FUCK YOU, NICHOLAS SPARKS
So, I read The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks (shut up). There much to be said about this book. The poorly done emotional manipulation (SPARKS KILLS OFF A CHARACTER TO MAKE HIS READERS CRY NEWS A ELEVEN), frankly offensive treatment of abuse (emotional abuse as a plot device to make your lead angst, sometimes, maybe, is always a great idea!), and some poor plotting all together (yes, let us introduce a main character who threatens our main character and her boytoy and make it go nowhere).
Actually, the last part is where my real anger comes from. The story is told from the point of view of four characters: Ronnie (main character), Marcus (crazy evil soulless asshole who abuses his girlfriend), Will (bland boytoy) and Steve (dad). The other characters of note Will's bff, Scott, little brother (best in the book tbh) Jonah, and second father to Steve, Pastor Harris. Do you notice a pattern here?
Yes. In a book that is written and marketed to women and girls (and that's another topic all together), she still has to be surrounded by men and boys. All her important relationships in the book has to do with boys and men. All the positive growth she experiences is through her relationships with men. And all her relationships with women are only there to serve as rode blocks to her boytoy and road to becoming a Good Girl again.
The girls/women:
There is Kim, her mom. She's not a bad character, just a frustrated mom who can't seem to reach out to her angry daughter. However, daddy is able to get Ronnie in two days and help her heal with a snap of his fingers pretty much.
We have Blaze, who has a promising start as Ronnie's friend, but she ends up being nothing more than a plot device: introduces us to Marcus (who is a main character for no reason I can figure out), frames Ronnie for shoplifting, and then spends the rest of the book getting worse and worse (her mom kicks her out and she moves in with her abusive boyfriend). Her point, stated flatly in the text, is she is what Ronnie could have ended up if she didn't make up with her daddy.
THANK YOU NICHOLAS SPARKS FOR USING EMOTIONAL ABUSE AS A THOUGHTFUL PLOT DEVICE TO TELL GIRLS NOT TO DRINK AND GO TO CLUBS OR WHATEVER YOUR RIDICULOUS POINT WAS. oh he makes it all better by having her get better and back with her mom at the end. I bet you can tell how emotionally satisfying I felt about.
Oh. There is more! There is Ronnie's best friend, whose name I forgot. In the end, Ronnie decides to ditch her. She's nice enough, I guess, but Ronnie has her boytoy and is a Good Girl now so she doesn't need to go out clubbing anymore and it's not like girls can ever have strong relationships with each other. And another girl who is nice enough is Will's ex, Ashely. She tries to tear Will and Ronnie apart so she can get back with Will. The third nice woman, really, is Will's mom, Susan. We are told several times that she's a great mom and will protect her loved ones no matter what, but we're never shown that. Instead she glares at Ronnie for dare not being rich and blames her for all the problems in the world.
YOU SEE THIS? We're told that these women are nice enough but they serve no other purpose than being shallow jerks who the Ronnie and Will are better off with. Except Susan. Sparks means it. She's great, really. So great he doesn't even have to bother writing it out.
Oh, and there's Meghan, Will's sister, but she serves no other point than just to get married and get Ronnie and Will back together after another breakup over stupid reasons constructed, by shock, surprise, another woman!
God, I'm not even getting into how this man portrays sex and how utterly offensive that Marcus character was in general. When he wasn't being a waste of space, because his character really served no point in the admittedly incoherent mess that this book was.
THANK YOU, NICHOLAS SPARKS, FOR INFORMING ME THAT MOST WOMEN ARE EVIL HARPIES, THEY'RE THE ONES WHO CARE ABOUT MONEY AND CLOTHES AND SEX (AND IF THEY DO THEY'LL GET TOGETHER WITH AN ABUSIVE BOYFRIEND), WHO ONLY CARE ABOUT MONEY, CLOTHES AND CLASS. :) :)
IT'S A NEW AND INNOVATIVE VIEW OF WOMAN AND GIRLHOOD, I'LL TELL YOU WHAT.
Actually, the last part is where my real anger comes from. The story is told from the point of view of four characters: Ronnie (main character), Marcus (crazy evil soulless asshole who abuses his girlfriend), Will (bland boytoy) and Steve (dad). The other characters of note Will's bff, Scott, little brother (best in the book tbh) Jonah, and second father to Steve, Pastor Harris. Do you notice a pattern here?
Yes. In a book that is written and marketed to women and girls (and that's another topic all together), she still has to be surrounded by men and boys. All her important relationships in the book has to do with boys and men. All the positive growth she experiences is through her relationships with men. And all her relationships with women are only there to serve as rode blocks to her boytoy and road to becoming a Good Girl again.
The girls/women:
There is Kim, her mom. She's not a bad character, just a frustrated mom who can't seem to reach out to her angry daughter. However, daddy is able to get Ronnie in two days and help her heal with a snap of his fingers pretty much.
We have Blaze, who has a promising start as Ronnie's friend, but she ends up being nothing more than a plot device: introduces us to Marcus (who is a main character for no reason I can figure out), frames Ronnie for shoplifting, and then spends the rest of the book getting worse and worse (her mom kicks her out and she moves in with her abusive boyfriend). Her point, stated flatly in the text, is she is what Ronnie could have ended up if she didn't make up with her daddy.
THANK YOU NICHOLAS SPARKS FOR USING EMOTIONAL ABUSE AS A THOUGHTFUL PLOT DEVICE TO TELL GIRLS NOT TO DRINK AND GO TO CLUBS OR WHATEVER YOUR RIDICULOUS POINT WAS. oh he makes it all better by having her get better and back with her mom at the end. I bet you can tell how emotionally satisfying I felt about.
Oh. There is more! There is Ronnie's best friend, whose name I forgot. In the end, Ronnie decides to ditch her. She's nice enough, I guess, but Ronnie has her boytoy and is a Good Girl now so she doesn't need to go out clubbing anymore and it's not like girls can ever have strong relationships with each other. And another girl who is nice enough is Will's ex, Ashely. She tries to tear Will and Ronnie apart so she can get back with Will. The third nice woman, really, is Will's mom, Susan. We are told several times that she's a great mom and will protect her loved ones no matter what, but we're never shown that. Instead she glares at Ronnie for dare not being rich and blames her for all the problems in the world.
YOU SEE THIS? We're told that these women are nice enough but they serve no other purpose than being shallow jerks who the Ronnie and Will are better off with. Except Susan. Sparks means it. She's great, really. So great he doesn't even have to bother writing it out.
Oh, and there's Meghan, Will's sister, but she serves no other point than just to get married and get Ronnie and Will back together after another breakup over stupid reasons constructed, by shock, surprise, another woman!
God, I'm not even getting into how this man portrays sex and how utterly offensive that Marcus character was in general. When he wasn't being a waste of space, because his character really served no point in the admittedly incoherent mess that this book was.
THANK YOU, NICHOLAS SPARKS, FOR INFORMING ME THAT MOST WOMEN ARE EVIL HARPIES, THEY'RE THE ONES WHO CARE ABOUT MONEY AND CLOTHES AND SEX (AND IF THEY DO THEY'LL GET TOGETHER WITH AN ABUSIVE BOYFRIEND), WHO ONLY CARE ABOUT MONEY, CLOTHES AND CLASS. :) :)
IT'S A NEW AND INNOVATIVE VIEW OF WOMAN AND GIRLHOOD, I'LL TELL YOU WHAT.