REVIEW : Gena/Finn by Hannah Moskowitz and Kat Helgeson

  ​​Gena/Finn - Hannah Moskowitz & Kat Helgeson
  Publisher : Chronicle Book
  Release Date : May 17th 2016
  Genres : Young Adult, Contemporary
  Pages : 287
  Rating : ★★☆☆☆

Gena and Finn have little in common. Book-smart Gena is preparing to leave her posh boarding school for college; down-to-earth Finn is a twenty-something struggling to make ends meet in the big city. Gena’s romantic life is a series of reluctant one-night-stands; Finn is making a go of it with long-term boyfriend Charlie. But they share a passion for Up Below, a buddy cop TV show with a cult fan following. Gena is a darling of the fangirl scene, keeping a popular blog and writing fan fiction. Finn’s online life is a secret, even from Charlie. The pair spark an unlikely online friendship that deepens quickly (so quickly it scares them both), and as their individual “real” lives begin to fall apart, they increasingly seek shelter online, and with each other.

I came across Gena/Finn by accident. The online relationship and the original format attracted me.The potential was there, and yet I felt frustrated after reading it.

I admire authors who take risks and do things outside the box. The idea was strong: I wasn't bothered by the unconventional format, on the contrary, I found it interactive. There's something intimate about reading other people's (even fictionnal) text messages. However, even though it had the potential to be amazing the author neglected the depth of the characters.

By picking it up, I expected a beautiful female friendship starting from scratch and evolving step by step through the pages. If you go into it expecting the same thing, that's not what you'll get. Their friendship happened very - too - quickly and their relationship isn't clearly defined.

I couldn't relate to neither of them and I didn't particularly like them nor care about their problems.

Also the random posts about the TV Show were unecessary since we have no idea what it's about. Too bad since the foundation of their relationship was the show but the fandom part was realistic (obviously since the author has been part of one)

When I read a book, I'm all for the "show, don't tell". However, some important aspects are talked about without being showed. You can't drop a bomb about a character and then mention it a few times in the whole book like it's nothing.

At some point, I had no idea where the story was going because the plot was just too plain. There's something that has to be resolved at the end of a book and I just didn't get where the author wanted to go.

An other thing that bothered me was the lack of emotions. It's hard to convey emotions through this format and yet I felt like they were vainly forced on me.