So much so potential gone so terribly wrong. This novel quickly shifts focus from the retelling of a Greek myth (with numerous converging outside myths and heroes along with a very Hunger Games-esque reality fake show set-up) to the story of a family literally prostituting their daughters for the sake of reality TV ratings. It becomes a story about statutory rape, rape culture, drug use, sexism, patriarchy, and violence against women and children. But, not really “about” any of these, since the author appears to use these topics as edgy plot points rather than doing any substantive interrogation of these patterns of abuse. There are callous remarks about loss of virginity (demanded of minor aged girls by their parents for the sake of reality TV) and consent. It became nauseating to process by the halfway mark.

This is not a book I would recommend to any reader, much less a young adult reader. The gender roles and messages about sexuality, consent, and social media are incredibly problematic. Appallingly so.