Suffer! by A.C. Sloan is such a fun book! The story follows a fairly large cast of people, but the main characters include: Theo, a 24 college student who lives with her elderly aunt Dottie and 16 year old sister Pris, who has autism. Together the three ladies watch a tv show called Suffer religiously each Thursday night and create a youtube aftershow with Theo's friend Sam, a male nurse who has a huge personality and sometimes dresses in drag. The tv show they are watching stars Roxy DeVine, a major diva, who plays the character Marcia Suffer, for which the tv show is named after. The showrunner, Merle May, creates a contest where fans of Suffer can enter to win a viewing party where Roxy will watch the finale with them. Very much a diva herself, May decides to kill Roxy's character off in the finale without telling anyone. Along with several other random characters, including Pris and Theo's mother and boyfriend, Roxy's style team, a variety of other members of the Suffer production crew and more, the characters' worlds collide for the finale and the after shock last weeks!
I was about halfway through the book thinking, how is it possible that I'm only half way done, this feels like a natural point for the climax and resolution, boy was I wrong! There is definitely a huge moment midway through the book, but it took a twist I didn't see (but maybe should have seen lol) coming! Sloan does a great job with character development, and while there are a few supporting characters who were not quite memorable enough for me to keep straight some of the time, it all worked out ok because those characters weren't necessarily that important to keep track of. The main characters were really interesting, there was just enough backstory and their crazy motives and interesting traits kept them well connected to each other and the plot. The inclusion of pop culture and the idea that people interact with content on social media while watching a tv show was really well done and added both comedy and made it feel like this was a real show they were describing. I also can't help but make the connection between Merle May and Shonda Rhimes. Intentional or not, the connection is obvious - Grey's Anatomy plays on Thursday Nights, has a cult following, includes characters being killed off unexpectedly and Shonda runs the show (literally and figuratively). This connection also made things feel more real because as a greys fan I was able to easily imagine this scenario.
Let's talk about Pris for a second. I love how Sloan portrayed her character, autistic characteristics and all. She made it easy to love Pris but also include some of the silly and common issues people with high functioning autism exhibit. For example, taking idioms literally, fixating on slightly unusual things, stimming (ex flapping or rocking) etc. Without making fun of Pris, Sloan was able to include some of the lovable traits someone with autism might exhibit, normalizing that these sorts of behaviours are common, even to people without autism. She also put Pris in a fairly positive light, something that some stories about people with disabilities do not do. Pris was a great student, connected well with her family, was an important member of the aftershow team, and was loved fiercely by her sister Theo. That being said, Sloan also brought in some opportunities to see how people with autism are often perceived or discriminated against. Roxy makes some negative comments about Pris at first, and Pris's mother's boyfriend repeatedly calls her "rain girl" referencing the 1988 movie Rain Man. These comments were so offensive and frustrating to read, but I think they also helped show the difficulties people with autism face, even when interacting with their own family! Despite being treated poorly at times, Pris is well loved by her sister, aunt and Sam, and I think she is a really important part of this story.
I really liked this book and would highly recommend it. It is funny, has a really interesting plot and storyline and is relatable for readers who enjoy watching Drama TV. I am so glad I got the chance to read and review this book! Thanks to Booksprout for giving me this opportunity!
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