My Dear Henry: A Jekyll & Hyde Remix

You know, I was excited to read this, and I was excited to read [b:Cinderella Is Dead 43900612 Cinderella Is Dead Kalynn Bayron https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1574698353l/43900612.SY75.jpg 68309452], and I felt a bit underwhelmed by both. I think Bayron has great concepts for books but that maybe, to me, fall apart a little in the execution. Like here I LOVE the big picture concept for the Jekyll and Hyde remix ( that baby Jekyll's father, Dr. Jekyll, is so ashamed of his son's queerness that he attempts to fully remove it from him and then creates a sad blanked-out version of Jekyll and a Hyde who's actually compassionate but in a way that's scary to Victorians...). Like, that part is rad. But the instant romantic connection between Gabe and Henry felt...underdeveloped...especially given other attempts to depict the period's intense propriety etc etc etc. Just didn't quite add up for me but I still liked the big concept as well as some of the historical details involved.

DNF - PG 139

Why?

Because this book is so not for me, I was listening to the audio book at 2.5x in an effort to get through it (something I know I have only done with two other books (Binti earlier this month, and Terminal Peace, for those curious).) and when I realized that I'd rather borrow another audio book and try to get through it (it's like 18 hours long!) before it has to be returned - which will include listening to it during work - I also realized that there was no way I would be returning to this book.

The main plot of the story revolves around the romantic relationship of Henry and our MC Gabriel and because the choices the author made for this romance, I am left without any connection to it.

They meet, but then basically get together through letters and have no scenes together to make you actually root for them. In fact, I am distinctly not rooting for them, because Gabriel acts like an obsessive stalker with a crush.

Here's what it looks like by the halfway point:

Two college boys (technically they are going to medical school and are younger than students would be in medical school these days, but they are essentially college students) meet, befriend each other and start a correspondence during the summer.

They meet back up and one of them burns the letters he sent to the other because ‘we must keep our feelings secret and wouldn't you rather hear this from me than read it in letters?'

Apparently somewhere around this point they start...being something besides friends? They start a flirtation. That's what we will call it.

Then one of them (H) gets expelled and the other (G) changes majors. (And starts working for a total creep, but neither here nor there.)

Then H breaks up with G.

Apparently it's summer again, because they are sending letters to each other again with H becoming more distant with every letter and finally he sends a letter that simply says ‘I cannot do this anymore.'

Just in time for school to start up again, apparently they are over for good this time.

Except...H asks that G not try to see him. They happen to run into each other in the street and H pretty much cuts G dead. (Tries to run over him with his horse, too, according to G.)

G must see the man he's coming to love, regardless of his wishes, so he lurks at H's house. Repeatedly. Oh, and stalks who he assumes is H's new boyfriend. And just generally acts like a jealous, possessive creep.

...

And, somehow, I guess I'm supposed to root for them?

That's the main reason. What follows is just a few random thoughts that I wanted to get out.

And, also, I know that this book - the whole series - gets a lot of support for centering queer and bipoc characters in classics - which is something that is good to see and I support - but having Gabriel be black and queer...doesn't make the most sense. We're talking about two black boys being obviously queer in a racist school, in a time that being gay was a criminal offense. With how open of a secret them being together was, no one was ever worried about them facing criminal punishment or - thanks to the racist bigots - using the threat of it as leverage against them.

I've also read some very...questionable things in the reviews that have answered my curiosity well enough that I don't feel any true need to find out what happens next.

Finally, I would like to mention that I do not actually find this better than the original - and please do note: I was never terribly impressed with the original (Definitely not Stevenson's best work and once you know the reveal (which good luck not knowing that spoiler through society osmosis) it offered nothing) so when I say that I at least finished that one - you know this has to be bad.