The Break Up Artist is a quick and easy read; it relies heavily on female 2 dimensional stereotypes and has a very thin plot, making it easy to just pick up and read. The narration can get annoying, and often I wished any of the characters—especially the girls—had substance. All the girls talked about was relationships, and this book does not pass the Bechdal Test. The Bechdal Test tests whether a book/movie/whatever has fair representation of women. There are only 2 qualifications to pass: 1) there are 2 or more female characters 2) they talk to each other at some point about something other than a man. The lack of complexity in the female characters was insulting because all of the girls could have been stand ins for the other girls. Also, another concerning thing was that it was always the girl’s fault when a relationship went bad, and they were all so desperate to be in a relationship that the guys in the school could be obnoxious and still have girls fighting over them. Overall, I thought the idea was clever and original, but the execution was terrible.
