A few months ago I came across this very successful fanfiction, about London's favorite 5 lads. Now, I am by no means a directioner ( I can't even spell their names right) but I got into the story because of one of my best friends and I've promised her I will read it until the end.
I broke my promise.
I am only writing this review because I felt like I needed to get everything out of my system before the anger that has been growing inside me for so long would finally consume me dead. So, without further ado, let's get into this.
Firstly, I am just going to put it out there: This is a good fanfiction. Not a novel, or a book, or even a story. Just a good fanfiction. It portrays the boys in an original, not-band-like way, turning them into brothers or even enemies. I think this is a good thing, to just explore and expand out of the fame and the craze and, well, everything that One Direction truly means. I think it's unfair that directioners all over the world are getting angry at Todd for turning Harry perfect Styles into an asshole- rational people should understand that this has nothing to do with reality and that it's a writer's job to turn real facts into pages and pages of dramatic stories. So the people who are complaining about this not being and accurate portrait of them have to understand- it's not supposed to do that. It's a story, not a biography.
That being said, I can give you plenty other reasons to complain. (evil laugh)
From the very first pages the story jumps out and screams at you. Just screams at you. The whole first half of the first book is a huge cliche, so painfully boring that you can literally feel the words bruising your brain. Good, innocent girl with a crazy mother gets to meet a mysterious, bad boy whom she hates at first, but then, as the plot goes on she finds herself attracted to him in an inevitable way. Her friend ( who obviously has to be a little bit more experienced, so she could initiate the protagonist) gets to give her a huge makeover, putting mascara on her lashes and trading her ugly maxi skirts for beautiful, sexy dresses. The writer has no idea how to make Tessa and Harry bond so she glorifies alcohol and bad decisions to give them the opportunity to get to know each other.
I am not going to get over every stupid detail that the story offered us, simply because it would take me ages to write them all down. The plot itself is unrealistic and illogical. Todd is so concerned with surprising us, that she leaves the common sense aside and turns otherwise normal events into big, dramatic and EXTREMELY irrational incidents.
By the end of the story, we've witnessed endless fights over the same matters, countless abuses,
alcoholism, drugs, make-up sex ( because apparently sex really fixes everything and people that are supposed to love each other up to the point of madness can only communicate through...body language? ) violent outbursts, weddings, secrets, and...more sex?
I think Anna Todd should have stopped after the second...damn, I guess I'll have to call it "book". But unfortunately she was so happy with her fifteen minutes of fame that she made us go through the exact same drama, yet once again, just so that she could feel important a little longer. I think it's unfair to the readers that, in the end, nothing some of us have been rooting for actually mattered. Do you remember the "moving to Seattle" craze? The endless fights about marriage and kids? The Zayn, Trevor, Profesor Sotto, and...the other waiter guy drama? Well, guess what has been the ultimate break-up reason: Tessa saw Harry standing near another girl that happened to be wearing his T-shirt and she assumed that something has happened. Boo-fucking-hoo.
ALSO, who in the world is lucky enough to get a paid internship while still in college for literally just reading? And who is lucky enough to have a friendly boss who, even after burnt by your psychotic boyfriend will still pay you TO STAY HOME AND CRY LIKE AN ASSHOLE?
Another thing that bothered me was the fifty shades rip-off. When I started reading After I was just finishing 50 Shades of Grey, so Todd had a huge stroke of bad luck. Harry, bending Tessa over a desk, taking her in the office, Harry, making Tessa beg for permission to reach an orgasm ( in a rather abusing way and completely out of the blue) Harry, calling Tessa "good girl" and being endlessly controlling, Todd, seeing the success the other novel had and thinking "hmmm sex sells, maybe I could do that too."
And last but not least, the thing I hated most about this Jane Austen desperate wanna be- the protagonist. No, I'm not talking about Harry ( who, even poorly justified, had a little more credibility) I'm talking about our very own and dear Theresa Young, or, as I like to call her, "Moaning Myrtle".
She is the most annoying, dramatic, irrational character I've ever came across.Maybe it's just because I'm not an emphatic person, but I didn't root for her at all. I found her disgustingly weak. Everything she does all day is cry and complain and I've grown sick of it. What happened to strong female characters? What happened with not needing a man to feel fulfilled ?
And to prove my point, here is a list of things this story has taught me through it's poor characters and unrealistic plot:
-Getting black out drunk when things don't work out it's ok and by no means illegal or troubling
-Returning to abusive relationships is fine
- Having a boyfriend is all that matters, University and your own mother can wait
-Running away from your problems is the right way to handle things
-Nice guys always finish last
-If, however, you fight with your boyfriend you can neglect your other responsibilities
-Pain gives you the right to be an asshole ( and I'm not talking about Harry)
-You don't need to have everything figured out, because your boyfriend's family will always let you live with them no questions asked. The same rule applies to your boss and coworkers
-Lying to someone and treating them like crap is fine because love will conquer it all
-If you have no talent whatsoever but still want to write and make money, just base your characters on worldwide known people.You'll get famous faster and you don't have to write any character description and therefore prove your lack of any writing skills because everybody already knows what they look like.
Any thoughts on After? Let me know in the comments!
