Emma Doherty

Becca McKenzie is just trying to make it through her senior year of high school. She has good friends and a gorgeous boyfriend but Ryan Jackson, the bane of her existence, keeps popping up everywhere. She doesn't care that they were best friends for years. She doesn't care that their moms are close and therefore she hears more about him than she'd ever care to know. She doesn't care that their mutual friend, Jake, keeps pushing for them to all to hang out together, and she especially doesn't care that the rest of the school bows down and worships him. Becca decided years ago that he wasn't worth her time and nothing, NOTHING, is going to change her mind.

Four Doors Down

Giulia Pianta

** spoiler alert **
           I originally gave this 2 stars but thinking about it, 1 star is even too much.
This book contains every single negative aspect, every horrible trope, every examples of how a relation should NOT be, that you can usually find in bad romance books.

I hated everything.
But let's go in order.

Becca
The main character. I hated her.
She is strong and harsh and badass at times, but Ryan just says please and looks at her and she loses her autonomy and does anything he wants. Wow, nice. Yuck.
Of course she is super hot but she doesn't realise it (really?? my eyes are rolling).
And of course she has no clue he likes her, even though everyone knows, everyone tells her and he is so obviously acting like a 4-year-old boy who pulls a girl's hair because he wasn't taught how to express his feelings right.

So, Ryan.
If he were to hit on me, I would run. As fast as I can. Forever.
He is such a piece of shit. I am sorry, I am way past high school times when you could be fascinated by this kind of people because you don't know better.
I do know better. I have been in relationships with horrible boys who treated me like garbage, so I can easily say he is one of them.

The others
The forgettable characters. The only reason for their existence is being enablers of Ryan. I was so disgusted at how they acted towards Becca, with all the pushing her to be with Ryan and trying to make things happen despite she so obviously didn't want that. THAT IS NOT WHAT FRIENDS ARE!! I expect my friends would understand I have boundaries and wishes and that I may not want to interact with someone who bullied me, and I expect they respect this. But the """friends""" in this book don't give a shit about what she wants. But I guess without them there would be way to move the plot forward (sign of bad writing!)

The writing
Just two things will suffice to show it was bad
-EVERYONE smirks. Constantly.
-"I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding"
UGHHHHHHHHHHHH


The virginity talk
"I promptly handed over my virginity to him"
"You'd think I hadn't guarded it for the first 17 years of my life the way I quickly gave it up to him"
Please someone tell this lost and brainless human that your virginity is not a hidden treasure you can guard and then gift to someone. Fucking stupid. And yeah I am angry because I am 26 and reading this I piss myself laughing, but a young girl reading such bullshit may not be able to understand this is not how it works, that your "virginity" is not an object that you can give away.
God who decided to publish this????? Who wrote it???

The relationship
This is abusive. It may not be extremely abusive, but it ain't right I am sorry.
If anyone is reading my review (which I doubt) and believes this is how relationships are, I assure you this is wrong.
And I am looking at you Ryan, you lurid piece of shit.

- He treated Becca like trash for years and for no real reason. Sorry but there is NO excuse for this. He is disgusting.
- He tries being nice to her, but sorry dude that didn't make up the past, especially if you don't come forward and apologise for it properly.
- While being nice, he constantly belittles, humiliates and mistreats her. I was appalled. And, had I been Becca or any of the other people present during one of his abusive tantrums, I would have kicked him in the groin so hard he would choke on it. 
- He DARES say he would do nothing to hurt her, and then proceeds to tell the whole school she was cheated on. What a bitch.
- He constantly moves her. And this is more subtle, but just as problematic. You DO NOT grab girls or just throw them on your shoulder and move them around as you wish because GIRLS. ARE. NOT. FUCKING. OBJECTS. We are not dolls you can position however you prefer. YUCK.
- He justifies his pathetic and disgusting behaviour by saying it's because he likes her (this is a VERY bad sign). Meaning he gets drunk, dates a random girl and uses her, humiliates Becca and picks on her like a child, gets super mad at her for trivial stuff and SCREAMS at her.
Ok let's make this clear, if a guy screams at you, you call the police.
-And of course his bad behaviour is all HER fault because of stupid shit like the fact she doesn't want to talk to him. Well guess what Ryan? She has EVERY RIGHT to not want to talk to you, get over it you bitch.
- He is so worryingly jealous of her, and so mad and angry at all times. Why be in a relationship with him, when he so clearly needs therapy???? RUN BECCA PLEASE
- Cherry on top, he punches Keith for harassing Becca not because he harassed a girl (which would be a legit reason) but because it was HIS girl. Yeah go touch other girl's boobs all you want, just don't touch MINE. But what would I expect from Ryan, who uses girls to quench his thirst for Becca? What a pathetic excuse of a human being.

And what worries me the most is that in most of the reviews I read, everyone says Becca is stupid and clueless (which is true) and Ryan was instead so sweet and deserved more. WHAT??? Are you being serious? Are you saying to me that a guy that terrorises boys so they won't date you, forcing you to be single even though you want a guy, is sweet? That Ryan screaming at Becca and scaring her with his rage is not problematic?
I dated such a guy and I still bear the scars. Please do not think this is ok.

I am sorry but I have no patience for shit books with shit messages that make young impressionable girls believe a boy like this belongs in a relationship with them and not to jail.

Four Doors Down

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