Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC of Lizzy Mason’s The Art of Losing that I was given in exchange for a fair and honest review.
I’m just going to say it: it’s been a good book year. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the last dozen or so that I’ve read and I’ve been incredibly impressed by the willingness of the authors to build complicated, interesting characters and take on dark, innovative plot lines. I’ve read some books that I would call great and many, many that are solidly good.
So maybe The Art of Losing never had the same chance it would normally have. Maybe I’m comparing it to all those great books in my head. It’s not like I hated the book. It’s not even like I disliked it. It was easy to read and it entertained me all the way through. I felt like Harley was a decently well-developed character and there was something about her that compelled you forward in the text. Her voice was just engaging.
To me, though, the rest of this book was just meh. I read a lot of other reviews that talked about the importance of this book and how it will stay with them and I couldn’t help but wonder... why? Is it just the subject matter? Yes, teenage alcoholism is real and relevant and a concern that we all should maybe talk about more. Yes, there are real risks and from a medical standpoint, those risks are handled well in The Art of Losing. Is that all it takes, though? A good topic that’s written about in a mediocre way?
The only topic that is addressed in a way that felt valid and reflective was body image. I felt Harley’s self consciousness about what she perceived as her own imperfections. I felt every awkward lift of her shirt, the embarrassment about her legs, the pain in comparing herself to people thinner than her. That part resonated with me and I can see where it might be really nice for a young girl with similar insecurities to see how common her struggle really is.
The alcoholism..... SPOILERS.
What’s the message here? Harley can’t date one alcoholic, but she can date another? I get it, I get it. Raf is an appropriate partner because he has accepted he has a problem and wants to change. He is also kind. Mike is mean and doesn’t see her problem. Still, I really think what we have is a young girl who simultaneously has a savior complex and wants a savior and who is jumping from one codependent relationship to another. I don’t think it’s healthy and, while I don’t think a book needs to be a moral guideline (so it’s fine that the relationship is unhealthy as that’s reality sometimes) all the book really has going for it is its status as kind of a warning to the youths and it fails there. Ultimately, this is a meh book. There are a lot of books that address this same topic and do it much better. This one is fine and nothing more than fine.
3/5
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