I’m what many people might refer to as a “hipster.” It’s important to note that this is not at all intentional, and I don’t really feel like I embody a lot of what defines a hipster. But one element of hipster culture that I’m fully aware that I embody is the way in which they react to mainstream media.
Hipsters are known to boycott something specifically because it’s mainstream, and reader, I have a confession to make: I absolutely do this. It’s one of my only flaws, ok?
But let me stand up for myself a little bit here; I don’t do it to be cool. Not really. I do it to save myself from disappointment. Because often media will get hyped up as the greatest thing, and I go into it waiting for my mind to be blown. But you will have to remember, I’m an artist after all; my standards for “mindblowing” art are different. So, at this point, after learning from many disappointments, if something is hyped, I usually refuse to engage in it. Reader, I refused to watch Frozen for 5 years for this reason.
This rule is especially true for books. Y’all my life is filled with constant disappointment; I don’t need my books to disappoint me too. Unfortunately, these 5 books did just that, and here’s why.
Looking For Alaska – John Green
There was a period of time in like 2014/2015 when all I saw was this book. At that point, I was into YA as an extension of my job as an English teacher, and so John Green was the golden boy. All teens love The Fault in Our Stars after all (no seriously, I’ve seen boys reading it as well). As such, John Green books were everywhere, but Looking for Alaska especially was hyped. Thus, I picked it up. At first, it was a book that I DNF’ed, but last fall, I picked it back up and was finally able to finish it.
It was good, but not great. It won the Printz award, actually (stellar YA fiction). It’s also been banned in quite a few places as well, which tells me a lot because as we all know, banned books make the best books. Really, I’m not sure why it was given so much hype because it really doesn’t stand out among YA, and truthfully, there are more profound YA books that I’ve read. Of course, it’s possible that this was revolutionary for the time in which it was published, and it did portray a powerful theme, it just wasn’t that amazing for me.
Pieces of Her – Karin Slaughter
I actually read the sequel to this book before this one. I liked the second one so much, though, that I decided to read the first one. It had good reviews and was even made into a Netflix series, so I had high hopes. Unfortunately, I didn’t like it much at all. I found it to be incredibly slow, which is honestly sometimes the kiss of death for a suspense novel. Additionally, it was just way too long. Yes, you get the backstory of the main character’s mom, but that’s about all you get from it. Watch the series and skip the book, honestly.
The Lost Apothecary – Sarah Penner
Listen. This might be my greatest disappointment of 2022 and that includes 2 significant breakups, pandemic teaching, and having the Backstreet Boys concert get postponed to a date when I had contracted covid.
This book was everywhere, and I mean everywhere. I saw it so much that I literally read it to see what all of the hype was about. Not only did it not live up to the hype, I’m not sure it deserved much of any at all. I’m not one to bash an author because clearly they are making money and publishing books and I am not, and it’s not that the writing or the story was bad, it just wasn’t great. Sure, the parallel storylines were cool, and I’m always about feminism, but I so wished there was just more to it. More excitement, more engagement. I just found it ok.
The Guest List by Lucy Foley
Ahhh The Guest List. A Goodreads fave. A fave among bookworms, and I, for one, always trust a Goodreads user’s opinion. Because if you’re using Goodreads, chances are, you are as nerdy as I am. But in this case, it was wrong.
I really do love a good suspense book. This was not one. I loved the concept where you have multiple perspectives, a murder, and a whodunit mystery; very Agatha Christie. However, I felt that the book was slow. It really didn’t keep my attention, which again, is not great for a suspense novel. Now I know Lucy Foley is capable of a good suspense novel because The Paris Apartment was fantastic and everything I wanted The Guest List to actually be. So maybe read that one instead.
Midnight Sun by Stephanie Meyer
This book was garbage. My 17 year old self would be absolutely appalled at me, but it’s true. Ok. Perhaps that’s a bit harsh. Again, don’t like to bash authors and their works because I believe every piece of art has its place, but it just was not good.
Full disclosure: I read (ok fine...devoured) the Twilight series in the early 2000s when I was in high school, and it was all anyone talked about. Honestly, it’s what reignited my love for reading. People used to always say that Stephanie Meyer’s writing was not good, and I could not understand that because I loved the stories so much. As an adult, I get it.
I went into Midnight Sun with the highest hopes for nostalgia. I came out of it just glad I got through it. As much as I used to adore Edward (is my past Team Edward phase the reason for my poor choice in men now? Stay tuned to find out), I found his perspective incredibly anxious, boring, and honestly somewhat concerning. The majority of the story is him going back and forth in his head about the things that are making him anxious about Bella and his part in her situation. And as someone who actually has this constant stream of anxious thoughts, it was too much. Also, I found myself being annoyed by Edward and his whininess rather than intrigued by his perspective. Truthfully, it put me in a reading slump, and I had to work to get out of it so I could meet my reading goal. The teenage rose-colored perspective had truly been removed.
Every book reaches someone somewhere. Perhaps Stephanie Meyer is best reserved for teens and not for adults seeking to relive their glory years.
At this point, I think it’s important to state that I really am not a picky reader. My most common rating on Goodreads is 4 stars for goodness sake, but an overhyped book disappointment will forever stick with me. Did I bash any of your favorites? What are your picks for overhyped books? Leave me a comment!
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