Olivia is flawed. She has outbursts that are basically juvenile tantrums, and she gets jealous over her boyfriend’s talent when she isn’t sure that she has what it takes. She’s not perfect, but honestly, neither is Jonah. He lies to his parents, sneaks around, yells at his parents, and sometimes says terrible things to Olivia. Yes, he apologized immediately for the last bit, but still it kind of sucked. And yet, I didn’t see criticism of his maturity level anywhere on Goodreads, so I tend to think it’s because we put female characters at a higher, unfair standard, even if we’re women ourselves. Plus, let’s be honest, Jonah has great parents and Olivia’s basically leave her to fend for herself and to worry about the growing pile of last due bills without ever talking to her about it or reassuring her. If anyone has reason to yell at her parents, it’s her. Read more →