4.5

Book source ~ BBNYA

Laura, Claire, and Suki are living their separate lives with Emily their only tenuous connection. Emily and Laura are best friends, but Claire and Suki are on the extreme outer rim until tragedy strikes Emily, bringing them all together in a tight inner circle that will change the course of their lives forever. Three very different women, one shared goal. The cause is noble, but do they take it too far?

The discrimination that women face on a daily basis is ludicrous. This is the 21st century for fuck’s sake! And yet, here we are. Each woman in this story faces her own daily battles against it, but Emily bears the brunt when her sexual assault accusation against a Hollywood star goes viral worldwide. Now she’s not only dealing with the aftermath of the assault and charges, but also doxing which leads to both physical and cyber bullying, too. Honestly, this book made me hate living during this time in history even more. I want my Star Trek utopia dammit!

The chapters alternate between Laura, Emily, Suki, and Claire, tying them all together in a smooth, fast flowing plot. The writing is tight. There are no extraneous passages. It stays focused on the goal. Or goals since each woman has something they want to accomplish. The question we must ask ourselves is: did they take it too far? My honest answer is complicated. On the one hand, stooping to the level of the men is beneath us. However, I must admit to extreme satisfaction that the tables were turned and in such a way as to hit the men where it hurt them most. Again, was it too far? I say nope. Too bad, so sad. Do nasty shit, get nasty prizes I say. These men are adults and thought their behavior was fine and dandy. Fuck them. *shrugs* So I’m a vengeful bitch. What can I say? Maybe people should stop being such entitled assholes? Also, there’s a bit of a surprise toward the end that I honestly didn’t see coming and thought, wow. That person is a bigger asshole than I thought. Ok, actually there’s two like that, but the one…wow. That is not okay.

Stay Mad, Sweetheart is an easy read in terms of flow and yet it’s not in terms of subject matter. This book will have you feeling all the extremes, so be prepared. One thing I will tell you is this: it will most definitely stick with you long after you finish it. ( )

I haven't read many feminist novels (shame on me) but I was drawn to this book not only by its subject matter but by its comparison to the TV show Suits. Although the comparison is obvious, there is definitely more drama, skullduggery and ambition in Stay Mad, Sweetheart than there is in a whole series of Suits. Stay Mad, Sweetheart would make an amazing series and I hope it gets snapped up for TV.

Laura is my favourite character as she most resonated with me. Laura just wants to do a good job and feel valued without having to compare her worth to her co-workers. Nothing good ever came out of opening that Pandora's box but I know that such inequality still goes on and it saddens me. I loved how Laura went on a crusade to identify the cyberbullies who made her friend's life a living hell. I've always said, it's not so much the person who fires the gun as the one who provides the bullets; the people who launch a virtual hand-grenade and then step back while others do the damage. If only a real-life Laura existed who could identify these cowardly cretins.

Anger is the overriding emotion that I experienced a lot throughout the book, especially at the way Claire and Suki were discriminated against at work. Suki in particular has to put up with blatant sexism and racism in the corporate finance world and is constantly patronised even though she is a financial whizz. I'm a little naive sometimes so I was horrified to learn how derogatory Suki's nickname was, as I have heard people being called this in the real world.

Now it's not all burning bras and misandry as there is a scene where Claire and her friends ogle a hunky plumber in a cafe. It struck me as very different to how women are treated by men as the women keep their opinions within their group and the man was none the wiser. If it was the other way round, a group of men would be wolf whistling and making suggestive comments out loud to a beautiful woman, making her feel uncomfortable. I know this doesn't apply to all men and I'm generalising here but it just shows the difference between the sexes; men really are from Mars.

Mad by name and mad by nature; this exceptional book will incite your fury. It's a feminist novel for the digital age and I think Margaret Atwood will be kicking herself that she hadn't written it herself; I can see this replacing or maybe accompanying The Handmaid's Tale in the school curriculum in the not too distant future. A must read thought-provoking book that everyone (no discrimination) should read.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion. ( )