You wanted to read the book, you were excited to crack it open, you came into it with good faith and anticipation… but you ended up dnf-ing it. Which book and why?
Mine was The Maid by Nita Prose. It was for my book club and looked like a fun murder mystery. Instead I got instant manic-pixie-dream-neurodivergent-girl vibes, and I noped out before the crime scene was even found.
This was not the book’s fault at all.
There was a popular SciFi novel (I won’t name it) with a prologue in which it is revealed the character the protagonist has been helping is attempting to self-harm. The character reveals they are determined to kill themselves. The protagonist makes a proclamation that they will not interfere with someone’s will and leaves.
I spent most of the week helping on a suicide watch for a friend. Their medication had stopped working and they were in acute mental distress. It was an excruciating time for all of us, but we had to get them through it.
On my day “off” when others were minding our friend, I picked up that book. After the prologue, I returned the book to the library with the worst taste in my mouth imaginable.
I understand the book does great things. I wouldn’t shame the author. But it was exactly the wrong time for me to enter that text.
My friend, thankfully, got the treatment they needed and is living well right now.