Yes, people are flawed and screwed up, but at least call them out on it more often! A little appreciation of the female lead would have made this a more pleasant reading experience. Nice not-so-subtle fuck-you to America's current president, however.


5. Binti by Nnedi Okorafor


A very good diverse sci-fi novella of barely eighty pages. Containing themes of educational freedom and progress, racism, colonialism, cultural erasure, cultural approbation, and understanding traditions. However, this is a story that condones terrorism and mass murder of students - children - in order to get what you want, and to make governments listen to you. I couldn't connect to the main character or her emotions and trauma, or lack thereof. Maybe the book could have benefited from being longer. I can't like a story where innocent children are killed in horrific and gruesome ways (reminiscent of the Alien movies) and barely a thought is given to them and their families. Hell, we hardly get to know them when they are alive (they're just names on a page, bar one), and there is a reason why - so we won't feel bad and be distracted from the political themes when they die. I'm sure the author didn't intend for this to be the case, but overall, upon reflection, Binti does read that way. Me having a sleep-deprived headache in the afternoon I read this probably didn't help.


4. Harley Quinn: Mad Love by Paul Dini, Pat Cadigan


The 2018 novelisation of Mad Love, and another novel in which it starts off so well, but ends on an unsatisfying note. I love the writing, and reading about Harley Quinn's childhood and home life in the beginning (but three baby brothers? I knew that canonically she has one younger brother, but three?). Harleen Quinzel's time at Arkham as a psychologist is fantastically written. It's exciting, creative, inventive, and funny as hell. A great plot and character piece that reminded me of why I love Harley so much. She is a very smart, clever and charismatic woman. But then it becomes a rehash of the original Batman: Mad Love comic book and animated series story, with lines of dialogue copied word-for-word, and scenarios that are not expanded or improved on. The ending is abrupt and rushed. Why didn't the book end with Harley joining the escaped female Arkham criminals? So there is no payoff to her forming a female patient therapy group at Arkham. The book is under 300 pages, what's the harm in adding one more page dedicated to female unity and supporting power? There is no written chemistry between Harley and Poison Ivy whatsoever - they are not even friends. At worst Harley sees Ivy as a threat, and at best she sees her as a nuisance. What a colossal disappointment. Stop this backslide in developing these two gals, DC! Urgh! How heartbreaking. This year sucks.


3. Seafire by Natalie C. Parker


Why oh why did this have to be a romance? Why does every single YA book have to have a romance? When it doesn't make any sense for it to be there? Seafire is a female pirate crew novel, and it is action-packed and awesome. What a relief! Until the heterosexual kissing starts about thirty pages from the ending. Let me clarify: the Stockholm Syndrome heterosexual kissing starts, with no development leading up to it in sight. WHY!? And what about that ending? WTF? So the female lead is a faux action girl after all. Perfect. At least there is LBTGQ and POC rep, and female friendships. Solidarity for the win. Until that damn, nonsensical and abrupt ending. Go sink to the bottom of the ocean, Seafire.


2. Dread Nation by Justina Ireland


One of my most anticipated books of 2018. Race and sexuality issues in 19th century America, but with a zombie apocalypse twist. The protagonist is a mixed-race former slave girl, trained into an action girl, fighting the white supremacist and patriarchal government more than the distracting zombies. Is that not the coolest thing you have ever heard in your life? What a great metaphor for modern times! Sadly, the execution is somewhat lacking. The action is very well written, but the characters are not that interesting. For a critique on race relations and slavery in the US, there is highly questionable representation of Native Americans; when one Indian character does show up. He is a slave, and a hardened and silent stereotype, described as looking "red" and strange by the oppressed black female protagonist. This is never called out on. There is no LBGTQ rep, either, that is a lie. Well, the female lead only mentions being attracted to girls once, in a single paragraph, and she is attracted to at least three men in the book, plus her white-passing companion-turned-begrudging-friend is implied to be asexual, but that's it. What bullshit. I don't want to think about this disappointment anymore - it should have been revolutionary!


1. Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan


I REALLY wanted to love this. I should have loved this. An #ownvoices Asian culture-inspired YA fantasy about taking down the patriarchy, with two young lesbian sex slaves leading the path to freedom, to a revolution. I certainly enjoyed the majority of it, like I did with many of the previous entries of this list. How the author writes rape scenes is harrowing and intense - operatic, even, in its horror. But love and hope shine through in its other scenes. The characters are memorable and magical, for the most part. Girls of Paper and Fire is like Memoirs of a Geisha for fantasy fans, and better. But, you guessed it, the ending let me down. Or the final page let me down. For it turns out that the main heroine is entirely ineffectual in her own bloody story! Writers, here is a tip: In writing a so-called "strong female character", make sure she actually achieves something! No, romance goals don't count. If she is meant to be a revolutionary, show us why. Let her have her revenge on her rapist! Let women's anger and right to justice lead to something good! The book also contains catty females and jealous females over men. Of course. It is YA after all. And I swear one woman is called a bitch more than three times, and more than once on one page. Though Girls of Paper and Fire does talk about sex and sexual pleasures in interesting ways, for YA. Still, it is the book I wanted to love most in 2018, after Dread Nation, and as a result was the hardest, biggest letdown.





Up next, the Top 14 Worst 2-Star Books of 2018!