float_on_alright | Gena/Finn (Reply)

I’ve had a nexplanon implant for nearly three years which is when it’s supposed to come out and because I’m already having issues with my hormones and my period, etc. I decided to go ahead and have it out instead of waiting two more months. I had it out before work and then I worked all day. And I didn’t get home until 9 so while I did get a little tiny bit written at work, I really haven’t gotten anything significant written. I had planned to maybe write a story for the Writer’s Cramp prompt of the day or at least a review of the book I was reading. But I’ve only gotten like two sentences of a story written with only a vague feelings of a plot in mind and the end of the book kind of has me furious and a wee bit frustrated and because it was a good book that was incorrectly marketed, I haven’t been able to write a review either.

Actually, I want to whine about that for a minute. The title of the book is “Gena/Finn” which is a great title if you ask me. The two main characters are fangirls of a (fictional) show and they become really good friends in the way that I think only distance and the Internet can make people friends. I have had a few friends that I’ve made like that. Where the love is… just deep and intense and the distance doesn’t really matter. You just love each other. And the book does an amazing job of portraying that evolution and how fast it can really happen.

The whole thing is set up in blog updates, journal entries, tumblr posts, emails, texts—that sort of thing. It’s interesting because part of the story is told with unsent email “drafts” like a character needed to vent and say what they really wanted to say, but then only sent something that was mild and tame. I think that’s something that lots of people do fairly often. I know I have more than once crafted a version of what I wanted to say in like a word document and then deleted and written something that was more professional and polite so I didn’t get… you know… fired. But the fun part of the “drafts” were that we got to see what the character was really thinking and feeling and fighting with and it was really well done.

So these two girls in the story Genavieve (Gena for short) and Stephanie (Finn for short) because incredibly close, incredibly quickly via the Internet.

Now I’m going to say a few things that are likely going to be spoilers so if you think you might want to read it, I’ll well tell you that there are spoilers ahead.

There is one thing I’m going to spoil. If you want to read this book because it sounds like a cute lesbian romance (which was the reason I read it), I’m going to stop you right there. It is not, I REPEAT, IT IS NOT a cute lesbian romance. I starts off kind of cute, but the book on a whole is not what I would call cute. It takes some pretty serious turns and it very quickly gets intense and while the ending is hopeful, it is not a “happily ever after” and it is definitely not a romance.

Anyway, the book was marketed as an LGBT book which I guess it technically is. Gena admits to having attraction to Finn and probably being in love with her at some point. And Finn admits that she doesn’t fully understand what her feelings are for Gina. So yes, there are some LGBT themes here. Also, the girls are shipping two (fictional) guys from their (fictional) TV show together so there’s lots of talk about their relationship and there are a few small (fictional) fanfic story and fan art posts that are mostly gen but infer that the girls want them to end up together romantically. But fictional characters shipping a pair of characters that are made up for the novel is a pretty far stretch “lgbt themes” wise.

These girls do have feelings for each other, big, scary feelings, but they don’t get together. Finn stays with her boyfriend Charlie and there’s talk of them getting married and Gena seems to be developing a crush on a boy named Steve at her PTSD therapy group (that Finn is jealous of? But like… not…). Gena suffers a serious trauma and loss and because of pre-existing issues that include schizophrenia and hallucinations, she has a mental breakdown for a while. And Finn saves her, with the help of Charlie (Finn’s long time boyfriend and likely future husband) so it’s very touching. The friendship is definitely a wonderfully portrayed one.

But I mean COME ON. You have this book where these girls have this intense, deep connection, where they go to the ends of the earth for each other and you’ve titled the book gena/finn like a damn slash fiction tag and you still some how don’t write them getting together? Are you kidding me? That is some serious fucking bullshit. It was marketed as something it most definitely was not.

It was a really good story and it was a compelling read and it had a lot of emotional depth. I don’t want to suggest that it doesn’t have plenty of merit. It is definitely worth reading if you’re into stories about fandom/internet friendships. But the marketing and title led me to believe that it was going to be a cute-sy, fluffy, f/f love story where the girls would realize that they’re in love with each other and they manage to work everything out so that they can be together forever.

Hopefully, I’ll be able to get over it eventually.